Seniors Housing Business is the magazine that helps you navigate the evolution of the seniors housing industry.
Issue link: https://seniorshousingbusiness.epubxp.com/i/484276
Public events fuel occupancy gaıns By Jef Shaw Ten years ago, Legacy Retirement Communities had a major marketing problem. Despite a $3 million marketing budget, the company — which operates four seniors housing communities in Lincoln, Neb. — was struggling to boost the portfolio's average occu- pancy rate of 85 percent. All marketing efforts were falling fat. The fnal straw came in 2004 when a lead-building event at one of the communities, supported by a television campaign that cost over $10,000, yielded only two attendees. Greg Joyce, Legacy's CEO, knew there needed to be a change. "At that point we would have been better off fying over the city and dumping $100 bills over everybody," says Joyce. "You'd get more leads that way." The problem was the company's approach to flling rooms. Legacy's team focused almost exclusively on the fnancial transaction — a real estate sale — rather than on fnding people who were a good ft for the community. "Back in our old philosophy we focused more on quantity than quality," says Joyce. "We had a selfsh viewpoint. We had some one-bedrooms to fll and we needed people in them." Legacy made a bold decision. The company scrapped its entire marketing plan and budget and chose to host large, pub- lic events that serve as an experience for the local community. Management refrained from making any direct sales pitches at these events. The theory was that by building a solid reputation throughout town, the leads would bubble up organically. "The philosophy around these events is we want people to come in and have an amazing experience," says Joyce. "We don't want them to feel like they've been baited into a market- ing event." The frst event in 2008 — a "Chef Fest" showcasing the on-staff culinary team at the company's Legacy Estates commu- nity in Lincoln — drew nearly 2,000 people. The event featured a meet-and-greet reception in the lobby, a live radio broadcast with a local station, cooking demonstrations by Legacy Estates' executive chef in the dining room, live music in the courtyard, appetizers and an open bar in the pub, plus more live cooking demonstrations of Bananas Foster and other desserts in a com- munity room. Events are now held several times per year at each of the four communities. Each event costs between $5,000 and $7,000, includ- ing all the promotion (invites, radio ads and newspaper ads). The results speak for themselves: Legacy spends $2.5 million less on marketing per year, but boasts a 0.5 percent vacancy n Marketing From 'Chef Fest' to celebrity speaking engagements, operators fnd a host of creative ways to market themselves and boost revenues. "Back in our old philosophy we focused more on quantity than quality. We had a selfsh viewpoint," says Greg Joyce, CEO, Legacy Retirement Communities. Bananas Foster is prepared at Legacy Retirement Communities' Chef Fest. 54 www.seniorshousingbusiness.com Seniors Housing Business n February-March 2015