Most marketing professionals use every resource available to them and are always on the prowl for good deals. Whether you’re paying for ad space, web hosting, printing or even staffing, it’s likely that you’re squeezing your marketing pennies until they yell, “Uncle!”
But is it possible that you’re overlooking a potential marketing treasure chest that’s right under your nose? In some senior living communities, residents and marketing are separate — and never the twain shall meet. The line of thinking goes that because residents aren’t employees, asking them to participate in the marketing program means relinquishing control over messaging and presentation.
The truth is your residents represent decades of professional expertise and knowledge in a range of fields — and many are more than willing to help you put the community’s best foot forward for the sake of keeping occupancy high. With some planning and training, you can incorporate resident volunteers into your marketing program in ways that add value for you, for them and for your future residents. Consider recruiting residents to help you in three main categories of marketing activities:
1. Acting as Ambassadors
The possibilities are virtually limitless when you begin building a troop of resident marketing ambassadors. Your ambassadors can serve any number of functions:
- Providing tours on weekends, evenings, holidays and times when you’re short-staffed.
- Agreeing to show their residences during tours with prospects.
- Helping with staff marketing events.
- Serving as lunch or dinner companions for prospective residents and their families.
How helpful each of these functions will be to you depends on details specific to your community. For instance, if you have a large number of floor plans and very high occupancy — and especially if your community lacks a model residence — it can be extremely helpful to have residents living in each type of residence who are willing to show their homes. If you only have a few floor plans and you nearly always have vacant residences you can show, having residents ready to show their homes won’t be as helpful to you.
If you do choose to use marketing ambassadors for tours, marketing events or as home showers, training is important. Plan to schedule a training session at least quarterly in which you review community policies and frequently asked questions.
2. Creating Content
It’s likely that some of your residents have experience with professional writing, and some may have even been marketing or PR executives prior to retirement. Why not request their assistance with reporting on community events for your website or newsletter?
If your community holds interesting events — such as talks by well-known academics or authors, musical performances or art exhibitions — posting resident-written articles to your website can help get the word out to the community. And the more quality content you post, the more likely it is that your site will rank well for desirable keywords.
If you have some residents who love to write and are handy with the computer, they might even be interested in assisting with — or fully producing — a quarterly or monthly newsletter you can send to prospects.
3. Public Speaking
If you’re holding marketing events on a regular basis, you can use resident speakers. Prospective residents love hearing from current residents because they feel that they’re getting the “real deal” rather than marketing-speak. You can recruit a small group of residents to take turns saying a few words at your events, or you can plan entire events around resident speakers — such as an “ask-a-resident” panel discussion.
Groups in the greater community also typically are on the lookout for interesting speakers. If you have retired professors, scientists, doctors, government officials or business professionals in your community, you have the potential to start a speakers’ bureau. You can gather photos and brief biographical information about your speakers and market your group through your website or social media.
Recognizing Your Resident Volunteers
Resident volunteers don’t want your precious marketing dollars. But they would appreciate your heartfelt thanks and gratitude. If you begin incorporating resident volunteers into your marketing activities, thanking them frequently is smart. But it’s also wise to spend a few marketing dollars to send some formal recognition their way with a periodic big event — a quarterly or annual luncheon works well. An appearance by your CEO with some words of thanks could be the icing on the cake.
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