This document provides tips on how to maximize senior living leads from online sources. It recommends developing a well-planned, disciplined marketing strategy focused on relationship building and addressing customer needs. Key aspects to focus on include understanding the market and competitors; ensuring your solution matches customer wants and needs; defining a clear target audience; crafting a consistent, value-based message; choosing platforms aligned with your audience; analyzing results and making adjustments; fostering a customer-centric culture; and creating a long-term customer engagement plan through word-of-mouth. The goal is to attract new customers and deepen relationships with existing ones through quality leads and high customer satisfaction over the long run.

2. How to maximize senior living leads from
online sources and directories
Anneline Breetzke & Debbie Raphael, @ComfortLife

3. overview
 Introduction
 Trend: Relationship Marketing
 Maximize your leads
 Choosing the right websites & sources
 Summary

4. Introduction
Successful Marketing:
 Well-planned (thought through)
 Disciplined (clear processes)
 Step-by-step (functional plan)
 Non-reactive (vs ‘winging it’)
 Able to execute (tools & resources needed)

5. Introduction
Maximizing leads comes primarily in:
 Attracting new customers (both senior & ACI)
 Keeping (and ‘growing’) existing customers
Customer-centred Marketing – new & existing
Long haul marketing strategy

6. Trend: Relationship Marketing
“78% trust peer recommendations -
only 14% trust traditional ads.”
- Erik Qualman, Author Socialnomics
TREND: Relationship Marketing
Create long-term fans = word-of-mouth

7. Trend: Relationship Marketing
Relationship Marketing:
 Goal: Building stronger loyalty and long-term
customer engagement
 Brand Ambassadors/Advocates
 Personalised, data-driven marketing vs
Intrusive, impersonal mass marketing
Customer-centred Marketing – new & existing
Long haul marketing strategy

8. “People buy from those they
KNOW, LIKE and TRUST.”
- Kim Garst, Boom Social
Building an emotional connection between your
customer and your brand.
Trend: Relationship Marketing

9. “Smart marketing is about
HELP – not hype.”
- Jay Baer, Author #Youtility
Create value in order to capture value.
Manage expectations and performance.
Trend: Relationship Marketing

10. Maximize Your Leads
 Your market (competitors & intermediaries)
 Your solution (needs/wants)
 Your target group (buyer profile)
 Your message – how you package it
 Your platform choice (web usage)
 Your analysis & correction
 Your organization’s culture
 Your long-term post-purchase plan

11. Your market
Know your market:
 Environment (Demographic, economic etc)
 Customer insights
 Intelligence: consumers, competitors & developments
 Research & analysis
 Intermediaries & partners

12. Your solution
Are you solving a pain-point?
 Match up between needs/wants and your solution
 Needs/wants different for seniors vs ACI (Adult Child
Influencer)
 Marketing myopia
 focusing only on existing wants, losing sight of underlying
consumer needs
 What about long-term solution?

13. Your Solution
How we market retirement
Source: comfortlife.ca member communities

14. Your Solution
What families ask about
Source: comfortlife.ca family queries

15. “Focusing on solving the problem,
will inadvertently promote your product.”
- Webeasy.me
The larger the gap between expectation & performance,
the greater the consumer’s dissatisfaction.
Your solution

16. Purchase Decisions
The decision to purchase is strongly affected by the
attitudes of others.
Post purchase decision is affected by the satisfaction or
lack of that a customer feels about the decision.
(Expectations vs Performance)
Customer satisfaction

17. Your target group
Have you clearly defined your ideal buyer profile/s?
Different profiles require a different marketing mix and
Marketing strategy.
Knowing WHO you are speaking to will determine
message tone, placement and content.

18. Your message
 Clear, distinct & consistent
 Targeted
 Superior value and honesty (no hype)
 How your offering is different from competitors
 Emotional connection

19. “People buy from those they
KNOW, LIKE and TRUST.”
- Kim Garst, Boom Social
Building an emotional connection between your
customer and your brand.
Trend: Relationship Marketing

20.  Fear
 Guilt
 Trust
 Value
 Belonging
 Competition
 Instant Gratification
 Time
Purchase Decisions
Building an
emotional
connection.

21. Your platform choice
 Choose the best platforms for your:
 message
 target audience
 Integrative marketing (story)
 Different aspects better suited to different platforms
 Assess websites/online directories
 Internet usage patterns

22. Making the right choice
• Who do they target? (aligned with your services)
• How do they derive their leads? (quality of leads)
• What is their cost structure?
• Track results and provide feedback?
Assessing websites and online sources to
determine if they will help you maximize leads.

23. Making the right choice
• Do they include a link to your website?
• Is it a good and reputable resource?
• Ease of use?
• How much traffic and what kind of traffic?
Assessing websites and online sources to
determine if they will help you maximize leads.

24. Qualify Your Online Lead
• How did you find us? How did you hear about us?
• Treat your Online Lead as you would a ‘walk-in’.
• Fast response time – within 24hrs.
• Qualify your lead.
• Pay attention to their needs/wants.
• Always include the next step.
• Follow-up

25. Your analysis & correction
 Track, monitor and listen
 Make adjustments as you go along
 Turn criticism to your advantage
 Control brand attitude

26. “If you build a great experience,
Customers tell each other about that.
Word of mouth is very powerful.”
- Jeff Bezos
Marketing is everyone’s job.
Your culture

27. Your culture
 Marketing is everyone’s job (4th Marketing P)
 Culture that pervades through the entire community
 Experience and product lines blurred
 Culture affects marketing and conversions

28. Your long-term plan
 Buzz marketing – word of mouth
 Long-term value – peer recommendations
 Growth plan for existing customers
 Societal marketing
 Reputation

29. About Comfort Life
 Canada’s #1 guide to retirement & care
(annual print guide and online at
www.comfortlife.ca)
 100% target audience of decision
makers searching for information about
retirement communities and care.
 We are now open for bookings for the
2016-2017 Annual Membership.
 The Comfort life magazine will be
published and distributed again this
coming October.

30. Summary
 Your market (competitors & intermediaries)
 Your solution (needs/wants)
 Your target group (buyer profile)
 Your message – how you package it
 Your platform choice
 Your analysis & correction
 Your organization’s culture
 Your long-term post-purchase plan

31. Conclusion
Happy customer = happy brand 

32. Questions?
Anneline Breetzke @ComfortLife