A professor in college once told me if you wake up at least 3 times per week and look forward to going to work…you have a career and not just a job. To add to that statement – I believe if you have a passion or mission associated with the type of work you do then you are blessed.

My mother has lived with me since being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2003 so initially I was concerned as to whether it was wise to work in an industry that (whether directly or indirectly) was so closely associated with my own daily struggles and personal experiences. As it turns out, it was definitely the right move. As an Area Sales Director for New LifeStyles Media Solutions I am fortunate to communicate with potential advertisers on a level in which they operate on a daily basis. I understand what they deal with in caring for the residents, and I understand what the end user is going thru.

The experience began with the geriatric assessment which provided my mom’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. So it’s important for businesses that provide this service to advertise and let people like me know what to do when you suspect that something is happening to their parent or loved one as they start to become more than just forgetful.

In their marketing plan, home care companies need to let people know that they are a quality alternative to going it alone. Communicate that they offer your loved one companionship and also perform household chores that will reduce some of the increasing stress on the family. Sometimes, just knowing that you have someone there, or coming soon can be of comfort.

Assisted Living communities should let people know some of the signs to look for when staying at home may no longer be an option. They need to help alleviate our fears as to how well our loved one will adjust to life away from their lifelong home. Will they make friends…will they be happy?

Alzheimer’s care providers should focus on education at each stage. Are wandering patients confined to their room? Locked in the community? What is the ratio of caregiver to resident? How often can I visit my loved one? Can he/she call me?

Coming from someone who has been thru the diagnosis and daily care of a loved one with Alzheimer’s, these are my suggestions on how the senior living community can help us, which in the long run will win you more business.

By David Moore, Sales Director

Thank you to all of the advertisers that make it possible to offer our senior living guide free to those looking for options for themselves & their loved ones.

Welcome our new clients:

Marketing Elder Care with Facebook – Use Your Business FAN Pages Wisely! (Video)

Social Networking: You Better Start Getting Personal

What You Can Learn About Senior Living From Charlie Sheen

2 Tips for Making Your Goals Attainable

Patients flock to Facebook for health care needs

How One Degree Makes All the Difference

Enjoy the fist weekend of Spring!

Today’s 55+ community is a lot more involved in their healthcare needs and lifestyle than previous generations. The internet, in fact, is even becoming a common meeting ground for people who want to learn about their health, what to expect as they age, and how to combat the all-too-common health issues that are simply referred to as ‘part of aging’. I’ve been a health advocate for years and I know exactly what people are looking for. They want easy access, quick information, and useful resources that they can navigate with a basic skill level.

Providing people with industry resources that they can actually use is new to many businesses that are oriented in the 55+ community. After all, these boomers aren’t typically the type to access the internet most often, and many providers of senior services don’t see the huge influx of readers and users coming to the virtual marketplace. Remember, though, that there are many active adults who utilize these resources. Furthermore, these people have younger family members who are researching health issues, news, and information for them, as well.

All signs point to better visibility for health resources for active adults. If you’ve got a senior-focused service or product to offer, you need to make sure that you’re taking advantage of the internet because the people searching for your products certainly are. We want to remain active and healthy, and we understand how to find the best resources. The only problem that I have seen in all this is that the resources don’t seem to want to be found as easily as we seek them.
Take this as a cautionary tale: if you have a health-related business, product, service, or resource for active adults over the age of 55, you really need to make sure that your online visibility is optimal because people are looking. If they don’t find you, they’ll find someone else.

Contributed by Mary Albert a blogger for happyhealth.net, an innovative senior lifestyle and senior health portal targeting baby boomers and their parents.  The site contains four pillars to lifestyle happiness as well as a medical alert reviews section reviewing and rating medical alert systems.  

Today is probably one of the least efficient days in American business.  Millions of people, most of which have not watched very much college basketball this season are filling out their brackets for the big tournament.  I filled out three brackets in a grand total of seven minutes and 28 seconds.  I could do hours of research and think that I am now an expert, but the experts usually get it wrong anyway.

Here are some of my picks, if you need advice:

Villanova over George Mason – a whole team against one guy? 

Washington over Georgia – a husky can outrun a bulldog any day!

Butler over Old Dominion – just so we can hear them say, “The Butler did it”.

BYU over Wofford – if I don’t know where the school is, how can I pick them?

OK, it’s pretty obvious that I have a bad system for picking college basketball games.  But, the experts, who spend days analyzing the teams, statistics, game location, etc., often do worse than the person who makes their choice based on uniform color.  When it comes to you community or business, make sure you don’t blindly follow the “experts”.   Take their advice and apply it to what you are seeing every day.  There will be nuggets that you see will help you, but there are unique circumstances with your community that override general expertise.

What it comes down to is knowing your business better than anyone.  Take the time to know where you are getting your leads and calls.  Have your staff trained to record this data into some type of tracking system, than make sure to calculate your return on investment.

Now, after you finish your bracket, go out there and make sure you are the EXPERT on your community or business!

  Usually, the worst reason to do something is “because everyone is doing it.” This is not the case when you are trying to sell your product or service. If you are not advertising where your competition is, you are going to be left behind.  Sooner or later, someone’s going to type your name or business into a search engine and of course you want them to find you and not your competition. These are people who want to find you. They are looking for what you are selling, and if you don’t have a website then you’re letting them down – they expect to find you online. For many people, you might as well not exist if you can’t be found with a search engine. Not having a website is like not bothering to get listed in the phone book. Can you run your business without a phone? In this “Information Age” we live in, being online is vital.

Your Website Can Save You Time

 Giving out information takes time, whether it’s on the phone, in brochures, or even just emailing your family. Websites are designed to save you time. All your family and friends can read your online diary (known as a blog), but you only had to write it once. Customers can see your whole product catalog without ever needing to talk to you or visit you. This is the power of the web: things on it are written only once, but can be downloaded endlessly – a good website runs itself, and keeps being useful to people for much longer than you’d expect. Answering the same questions over and over again can be a great waste of money and employee morale. A carefully crafted list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s), posted on a website, can reduce the stream of repetitive questions.

Your website will work even when you’re not

  Many people surf the web in the evening when most businesses are closed – which is fine because websites never sleep! A website will allow your business or organization to be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. Having a website is the equivalent of having an employee working around the clock — even weekends and holidays!

Web sites don’t have to be a major investment, they can grow as your business grows.  Take the time to visit with companies that can analyze your business and fit you with the perfect site.  If you are not happy with your current site’s look or performance, have it reviewed and then updated or overhauled.

Don’t wait, your competition will pull away………..

New LifeStyles’ web team has over 20 years experience in the senior living and care industry!  Contact Luke Jansen for all your web site needs.  He would like to visit with you and see where we can help.

Admin On Aging’s 2010 Profile of Older Americans Released

The new target demographic: Baby Boomers

But, do you really need another million?

10 steps to success in the ACO world (from Long-Term Living Magazine)

Fresh Eyes Uncover Revenue Growth

The Snowball’s Chance

Word of Mouth Study

Don’t Just Do Something, Do Something Right

There are many types of touch-such as the encouraging pat on the back, the comforting hug or the special hand written note.  Each touch conveys something unique and can communicate powerfully.  In our industry of senior care and living services, we touch lives every day through very personal, physical, emotional and psychological ways.  Yet when you compare yourselves to your competitors, how are your touches different?  How are your touches measured through the eyes of your customer?

Former President of Scandinavian Airlines coined the phrase “moments of truth.”  He defined these moments as any interaction that creates a negative or positive impression in the mind of a customer about your services. When your customers gauge their “satisfaction” with your services, they are really evaluating the experience they had with you during pivotal interactions in the service delivery process.  Experience in the eyes of the customer is basically a mental picture of how they want to be treated as a person.  Notice “experience” isn’t defined by care.

Interestingly enough, even churches are getting on board understanding the important aspect of how to move beyond the standard “church” mentality, into one of “hospitality.”  In the book entitled Beyond the First Visit:  The Complete Guide to Connecting Guests to Your Church by Gary L. McIntosh, he identifies key “Moments of Truth” (first impressions) for potential guests that are not so unlike the opportunities we as senior care and living providers have.

Hmmm, sounds similar to the “experiences” we have the opportunity to capitalize on in improving our customer experiences.  CAHPS and other customer satisfaction measurements are not going away…in fact in many situations they are used for pay for performance outcomes.   Doesn’t it make sense than that we take an extra look at the pivotal moments that can leave the biggest impressions on our customers and look for opportunities to make them memorable?  Can you really afford to lose a lead because of a bad “experience?”

To learn how you can discover the hot “touch points” that can improve your customer satisfaction,  New LifeStyles is sponsoring a FREE 60 minute webinar on March 24, 2011 at 1:00 EST: Hot “Touch points” Yield Higher Customer Satisfaction

This complimentary webinar has been designed specifically for home health, hospice, skilled nursing and assisted and independent living  professionals by nationally recognized senior care marketing and sales coach Patty Cisco, President of CISCO & CO.  Join us and discover how to identify your hot “touch points” to create a memorable experience for your prospects and customers alike.  Click here to sign up for this FREE Webinar to be held March 24, 2011 at 1:00 Eastern.