If ever there was a need to capture and engage all your qualified prospects, this is it. That means you can’t rely on using a single platform, such as digital marketing, to reach them all. Doing so can result in leaving hundreds of leads on the table. What you need is a multichannel marketing strategy that uses multiple tools and platforms in order to reach and engage with all your prospects. That’s what making quota is all about.
This is especially true for all types of events. Before the pandemic, you were most likely focused on live, onsite tours and events. What better way to show off your community, right? But, when the pandemic hit, like everyone else, you had to quickly switch gears to Zoom events and virtual tours. A challenging, but necessary shift.
Some folks are ready to venture out again. Some aren’t. All are your prospects. Multichannel marketing finds them all.
Now, as we begin to emerge from the pandemic, we’re seeing a gradual return to live events. So, for some communities, the temptation may be to return to those wine and cheese gatherings and tours.
Not so fast. Data indicates that, while some folks are ready to venture out to events again, others aren’t. Many have grown comfortable with virtual tools and prefer to either participate in a live streaming event or watch, on-demand, a recorded event.
The key is to find ways to engage with both groups. You’ll need to target them at multiple touchpoints. And you’re going to need a deeper set of consumer data to do it right.
Multichannel marketing can’t work alone.
Your senior living multichannel marketing is in place, and you’re connecting with more potential residents. But that’s not enough. It’s always necessary to track prospects, reach out to them, and encourage conversion. Here are some things to think about as you prepare your event marketing strategy for 2022.
- Many of your website visitors will leave without giving you their contact data. Who are they and why did they visit in the first place? We can answer these questions using a patented re-targeting technology that not only provides names and addresses but also details like age, income-producing assets, radius to the community, and more.
- While on-site events are coming back, prospects prefer to attend seminars hosted at local restaurants, rather than at your community. Not only is it less intimidating, but restaurants have been especially transparent and stringent with their health protocols.
- Your webinar platform should be easy to use, automate many of the steps, and include interactive capabilities for attendees.
- You should use direct mail to invite prospects to your events. Direct mail has gained outstanding traction over the last year. Fundera reports direct mail open rates of up to 90%, even higher when the mailer is personalized. And the response rate to mailers is 5-9 times higher than any other advertising channel.
Your takeaways
The pandemic has shaken up marketing for senior living communities. Business as usual is no longer a good strategy. Your 2022 budget needs to reflect programs that utilize all your tools, not just one or two. When you’re ready to get started, give us a shout. We’ll put together a solution to make sure you are able to reach all your prospects!
Not ready to commit yet? Download our 2022 Live and Virtual Events Marketing Guide & Planning Calendar.
