The last decade's technological developments have fundamentally changed how marketers operate. As more companies harnessed the power and potential of the internet, the techniques of the past gave way to new social media and digital marketing strategies.
Today, the marketing paradigm is evolving again. Rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and data analytics have ushered in a new era of marketing automation software that's already changing how companies approach lead generation, outreach, retention, and new conversions.
According to this year's HubSpot State of Marketing report, 42% in the field reported an increase in how many marketing campaigns they worked on last year, with nearly half saying they were more likely to deploy a marketing automation strategy in 2023.
The shift to a new marketing strategy is paramount in the senior and assisted living ecosystem, where three-quarters of adults 50 or older are now regular internet users. Many operators and providers have already understood this and begun incorporating more software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions into their marketing approach.
Senior living is a growing, fiercely competitive sector that faces a unique set of challenges other elements of the healthcare network don't. Senior living operators take tremendous pride in their work, and the best customer experiences are ones where residents get a true sense of community.
A senior living sales team is typically responsible for various repetitive tasks, including:
Although essential, these tasks can be automated, freeing up the marketing team to focus on your community's big-picture goals. Tools such as Eldermark's solutions for sales and marketing staff and marketing automation integrations help senior living operators enhance the customer journey, improve occupancy, and increase your community's return on investment (ROI).
Many companies offer digital solutions, and knowing what to look for is key to choosing the best senior living software in 2023. Here are three real-life examples of how a marketing automation platform can benefit your senior living community:
Scenario: A small senior living community wants to expand operations by increasing occupancy. However, its marketing team needs additional headcount in order to handle all the necessary, repetitive tasks, such as manually writing welcome emails or monitoring open rate metrics or shopping cart abandonment. Additionally, the community's budget is too limited to outsource to a marketing agency to help scale their efforts.
Problem: It's a Catch-22. Without a bigger marketing team or budget, launching content marketing campaigns, doing a/b testing, or otherwise reaching a larger target audience is challenging. Plus, without the right marketing strategy, it's extremely difficult to expand operations.
Solution: Adopt digital solutions, such as B2B marketing automation, automated email generation and automated workflows to scale marketing efforts without expanding your sales team or going over budget.
Result: At a fraction of the cost of a third-party agency, a small senior living community can leverage the right automation tools to bridge the gap between a limited budget and a desire for expansion.
This webinar case study, featuring the success story of Mount Angel Tower's partnership with Eldermark, shows precisely how powerful automation integrations can help senior living teams develop the right-fit marketing strategy for any community or residence.
Scenario: A large senior living community with multiple residences nationwide is accused of not providing a personal touch by the competition, usually a smaller community looking for a bigger market share. While operators might not worry about occupancy rates, maintaining the reputation of providing premium, personalized care will always be a priority.
Problem: The number of residents for large operations can be in the tens of thousands, making it very challenging for any marketing team to routinely check in with residents and work on retention while following up with leads and generating personalized, relevant content.
Solution: Various automation tools, including email marketing automation, landing page development, and lead scoring, allow sales teams to deal with larger-order tasks, like re-engagement or addressing specific issues. By ensuring each potential resident and their families have a personalized user experience, the repetitive tasks are taken care of, allowing sales teams to focus on more strategic tasks.
Result: Personalization can take many forms, including tailoring communications and content to meet the specific interests, concerns, or preferences of current and potential residents. The result is the best of both worlds. Larger operations can still provide the same personalized level of attention without sacrificing operational speed and efficiency.
Scenario: As digital solutions become more refined and competition in the senior living sector heats up, a medium-sized assisted living community finds it difficult to keep up with changes. With a sales team and marketing strategy already in place, overhauling old processes to keep up with new ones is proving challenging and time-consuming.
Problem: Some of the tried-and-tested tactics of the past aren't working, more seniors have an online presence, and the core marketing paradigm has gone from long to short-form, requiring existing teams to adapt without adequate training or support.
Solution: Automation tools can make a marketing strategy more effective by streamlining processes to increase productivity and efficiency. Automated tools can develop personalized landing pages, analyze and identify upsell points, and take over many tasks previously done manually.
Result: Through senior living software solutions, a medium-sized community can make sure it stays competitive by adapting the newest techniques that assist marketing teams and operations.
For more tips and valuable insights on how your community can save money through marketing automation, download Eldermark's free eBook on Actionable Sales & Marketing Insights!
Integrating marketing automation software with a customer relationship management (CRM) tool makes the process even more efficient. While CRM streamlines interactions with potential residents and stores valuable customer data in one place, marketing automation uses the data to tailor marketing campaigns that address your community's needs.
Eldermark's CRM software and marketing automation integrations work seamlessly together to alleviate your sales team's mundane tasks by freely sharing information between the integrated systems.
With Eldermark's assisted living marketing automation integrations, you can easily streamline tasks, optimize operations, and deliver personalized experiences to reach your target audience, directly translating efforts into higher conversion rates.
To find out if Eldermark's solutions are right for you, contact us and schedule a free demo today.