Senior Living
Highlights
Coordinated a Brand Team and spearheaded a major rebrand of a stale, nearly 90-year-old, legacy brand. Created a strategic marketing plan and budget, developed a new logo, tag line and key messages, new website, new ads, new collaterals, new media and PR strategies, new engaging resident events and new sales driven marketing events. Results - increased new resident applications by 110% and new admissions by 100% during the 2009 Great Recession.
Selected trade partners and led the transition of community’s marketing efforts from traditional print- broadcast-based to a vibrant digital lead and sales generating organization years before most non-profit Senior Living communities. Resluts - Increased lead generation by 300%, inquiry to tour conversion rate of 105% (15% national average) and recovered to pre-pandemic occupancy in August 2021 months/years ahead of most state and national communities.
Partnered with website and SEO/SEM companies to transition the static website into an interactive site. Thoroughly optimized the site with key words, added several conversion tools, added a survey, videos, floor plans, tracking phone numbers and autochat. Website was integrated with digital advertising/marketing efforts and with the marketing automation platform for a smooth customer journey. Increased monthly website visits by 60% and qualified digital leads by 300%.
Researched and implemented new CRM and Marketing Automation platforms. The sales team is now more thoroughly engaged with the new CRM because of ease of use, interactive ability and follow-up reminders/tools. Using the newly created marketing automation platform, implemented lead nurturing campaigns, e-newsletters, eblasts, call tracking, automated review requests, etc.
During the Pandemic, created a program called “Buy Now, Move Later” allowing prospects to use the website to view videos of all available apartments on the website, download the application, complete paperwork with either DocuSign or download and mail it in, and move in when they felt safe. This was all promoted with a full digital (SEO/SEM) component. When the Pandemic restrictions ended, people moved in quickly and this Senior Living community was one of the first in the State and country to achieve (and exceed) pre-Pandemic occupancy restoring occupancy to all-time highs. This also resulted in a 30% increase in the Priority Wait List.
Opened 100,000 square feet of new living space. Created and implemented successful pre-marketing and grand opening events, filled the apartment building and memory care eight months before projections. With consistent marketing, occupancy has remained at nearly 100% since fill-up.
Developed employee “branded” engagement model, “My Team Member Promise,” leveraged as an on-boarding and on-going tool to influence how employees engage with residents and each other. Also created and instituted the “Tobey Award of Excellence” award - where team members, residents, family members and community members can nominate those employees who have demonstrated living the brand. Team members are consistently rewarded for their efforts.
Initiated and developed first of its kind, multi–Senior Living community educational marketing event. Because of its popularity, this event has been held twice a year for eight years, touring over 1,200 prospects and improving the perception of “retirement living.” It also won a state-wide award.
Certifications
Leading Age Washington
Leadership Institute Fellow
Leadership Institute Coach
Community & Sales Event Highlights
Buy Now, Move Later Program
During the Pandemic, created a program called “Buy Now, Move Later” allowing prospects to use the website to view videos of all available apartments on the website, download the application, complete paperwork with either DocuSign or download and mail it in, and move in when they felt safe, all promoted with a full digital (SEO/SEM) component. When the Pandemic restrictions ended, people moved in quickly and this Senior Living community was one of the first in the State and country to achieve (and exceed) pre-Pandemic occupancy.
Drive Through Parade at Franke Tobey Jones
During the Pandemic family members and visitors were not allowed to visit residents for over a year which was emotional and heart breaking for everyone involved. Team members hosted weekly hallway happy hours, fitness programs were moved to the hallways and everything was being done to keep residents safe, well and engaged. However, after several months it was just so difficult, that we created a “drive through” parade so family members and friends could at least get “eyes on” their loved ones who were all doing well. We invited everyone to decorate their cars and cruise through our 20 acre campus…and invited residents (including assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing with care givers) to line the route. It was absolutely amazing! We expected 20 cars and over 100 showed up, blocked neighborhood streets the duration of the parade. People were so thrilled to see each other. This also garnered stories on two broadcast evening news stations, 12,000 FTJ Facebook engagements, and stories in several local newspapers. It was the right thing to do! It was so popular, we hosted a second parade shown in this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3Gt3lbCLKU
Tacoma Senior Living Tour
The thought of moving to a senior living community typically conjures up thoughts, images and smells of your grandma’s nursing home. Today, senior living is not like that at all. Most senior living communities are modern, beautiful and wonderful places to live. The goal was to develop an educational event in which seniors could visit five communities in one day, taste their food, see their common areas and apartments, and meet residents. Five competing communities came together to host this event in 2014, and it’s been so wildly popular, the event has been hosted twice a year ever since to an at capacity crowd each time. Over 1,200 seniors have participated, all with rave reviews, and many have moved into these communities.
Priority Perks Program
I created the Priority Perks program to decrease the time it takes for a prospect to make a deposit to move in, and then decrease the time it takes to actually move in. The Priority Perks Passport features 10 Perks – 10 ways depositors can start enjoying FTJ TODAY. Once they start enjoying the FTJ benefits, the goal is they will move in sooner. For those taking advantage of these Perks, FTJ has seen a quicker move in rate. If only one person moves in one month sooner than originally planned (and there have been more than one), FTJ avoids the loss of income from an empty apartment ($2,500-$6,000 per apartment per month). Cost of program: $358.
Memory Point Added Value Prospect Tour
With increased competition and prospects taking longer to make a buying decision, I created a prospect tour that would stand out among the competition and be exceptionally memorable...ultimately to drive sales quicker. To create several WOWS! along the tour route, prospects are given memorable items that tie into FTJs competitive advantages and lifestyle. After this program was implemented, in the first six months sales/admissions were up nearly 20% over the same time period the previous year. The cost of the entire program for six months was $1,460. The national average cost for one move-in at $4,500.
Care Center and Luxury Apartment Grand Opening
Opened 100,000 square feet of new living space in a Care Center and a luxury apartment building. I created, and the team helped implement, successful pre-marketing and grand opening events which resulted in filled the apartment building and memory care eight months before projections. With consistent marketing, occupancy has remained at nearly 100% since fill-up.
Senior Prom for Pierce County
Franke Tobey Jones has a rich and deep history as a wonderful non-profit continuing care retirement community with a mission “To enrich and extend the quality of life for seniors in our community.” We raise money annually and open our community every day of the year for all seniors who live in Tacoma/Pierce County to participate in our wellness/fitness programs and our Senior University classes. For this particular event, instead of having seniors come to us, we decided to create an event that we would bring to the greater Tacoma/Pierce County community. Our goal was to develop a fun, upbeat, interactive event that anyone age 55 or better could attend. Hence the Community Senior Prom. It ended up being so successful that it was held for eight years straight. In fact, it became so popular, the event had to be moved to an event space double the size. The event was great PR for Franke Tobey Jones, and was a perfect event for our not-for-profit 403(b) status.
Wellness Walk and Fair at Franke Tobey Jones
The Annual Wellness Walk and Fair is a way to showcase Franke Tobey Jones’ excellent Wellness/Fitness Program which many residents and several hundred non-resident seniors participate, and to invite this group as well as the general senior public to join in a morning of short walks around campus, a Wellness Fair and a light snack. It’s an anticipated event each fall.
Artfully Aging - Senior Art Show (statewide event)
Franke Tobey Jones mission is “To enrich and extend the quality of life for seniors in our community.” One of the goals of our Senior University program, open to anyone 55 or better, is to keep seniors intellectually and creatively engaged. The FTJ mission and the Senior University goal inspired the creation of the FTJ Senior Art Show. It showcases outstanding artwork from Pacific Northwest artists age 55 and better who have continued to be creative throughout their senior years. Since the inception, ten shows have been curated and exhibited at FTJ and the last five have moved to the Tacoma Art Museum.
Awards & Accomplishments
SENIOR LIVING
Awards given by Leading Age Washington—the State Association for approximately 180 participating Not-For-Profit Senior Living Communities. Award program started in 2015 while working as Senior Director of Marketing and PR at Franke Tobey Jones.
Leading Age Washington Excellence in Sales and Marketing Awards:
JUDGES INNOVATION AWARD
Won for creating and implementing the “Tacoma Senior Living Community Tour”
GOLD AWARDS
Best Social Accountability Event in the State of Washington for the “Senior Prom”
Digital Marketing Excellence for exceptional results in digital marketing
Marketing Event to Drive Sales and Occupancy for “Priority Perks Program”
SILVER AWARDS
Community Outreach Event for Senior Art Show (for seniors in WA State)
Digital Marketing Excellence for SEO/SEM transformation
Event to Drive Sales and Occupancy for “Memory Point Added Value Tour Concept”
Social Media Marketing for Facebook Ad Campaign
Brochures and Collaterals for “customizable collaterals for each prospect”
Traditional Advertising for 30 second television ad
Digital Marketing for e-newsletter
Video Marketing for “9 one-minute videos”
Proficiencies
Strategic marketing plan and budget creation
Start-up marketing
Brand development/management
Data driven marketing
Digital marketing
SEO - search engine optimization
SEM - search engine marketing
Marketing automation
Email marketing
Customer journey/lead nurturing
CRM - customer relationship management
Engaging content creation
Effective communication
Team leadership and collaboration
Creative solutions
Customer relationship management
Advertising and media planning
Public relations
Special event creation