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Start-Up MarketingPUTTING OUT THE WELCOME MATBy Wendy A. Nowokunski When developing a new assisted-living or retirement community, the start-up phase of marketing is essential to the community's future success. Starting with your best foot forward requires proper planning. An overall marketing plan should be developed for the community approximately 10 to 12 months prior to opening. The marketing plan includes a project overview, positioning statement, target markets defined, goals and objectives, staffing plan, market entry, marketing action plan, pre-opening budget and a task-driven, pre-marketing timeline. In start-up marketing, there are five areas of focus: community outreach, advertising and direct mail, priority wait list, follow up and move-in coordination. 1. Community Outreach--Building a Solid Foundation in the Community First and foremost, it is essential to create awareness of the community in the marketplace. Assisted-living retirement communities generally attract residents from the local community. In order for a community to be successful, you must first build trust and relationships with local referral sources. Make face-to-face visits to key referral sources, such as elder-service agencies, nurse associations, Realtors, medical practices, hospitals, local merchants and clergy. Develop local media relations and coverage through new-hire announcements, project updates and special events. Ongoing mailings should be targeted toward specific referral groups to update on progress of the community. Also, positive word-of-mouth in the community is priceless marketing. 2.Advertising and Direct Mail-- Spreading the Word Once the local community is aware, it's time to educate the public (primary and secondary markets) about the community. First, an introductory direct-mail campaign should be conducted in the immediate market area. A personalized mailing to neighbors will generate goodwill and test the pent-up demand in the area. Once the introductory mailing is complete, localized advertising coupled with targeted direct mail and telemarketing follow-up tends to generate the highest interest return. To create urgency, ads should include tags announcing "priority reservations being accepted," "information center open," "model open," "grand opening" or "now open." For best results, the concept and design of the advertising should coincide with the direct-mail piece. 3. Priority Wait List--Creating a Sense of Urgency The purpose of investing time and money into pre-marketing is to move as many residents as possible into the community in the first 60 to 90 days. With a solid base of occupancy in the first 90 days, ramp-up should meet or exceed budgeted projections and will prevent the challenges of marketing against turnover. Develop a priority wait-list program with benefits to create a sense of urgency to move sooner rather than later. Suggested benefits would be allowing the priority wait-list member first choice of apartments according to their priority number and offer pre-opening price incentives if the resident moves into the community within a certain time frame. Prior to opening, an "urgency letter" should be sent to all leads, reinforcing the benefits of the priority program. 4. Follow-Up--Establishing the Bond It is often said the sale begins at the deposit. True. The first sign of commitment is the deposit, but we must continue to "sell" the prospective resident until a lease is signed. This is especially true in start-up where, often times, there is no building, staff or other residents to connect with or commit to. Priority wait-list members should be followed up with monthly. In order to keep the priority wait-list member moving forward, develop a checklist that takes them to the next step in the move-in process once the community opens. Keep them interested and informed, send regular project progress updates from the executive director, introduce new staff members, hold informal get-togethers with other members and staff to begin building relationships. Establish resident committees early to get them connected to the community. The more involved you keep your priority wait-list members through pre-opening, the less cancellations you'll experience upon opening. 5. Move-In Coordination--Resident Satisfaction From Day One Moving to an assisted-living community can be an overwhelming experience for seniors. To assure resident satisfaction, coordinate a specific move-in process for the community. Especially during start-up, it is essential to have someone assist the marketing director in move-in coordination. Preferably, hire a temporary move-in coordinator or assign a staff member the responsibility of coordinating the move-in process from the point in which the marketing director signs a lease and schedules a move-in date. This process is important because it allows the marketing director to continue to focus on the job at hand--generating more residents for the community. A move-in package should be developed to include resources for moving companies, real-estate firms, storage facilities, change-of-address cards, resource contact names and numbers, building map and apartment location for the day of move-in and a move-in checklist. The move-in coordinator should be in contact with the resident prior to move-in and greet the resident, family and movers on the day of move-in. Often times, the resident and family are overwhelmed the day of moving into a community. Offering them complimentary lunch or dinner will go a long way in building a positive relationship from day one. A basket of tea, jellies and various necessary items brought by the executive director or Resident Hospitality Committee member during the first week of residency is another simple welcoming gesture that will help to set the tone of your community. Remember, positive resident satisfaction will result in referrals which translates into a successful community. Wendy A. Nowokunski is vice president of marketing for A*D*S Senior Housing, a provider of assisted-living retirement communities in New England. Prior to joining A*D*S, Ms. Nowokunski owned and operated W.A. Nowokunski & Associates, a consulting firm specializing in senior housing. She has more than 10 years experience in developing, marketing and managing senior-housing communities. She is a member of the Massachusetts Assisted Living Facilities Association, Assisted Living Facilities Association of America, National Association of Senior Living Industries, National Association of Home Builders and is a certified senior-housing marketing specialist by the National Council on Seniors Housing.
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