MARKETING & SALES: FROM CRAFTING INTEGRATED CAMPAIGNS TO MANAGING EXPECTATIONS TO DELIVERING CONSISTENT RESULTS

You can build one of the best CCRC’s in your region, but if no one knows about it your efforts could go unrewarded. And that's just one facet of your community’s marketing and sales effort – which should be integrated, focused and consistent if you want to successfully launch and sustain your population.

If this is your first community, you can either try your luck or draw on the experience of The Asbury Group to fulfill your mission – and fill those units. Those who choose the former may suffer a number of obstacles along the way, such as –

• Ineffective lead generation
• Lack of planning, poorly targeted advertising and public relations campaigns
• Lack of qualified leads
• Untrained or unskilled sales staff that can’t close the deal
• Poor understanding of both marketing and sales disciplines
• Lack of accountability for meeting expectations
• No roadmap with specific tactics, responsibilities and timelines
• Poor image, market perceptions
• High turnover of and/or inconsistent staffing of sales people
• Awkward transition from initial marketing campaign to ongoing efforts that maintain or increase census
• Inability to manage resident expectations of service quality
• Inconsistent, ineffective communications with prospective and current residents.

Some organizations are very good at bringing in the initial wave of residents, but not as good when it comes to ongoing marketing efforts. Residents will come and go, but there will always be the need to market your community, no matter how full it may be at any given moment. That’s why it helps to have plans that encompass every phase of your marketing – and we're here to help you do just that.

Of course, marketing is only as good as a community’s sales force. Unless you have well-trained sales reps who stay with you year in and year out, much of your marketing investment could be wasted. To prevent that from occurring, we’ve developed systems and procedures that can be adapted to virtually any CCRC – including yours.

An important part of marketing and customer service is managing expectations. That's where communications plays an especially crucial role. For example, some residents may tell you they weren’t aware there would be a rate increase; others might not understand the financial statements you send out. We can help you coach your counselors on the important features of your financial’s before you distribute them to residents to make sure their expectations are in line with your service delivery.