For those of you who follow @CreatingResults on Twitter* you know that last week was the annual meeting of LeadingAge, which is “an association of 6,000 not-for-profit organizations dedicated to making America a better place to grow old.” It represents homes and services for the aging.
Creating Results was at the conference sharing white papers, case studies and knowledge with senior communities pros from around the country via booth 1747. We also were live tweeting (reporting, but in bursts of 140 characters of less) from many excellent sessions. Which explains why this week’s round-up of links for mature marketing have a senior living slant.
#LeadingAge14 insights, however, apply to all organizations trying to improve their results with baby boomers and seniors.
(NOT a stock photo. This is a photo taken this morning of my Walkman, a best-ever birthday gift I received two years ago.)
1. MOST SHARED: “In some of our communities we are like Walkmans. We haven’t changed to meet what people now want.”
Robert Snyder of Stonetrust Partners made this statement at LeadingAge on Tuesday, and audiences in Nashville and on Twitter flicked their virtual Bics in agreement.
Snyder was part of a panel on Partnership and Experiential Marketing, along with CR’s own Todd Harff and Paul Duffy of North Hill senior living. His point was that many continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) are stuck in the past — old buildings, gated locations removed from the larger community, “programs” foisted upon residents rather than innovative and engaging lifestyle.
Prospective residents and buyers are not stuck in the past, of course. They’ve abandoned their Walkmans and embraced newer 50+ housing options. They’re also pushing senior living communities and other services to adapt to their demands, desires and dreams.
RELATED: Partnerships are just one way of transitioning a service or residence to become the “iChoice” of today’s older adults. Download handouts and a white paper here: http://creatingresults.com/experiential-marketing
2. TWEETED & REPEATED: A few more items from LeadingAge caught people’s attention last week. They’re all about walking the walk to up your metrics-driven marketing game.
– “Occupancy is the result of a long process of lead generation, marketing & sales.” Investors need whole story. @HJSims — Is your team taking a long term view, and accurately reporting their short term progress towards goals?
– “Doesn’t matter what we do, we ask how can technology help us do this more efficiently & effectively.” @jennenebuckley of Feros Care. Jennene’s team is using off the shelf technology to help Australia’s seniors stay in their homes for longer, with exciting emphasis on social wellness and interactivity.
– Context: as elderly population increases, so does number of adult child influencers. As represented by this chart, shown on Wednesday:
3. MOST CLICKED: I called it the headline win of the week. “The 50-Year Orgasm” also is an in-depth look at the ageless business of love.
Online dating is a top activity for older adults, as we noted in our Social, Silver Surfers ebook:
“[T]he use of Online Dating sites/communities was influenced by relationship status. Nearly 4% of Married folks [we surveyed] said they had used them (hopefully before they were married), 21% of Singles had and 36% of those in a Committed Relationship had spent some time on Match, OkayCupid and the like. Singles also reported using Classmates and YouTube at a higher rate than the average.”
FastCompany reporter Carol Reed points out that online dating has evolved with older adults, who are a big reason for the dominance of Match.com, the dominant service:
“Match.com … with its relaxed let’s-have-coffee-first approach, was, and is, the first choice of baby boomers, who seem more interested in long-term partners than slap-and-tickle buddies (not that there’s anything wrong with that). They’re also, it seems, willing to fill out the site’s time-consuming profiles.”
Read the article: http://bit.ly/1wuWSf6
Get the ebook: http://amzn.to/HSH0yD
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