Top 10 positive and negative first impressions after touring 15 senior living communities in 3 days. (Part 1)
By Diane Twohy Masson My goal was to put myself in the shoes of the adult boomer child looking for the right retirement community for an aging senior parent. What would be his or her overall impression after viewing 3 to 5 senior living communities in a couple of days? What community would rise to the top and be their first choice?
What were my top 10 ten positive first impressions?
1) Smelling freshly baked chocolate chip cookies when I walked into the lobby.
2) As I drove up seeing perfectly manicured lawns, a good-looking building and some colorful flowers out front. (Flowers in pots by the front door looked great.)
3) Some kind of “wow” when I entered the lobby that would direct my eye to the beauty of the community and not see the walkers and wheel chairs. An example was seeing a gorgeous/expensive flower/plant arrangement on a circular table as I entered the lobby. Another retirement community had a beautiful living room area with a fireplace, a FRESH flower arrangement on the coffee table and happy residents conversing.
4) Having the receptionist stand to greet me with a smile and a handshake.
5) Being offered refreshments immediately (I was parched from all my touring!)
6) Having a marketer tailor the tour to the needs of my mom. They would bring each community space to life by painting a picture on how my mom would enjoy using it (based on her capabilities).
7) Being introduced to important staff that would be caring for my mom. It was especially impressive if they said, “We would love for your mom to live here.”
8) Having a housekeeper or caregiver smile at me as I walked down the hall. It gave me the impression that they were happy to work there and would smile at my mom.
9) Hearing the residents being called by name and looking happy.
10) Seeing vibrant activities taking place in a variety of community spaces. First impressions are everything to an adult boomer child trying to evaluate the best place for his or her senior parent.
What first impressions are your senior living staff and community giving out? Would you want your own mom to live there? Could you sleep at night, knowing your own mom lived at your community?
Next week: Diane Twohy Masson’s top 10 negative first impressions in touring 15 senior living communities in 3 days and how some senior living communities chose to put their proverbial foot in their mouth will be coming in part 2.
Diane Twohy Masson is the author of “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” available for sale at Amazon.com.
If your curiosity is peaked to inquire on Diane’s availability to coach your senior living marketing team (CCRC, independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing or memory care) or have her put on a sales retreat for your organization – please call: 206-853-6655 or email [email protected].
For more information:
Twitter: @market2seniors Web: www.marketing2seniors.net Blog: http://marketing2seniors.net/blog/
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Finally: If you know anyone who is looking at emergency call systems I would appreciate the opportunity to talk with them about Vigil Health Solutions.
From LinkedIn Groups
Thanks for sharing
Posted by Arun Gadre
From LinkedIn Groups
Steve, thanks for posting. Great article.
One of the new trends in senior communities is to have a large 40″-50″ TV in the Lobby displaying a custom channel with menus, activities, photos and a whole host of other personalised information.
In the communities we’ve installed this (www.InTouchLink.com), people touring the building have commented on how nice it is to see everything as soon as they walk in and how different it is from the stereotypical seniors home. They’ve mentioned that it gives much more of a ‘hotel’ style feel.
Posted by Jonathan Seliger
From LinkedIn Groups
I like the list of 10 positive things customers see in your community. In my visits around the country most communities do not accomplish all 10 satisfactory. I hope communities correct these short commings.
Posted by Charles Paulk
From LinkedIn Groups
When looking for a place for my Dad I looked for the same things. The only thing that wasn’t there were the cookies!
Posted by Cheryl L. Wolf, CA
From LinkedIn Groups
EACH AND EVERYTHING YOU POINT OUT ABOUT THE POSITIVE FIRST IMPRESSIONS IS RIGHT ON THE MONEY. WE OFTEN FORGET TO PUT OURSELVES IN THE CONSUMERS PLACE. THANK YOU
Posted by Anne Marie Quaranta
Great article, well said and to be expected! Good job!
I look for similar things when I do competitive evaluations of senior communities on behalf of clients. I’d also accept the smell of fresh brewed coffee available all day in or adjacent to the lobby/living room instead of the cookies! Very helpful information. I’m looking forward to your negatives list.
From LinkedIn Groups
First impressions are so important in senior living, it is a surprise that more communities don’t showcase their community in the best light.
Posted by Diane Masson
From LinkedIn Groups
Diane, it is regrettable that they don’t… but a surprise, really? I’ll try to briefly explain why I don’t find it surprising at all. There are just too many people involved who don’t care organically for customer service. Nurses for a notorious start, of course, but also maintenance, and quite a few in management too. They can be trained and drilled, but the Wow is still an accessory, a condiment in their eyes. It is not the main dish.
We can have a dozen meetings on this very subject, and everybody nods yes, yes, yes. But the same individuals will tape a crooked misspelled memo on the wall which all visitors can see, or ask families to complete faded xeroxes of xeroxes, or wait until half the lightbulbs in the buildings are dead before changing a bunch of them.
Our staff is dedicated, and extremely helpful. But they are just too close to the picture to see it and to understand the first impression factor.
Posted by Oliver Hazan
From LinkedIn Groups
Good article with great reminders. It didn’t, however, mention cleanliness and updated furniture and decor. As Jonathan mentioned, styles are always evolving in senior care communities. Make sure yours reflects current changes and technologies.
Posted by Regina G. Ford
From LinkedIn Groups
If they had your keen eye – Oliver – they would be in marketing…that is why you are so necessary to your community. Keep looking out for the customer…
Posted by Diane Masson
From LinkedIn Groups
It is clearly communicated to our staff that they are all part of our Marketing Team. We sell our house every day and first impressions are our highest priority next to keeping our current resident population comfortable, safe and highly engaged. We also invest highly in our staff. Happy Staff = Happy Residents.
Posted by Timothy Bishop
From LinkedIn Groups
And Happy Residents = Happy Staff!
Posted by Jack Cumming
thank you for a refresher course in how we not only showcase our own homes (talk to any realtor) and the top ten items are de facto for presenting the residential property the successful real estate agents would most assuredly advise. good to see how the two are directly synonymous with the first impression, is the lasting impression.
From LinkedIn Groups
I couldn’t agree more, customer buying decision are not made in just one moment but in 100 little moments. I know it many may be believed that it is the sales professional that “closes” the sale, but I believe that it is the sales professional that helps the customer get to the place where they are ready to make a buying decsion, the community teams are the closers!
Posted by Kelly Singleton-Myers
From LinkedIn Groups
I actually created a training where I “toured” the staff as if they were looking for a place for their parents. We started outside and went from there. They were encouraged to ask a lot of questions and comment on things they liked or found negative. This training gave them a new “set of eyes” at least for a while. We would do the training in small groups and more than once a year.
Posted by Mary Harden
From LinkedIn Groups
Excellent idea Mary!
Posted by Diane Masson
From LinkedIn Groups
Couldn’t agree more Steve. The positive impressions mentioned should be a must for every home. Every prospective resident deserves nothing less as this will become their home away from home.
Posted by Antoinette Barzotto
You know steve we have talked about first impressions before, and I was in a community this week and I have to say maybe we have talked too much about first impressions. This community has a lovely entrance around a lake with great architecture and professional appealing landscaping. The entry was marble and beyond that you looked into a lovely dining room with cloth napkins and upscale dinner wear ,beyond that was a lovely atrium. There wasn’t a smell of cookies but the rest of the equation was there.The concierge desk looked nothing like a nurses station and there were classy comfy chairs to relax in while beautiful music played, I must say I was impressed, until I got the tour.
It wasn’t far before I noticed wear and tear in random areas, but I thought it is difficult in a large community to avoid that. This was a CCRC and I had entered as directed through assisted living, but it became apartment they put their best foot forward and after that …..well it was sad. It seems each level of care was more delapidated. More wear and tear and obvious flooring that needed replaced in assisted living,no more marble but Formica, but that looked great in comparison to the skilled nursing. You can imagine you have seen it….VCT floors and thread bear carpet, furniture literally falling apart, no common areas with comfy classy chairs, a decor that was two decades old and small two person rooms not big enough to hold a chair for a visitor. I cried when I left as I often do.
While I had a great first impression it was the last impression that will stay with me. It is this kind of sad environment that our loved ones are subjected to that keeps me doing what I am doing. I want to just scream, at almost 6000 a month this is what our seniors are reduced to. Something is dreadfully wrong. I think we all better wake up and smell the cookies.
Hi Kathy
You make a great point. Part of the problem is that at times we become more focused on making our numbers . . . making the community profitable or more profitable. Those things are not inherently bad but creating a quality of life for the residents needs to be the most important thing and if it is the most important thing, the rest will follow.
Steve
To me it’s all about the people. I see from time to time, companies focus on the cookies, the lawn and the paint. It certainly matters but it doesn’t matter most. I met with an operator just yesterday that shared with me their passion to put people in the right places at the right times, how being there when it matters most is what matters most. The compassion I’ve seen in our senior living industry is inspiring. I see care givers, CNAs, Nurses and therapists changing lives every day. The people we surround ourselves with change how we live our own lives. The senior living providers that choose the very best people always seem to make the best choices when it comes to the services they provide. I’d ask any “tourist” to ask the provider what their mission is and make sure it’s in line with how they want their loved one to live their life. Is the lobby where all the money is spent? Is it all cookies and cream or is there a real sense of responsibility and compassion evident when you interact with the staff, the community’s partners, the other families and residents. What do they value? When I ask these questions about my family, my mom, my father, it’s really pretty basic. I don’t get fooled to often by the bells and whistles. I want to ensure that my loved ones’ dignity, respect and independence are the focus of the staff that provides the tour. I want to ensure that a fair portion of the money that I invest in my family’s care actually impacts the quality of that care. Don’t get fooled by the sugar cookies.
From LinkedIn Groups
There is a constant struggle to keep the activity room neat and tidy. Especially the kichen area. There just doesn’t seem to be enough space to get everything organized. We are always in a rush to tidy up when we know there will be a tour coming through. I think it is nice to leave some bits and pieces of current projects laying out because it provides a conversation point to discuss with the prospective resident and shows that the residents are constantly busy, whether it’s playing games or working on our charity projects.
Posted by Merida Schott
From LinkedIn Groups
The activity room is a multi-purpose room. Everything from exercise, physio, movies, baking, crafting, church service, speakers, happens in this room. Although it is difficult to keep it looking picture perfect, it also tells a story when prospective residents tour the facility.It is in essence, a room where activities happen. That is a good thing.
Posted by Antoinette Barzotto
From LinkedIn Groups
@ Rodney – your comments are 100% ‘spot on’. I come from the CCRC industry, but the points apply to both groups, in my view. Wow…after 20+ years in sales/marketing in the senior living industry, you have nailed the issues on the head. Each of your bullet points are accurate and well-placed. I do not know you, but clearly you know what you are talking about. Kuddos!
Posted by Alissa Searcy