Every senior living marketing representative knows the importance of persuading prospective residents to visit their community. Few of us would make a move sight unseen, and for seniors considering such a major life change, seeing often is believing.
Your sales process likely already includes getting prospects into the community for a tour, but don’t overlook the value of planned events. Persuading prospects to turn out is the first step, but by paying attention to the details, you can significantly increase your event ROI for lectures, informational luncheons, social gatherings and other marketing events.
Why are Events Critical to Your Marketing Program?
If you haven’t planned an event at your community, you may not have experienced the excitement that can build — before, during and after. Like all other humans, your prospective residents belong to a peer group, and they’re highly interested in what their peers think about you and your community. Through a well-planned, well-executed event, you can harness the power of brand evangelists — the subgroup of your prospects who strongly believe in your community and its mission — and spread that excitement to the larger group of prospective residents.
A great event can pay off in spades for your marketing program, providing opportunities for:
- Showing off your community at its best.
- Creating awareness and excitement among people who may not have visited previously.
- Building enthusiasm and a feeling of urgency to move among your prospective residents.
- Nurturing relationships. Team members and prospective residents can get to know each other better, and prospective residents will often plant the seeds of friendship with each other.
Last but not least, your event may even impress prospects so much that you take a reservation or two on the spot.
The Proof is in the Planning
The key to success, of course, is not just holding an event. It’s holding a special, memorable event that builds your community’s clout in your prospects’ minds. How do you do that? By planning every last detail.
Your planning process should start as far as possible in advance of your date to build in time for inevitable problems and changes. Your first challenge will be finding a space within your community that’s big enough for the group you wish to invite. In some communities, spaces are booked months in advance, so you’ll need to plan ahead.
If you haven’t been holding events on a regular basis, it’s a good idea to start with one and evaluate your success before planning more. But in the long term, building monthly or twice-monthly events into your marketing calendar can keep a steady stream of prospects coming into the community — potentially with less effort and cost and with more impact than inviting in first-time visitors individually.
Additional details you’ll need to consider include:
- Your purpose for the event. Is the goal increasing awareness of the community, selling specific residences, adding people to your waiting list, or other?
- Your guest list. The individuals you invite will follow from the purpose of the event. If you have individual residences you need to fill, for instance, you’ll want to focus on prospects who have indicated an interest in moving soon and, preferably, those who have expressed a desire for the specific residence type you have available.
- The format of the event. Social, informational or both?
- The program and menu, along with logistics of meal service. If you’ll have a buffet, will everyone go up at once, or will you ask each table to go individually? If meals are to be served, how many choices will be available? How many wait staff will you need on hand to ensure that drinks stay full throughout your program?
- How you’ll follow up with prospects afterward.
Handling the Big Day
On the day of your event, you can be absolutely sure of one fact: Something will go wrong. Maybe more than one something. Plan to practice patience and stay cool if disaster strikes, but take steps to ensure that your event goes off without a hitch.
- Check in on your room early to make sure it’s set up the way you want. Have some extra hands available to help you move tables and chairs if you don’t like the arrangement.
- Plan how guests will be greeted as they arrive and who will do the greeting. If guests have coats, who will take them, and where will you store them? Make sure to have pre-printed, easily readable name tags, and don’t be shocked if unannounced guests come along. Have some extra chairs and extra meals ready just in case.
- If your meeting is social, you and other marketing team members should mingle and be ready to make introductions. If it’s informational, be prepared with a well-planned program that will answer your prospects’ questions and leave them wanting to visit again.
Following Up to Maximize Your Event ROI
Planning a memorable event is important, but what you do afterward counts at least as much. Sit down with your team as soon as possible to debrief:
- How do they think the event went?
- What could have gone better, and what can go better next time?
- For prospects already in your sales funnel, have any changed position? Have any new prospects been added?
- What are the next steps in reaching out?
Within a day or two, all attendees should receive a personal thank-you call or handwritten note, and team members should focus special attention on interested prospects to advance them in the sales process. Meanwhile, breathe a sigh of relief that your event was a success — and start getting ready for the next one.
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