If the seniors housing industry is ever going to emerge from its current census slump, then rigorous and modern marketing efforts seem like a great way to start. However, many small regional operators and mom & pops have barely left the 20th century in their marketing strategies, and their websites show it. The truth is that they may have been operating just fine for years, but with a lot of new competition and a more tech-savvy clientele, that may not be an option anymore. And they will continue to lose out to the larger, national operators that can afford a comprehensive and state-of-the-art marketing strategy. Also, for the industry as a whole, better marketing can also improve seniors housing’s image and raise that all-important penetration rate, in addition to filling more units today.
Frustrated with the lack of innovation in seniors housing digital marketing, Evans Senior Investments has launched a new venture with Denver marketing firm IVelocity to provide a better solution for their clients. Already connected with many of those regional operators and mom & pops through their brokerage business, Evans’ new venture, Evans Senior Marketing (ESM), will bring together their expertise in the industry with IVelocity’s more technical marketing capabilities.
With the primary goal of increasing the number of tours at the communities, ESM will help bring their websites to 2019 standards, fine-tune their message to both inform and attract potential residents, improve their SEO (search engine optimization), and more. Monthly and quarterly progress reviews will help keep the operators on track with turning around their occupancy. As we know, improved occupancy makes the operator less reliant on discounting to fill units, which improves their bottom line. That makes everybody involved happier. Stronger operations may also make the decision to sell easier, and we imagine Evans will be right there for that.
Since officially starting the business this past Friday, ESM has already signed four clients, with many more sure to follow in the coming weeks.
