I recently learned a new word to describe what we’re all going through: skimpflation. Coined by Planet Money on NPR, it refers to the ways in which brands reduce services instead of raising prices. For example, hotels cut back on housekeeping at the start of the pandemic. Two years later, it has become the norm unless you’re staying at a 5-star hotel. The whole idea struck a nerve as I considered why the major chains have had to implement this policy. Their reasons, labor and materials, make this an effective financial decision. Which is why high-end hotels likely haven’t seen the need to adopt the practice.
Labor and materials. Sound familiar? For senior living communities, hiring well-qualified staff, the rising costs of food, energy, and everything else you can name mean CFOs are facing daily budget challenges. And that led me to consider how your marketing budget is likely facing increased pressure to deliver the results and ROI. You know it’s getting more difficult to drive new, qualified leads through your sales funnel. And whether you’re relying on the usual playbook or you’ve begun to experiment, I think it’s time to pivot.
More or Less
This isn’t another article about doing more with less because the reality is that you can’t. But an omnichannel marketing strategy can deliver the results you need even within a more constrained budget. How? I’m so glad you asked!
Direct mail has become one of the priciest elements of a marketing strategy. The cost of paper has been skyrocketing. The paper market has been so volatile that pricing can only be guaranteed for up to 30 days. That makes a one-off direct mail campaign an expensive tactic. But direct mail works. Your target market responds to it. So, if you’re going to make a print investment, an omnichannel approach gives you the ability to stretch your budget dollars by increasing the number of touch points and ways you reach that target audience with a cohesive and unified campaign.
When you choose Sabal Group as your omnichannel partner, you’ll also get the benefit of our highly targeted data lists to find a prospective audience that looks like your current residents and members. Email and digital ads are a smart investment when designed to complement your direct mail campaign. Sabal Group can take your print data list and discover your audience’s digital devices’ IDs, their preferred platforms where they consume content, and their email addresses for about 70-80% of the list. Our data expertise gives us an edge in how we target the right audience for you.
Targeting Your Audience
You might have missed it if you’re not tracking Facebook policies diligently. (Which is probably most of us!) As of January 19, 2022, Facebook has reduced the number of options for detailed targeting of your audience for your business ads. This means you can no longer target an audience based on “options related to topics people may perceive as sensitive, such as causes, organizations, or public figures that relate to health, race or ethnicity, political affiliation, religion, or sexual orientation.” If you’re in senior living, and you’re using Facebook ads to reach adult children, Baby Boomers, and members of the Silent Generation, your targeting options are going to be impacted. And yes, all three groups are on Facebook! But Sabal’s clients don’t need to worry about this. Our digital ad specialists use other tools to get your ad in front of your audience.
When you combine the economical benefits of digital with the persuasive benefits of print, you’ll see better results and a higher ROI on your investment. It’s why omnichannel marketing makes the most sense in the topsy-turvy world of 2022. If you’d like to know more about our proprietary audience modeling or how we can find and target your audience across multiple platforms, I hope you’ll give me a call. I’d love to chat with you about the Sabal difference. I truly believe our omnichannel approach can make a difference in your marketing campaign.
