How do you know what you know is true? I’m not talking politics here, I’m talking about what we “know” to be true about senior living marketing. If you look at the current senior living marketing landscape, you’ll see the same phrases like “maintenance-free living” and “live your best life” used over and over. That suggests marketing professionals believe this is what their audience wants. Because marketing is supposed to meet the needs and desires of its audience. Right? But how do they know? If this is what the target audience really wants or desires, why is the sales cycle so long?
Did you know that Google AI says it takes an average of 25 touches to convert a prospect into a life plan resident over the course of 400+ days. The average homebuyer, on the other hand, views between 8 and 10 homes before making an offer within 10 weeks. Wouldn’t you love to shorten the senior living cycle? One way to do so is by leaning into surveys, which replace “common knowledge” with invaluable actionable knowledge. When you know what real people want, and it matches your services, conversions are simpler.
Survey Says…
It’s more than just a game show catch phrase! Surveys deliver authentic answers to the key questions sales and marketing teams should be asking themselves. And by asking the right questions to the right audience, a smart survey can result in a large number of leads for your team. By choosing the right type of survey, quiz or assessment, your audience wins by receiving tailored results, readiness scores, or a greater awareness of your product or benefits. You gain invaluable insights to help you craft more effective campaigns.
Ready, Respond, Engage
Today’s audiences of all ages start their purchase journeys by googling or consulting AI before they interact with a human. That makes the internet a fantastic option to gain greater insights into your prospective audience. You’ll make fewer guesses about what “they” want, and you can better align your campaign content to meet their needs. This is also an economical way to identify who wants to have a conversation with you, pinpointing your most qualified leads. And unlike a ‘free’ lunch-and-learn event, surveys aren’t generally limited to a specific number of respondents!
Knowing how effective lead-gen surveys are, Sabal Strategy is pleased to expand our scope of services to support our clients. We understand how busy you are, so our expert team can handle every step for you, including:
- The right data by assembling a targeted mailing list
- Developing and designing the survey format and the questions
- Managing the printing and mailing or digital deployment of the survey
- Collecting and collating the survey responses
- Analyzing and reporting on the survey responses
But you needn’t just take our word for it.
Surveys Spell Success
For Rochester Jewish Homes, Sabal provided the data for the mailing list and designed the format and developed the questions for their recent survey about a new service line. Then we mailed it to 25,000 individuals. The survey resulted in a total of 534 responses; 473 paper responses and 61 online responses. That was a total response rate of 2.1%, which is twice the industry benchmark.
Sabal Strategy modelled the data for the Ohio, Kentucky and Massachusetts markets for Kendal at Home KAH created their survey to understand the market’s interest in at home programs and to generate new leads. Sabal coordinated the print and mail process for 54,000 surveys. And we provided data entry for the 598 responses they received. This was a 1.1% response rate, which was slightly above the industry benchmark of 1%.
Newbury Court wanted to gauge the level of interest in an upcoming campus expansion. Sabal provided our design services to develop the survey, and then we coordinated the print and mail services. Surveys were sent to two separate audiences based on our data; one was an audience of 25,000 prospects and the second was 600 future residents. More than 500 responses were received, which was a 2+% response rate, more than double the industry benchmark.
But it’s not just about the number of responses. It’s about how the responses inform what comes next for both the community and its audience. Amanda Young, CEO of Longey Consulting, specializing in Continuing Care at Home programs commissioned a survey about a proposed new line of services in a specific market.
We made sure to include questions about the level of interest for the new service line (the primary purpose of the survey), and to identify who wished to be contacted in the future about the program. The survey helped us to understand which services, benefits, and pricing considerations we need to consider as we continue to develop this new service line. Sabal provided us with the right mailing list to target potential prospects, and they designed the survey using the organization’s branding for a professional and high quality appearance. The survey responses helped us further define the service line so we could take it to focus groups for more detailed feedback. All of this helps us develop a program that will meet the needs of the target consumers in this particular market. ~Angela Young
Less Guesswork, More Knowledge
Before you begin your next marketing campaign, it only makes sense to make your decisions based on knowledge instead of guesswork. Instead of spending your precious resources on the same-old event, with the same low attendance, and the same lack of conversions, isn’t it time to rethink your approach?
A smartly designed survey can:
- Deliver authentic information to your audience
- Guide your content creation
- Identify the most-qualified leads
- Offer marketing insights
- Provide your audience with next steps
But you need to take the first step. Reach out to Angela to learn more about what it takes to deliver a survey that delivers for both you and your audience. Together, we can deliver substantive information to transform guesswork into action-oriented knowledge.
