Resources & Blog

Bobby Sumner
Posted: Saturday, November 12, 2011

Necessity is the mother of reinvention

A community reinvented

Located in a resort development in Florida, Glenmoor opened in early 2001. In 2003, Retirement DYNAMICS was engaged to perform a marketing audit and was subsequently hired to provide full service marketing consulting. Within 18 months, the community achieved 95% occupancy and remained at that level or higher for the next 3 years. Then the real estate market began to deteriorate.  Also stung by the financial upheaval in 2007-2008, occupancy began to slide.  Nevertheless the community maintained an average occupancy near 90%.

Fast forward to 2010 - lead generation slowed and the sales pipeline began to shrink. Additionally, only half of the move-ins during 2009 and 2010 were coming from the PMA. Dramatic action was called for: the community would have to re-invent itself. Retirement DYNAMICS was hired once again to provide marketing and sales management services. RD made several recommendations that management approved which led to significant changes resulting in achieving new marketing heights.

Although traditionally a life care community, management allowed marketing to offer two types of Type C Contracts: bundled and unbundled.  We used the term “Life Choice.” This program reawakened some “dead” leads in the database—“Tell us about your new program…” Some Entrance Fees were adjusted to “market” conditions and more financial options were offered.

Knowing the community would need to increase leads by 50%, management agreed to a substantial increase in marketing budget. Without this commitment, the program may have failed. We changed the “message” to focus more on lifestyle, Life Choices and options which enabled the prospect to remain in control of the decision making process.

How did we do it?

• E-blasts to purchased lists in the PMA, key areas in the Northeast, Midwest and South Florida
• E-blasts to adult children in the PMA
• Newsletter to purchased list in the Northeast, Midwest and South Florida
• “Saturation” mailings to targeted areas within the PMA
• Doubled efforts in “hot” markets
• Search Engine Optimization
• Direct mail
• Some newspaper advertisements
• Events at the Community
• Events outside the PMA
• New “lifestyle” brochure
• New DVD

The results are now in!
Leads to date have almost doubled over 2010 and sales to date have doubled over last year. For 2011, the community is on target to triple 2010 sales.