When it comes to creativity around New LifeStyles it begins and ends with our production group.  Today, as is the case every year, they are all dressed up as witches, spreading the spirit of the day.  They supply the Mardi Gras cake and beads, the candy canes and countless other holiday decorations and snacks.  Outside the office, they are equally creative, with such hobbies as metal artwork, macaroni artwork and roller derby (yes, those three do go together).

When you place an ad in one of our publications, our team is available to design your ad at no additional cost.  They can help you pick the right picture (s) from our gallery, create the perfect piece from existing materials and layout the pictures and text in eye-pleasing fashion.  With over 60 years of combined work in the industry, they know what works and know what fails.  I encourage you to take advantage of their expertise.  If you’re nice, they might even let you see their pasta portfolio!

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GO RANGERS!

At a senior fair in Austin yesterday, I was visiting with fellow advertisers and exhibitors when we starting waxing nostalgic about the industry (all of us have been around for more than 10 years). One person said, “Customer service is dead, and today’s generation doesn’t know any difference”.  We went on to discuss voicemail systems, online searching, booking travel, and other areas where human interaction used to be the norm. It was apparent from the conversation that the human touch is really missed.

Is customer service still available at your place of business? Following are some questions to consider in evaluating your customer service:  

• Does a live operator who is friendly and knowledgeable answer the phone? If not, can the caller press 0 and get to one (without listening to 2 minutes of other options)? What about after hours? If you have a voicemail system, do you get complaints about it? Have you tried calling after hours to get information?  
• Is your website user friendly? Can a perspective client find what they are looking for, rates, services, amenities, etc? If not, can they easily find a phone number or email address? How quick will you get back to them?
• Stepping back even further, where can a perspective client find your contact information and  how do you handle requests and complaints?

Today’s generation may not know what they are missing in personal customer service, but the baby boomer generation & seniors do, and they miss it.  Make sure you start off on the right foot by giving them the service they will appreciate!

People searching online expect to find information including images & videos. This holds true for products, resorts, real estate & senior communities!

Per our previous blog, images can life conversion rates by 147%. Video has taken this a step further. 60% of those recently surveyed said virtual tours were “very useful”.

Check out some of the recent tours we have posted for clients:

Hillside Manor

Rancho Manor

The Quarters at Des Peres

Water’s Edge Healthcare & Rehab Center 

Baybrooke Village 

Villages of Lake Highlands

Do you have a beautiful community? Have you recently remodeled? Do you offer amenities that your competition doesn’t? Show it off with a tour!

Contact us to schedule a shoot!

Been a fast-paced week!  Between attending the LeadingAge Conference, a monster travel ordeal and catching up back at headquarters, I’ve found time to pick out some articles links for all our retirement and assisted living community friends, great alzheimer and nursing care folks and compassionate home care and hospice providers, plus all the wonderful others that have their own niche!

Great Footnote to LeadingAge Conference:

http://tinyurl.com/6kbjzqb

Caregiving’s hidden benefits:

http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/12/caregivings-hidden-benefits/

A National Strategy on Alzheimer’s:

http://tinyurl.com/6zhzk9f
 

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The fall season means conferences in the senior living industry. Everything from local senior wellness fairs (including free flu shots) and Memory Walks (now called the Walk to End Alzheimer’s) to national industry events. New LifeStyles sponsors, exhibits and distributes at numerous events.

How do prepare for these events?

Before the show – How can you prepare?

Once you’ve signed up for the show and made your travel arrangements, start on the following:

-          Is there a list of exhibitors available? What about pre-registrants? If so, and you are exhibiting, you will want to review them and decide if it’s worth doing a pre-mailing (snail or email). Give them a reason to come to your booth! Either way, if there are any specific individuals or companies you want to seek out? If so, make a list and reach out to them. You might even be able to schedule a meeting during the show.

-          Post (blog, Tweet, on Facebook & calendar) about the show. Let people know you will be there!

-          Are there presentations or sessions planned? If so, do any of them pertain directly to you &/or your clients? It’s always good to hear what they are hearing. Maybe you can come up with some new ways to help them, &/or pass on what you learn to others that aren’t there. Check out the schedule and decide how & where to spend your time.

-          Packing – We have created checklists of items to pack for a show – one for a senior show & one for an industry (B2B) show. Most items on the list are similar:

• Display (if you are exhibiting – make sure you grab the right one if you have different offerings for different audiences).
• Materials (booklets, brochures, flyers, etc..)
• Business Cards – ALWAYS!
• Give aways/goodies (if exhibiting)
• Bowl or scanner for collecting business cards/leads
• Other (writing materials for notes, extension cord if needed for display or computer, return shipping labels, a bag for collected materials, etc…)

If you are exhibiting, don’t forget to ship with plenty of time! The earlier you ship and order needed goods and services, the more you will save. There is nothing worse than spending money on a show and not have a key piece when you get there.

Once you are at the show, make sure you walk around to see all of the vendors and put your time in to see participants as well. Find those on your list and attend the sessions you choose. Gather cards and information, and be social! Not just in person, but post about where you are, what you are doing, interesting products, services, sessions, etc…

After the show, make sure you follow-up with the contacts you made within one week. And start some action points per the things you learned. Don’t let all the new info go to waste!

What else do you do to prepare for a show? What shows net you the most results?

Going to Leading Age in Washington D.C. this weekend? Stop by and see Doug Fusella and Stacee Howse at booth #2027 to see how our latest offerings are bringing senior living providers more visibility, leads and traffic, and ask about a free online brochure!

Today we answer another question we hear a lot from our clients and perspective  clients: “What are my payment options?”

Payments for ads are not due until a proof of the ad, or the online ad (if online only) have been approved, the proof deadline has passed, or a tear sheet has been received (on special request).

We offer up-front and monthly billing. We can invoice, bill a credit card or auto-debit an account. We can also bill seperate parties who may be splitting an ad. Our online payment gateway is available at https://www.newlifestyles.com/payment

We try to make it as easy as possible to advertise. We are always willing to work with our clients so billing fits in budget cycles, etc…

If you have any questions about your invoice or payments, please contact Nikki or Allison in our AP dept. and let us know how we can help you.

Thank you for your business!