The Top Ten Most Common Selling & Marketing Forecast

Transcription

1 Data Day Marketi ng 2015 Senior Living Sales & Marketing Forecast The key metrics, benchmarks, and data for modern, on-budget sales and marketing management. You asked for it and we delivered! Hamlyn shows you how to determine which data will be most useful for your sales and marketing planning in 2015 and beyond.

2 In the information age, decision makers in senior housing have access to more data than ever. Lead tracking programs, website analytics, and Now more than ever, senior living communities have the tools to gain key insights into the success of their sales and marketing efforts, whether reaching prospects by phone, through the mail, or online. Choosing just the right data helps communities develop lean, modern marketing plans that grow and stabilize occupancy. media tools provide an endless stream of reports and data, but which are the most useful? How do they impact the bottom line building a financially sound community supported by healthy occupancy? And what does all of this data tell us about the success of a community s sales and marketing efforts? Hamlyn uses several key metrics* and reports when developing strategy for our clients. This forecast contains a selection of the key metrics *All metrics in this report are based on Hamlyn s client research unless otherwise noted. we use to form the base of a comprehensive, strategic marketing plan.

3 Sales Performance Conversion Ratios General Inquiry to Move-In: 2% Completed Calls to Appointments: 5-7% Appointments to Deposits: 7-9% Assessing sales performance is about more than meeting sales goals. Even the best salesperson can fall short if goals are unattainable or pricing is out of line. Fortunately, there are ways to measure success beyond the number of deposits. General Inquiries Completed Calls Appointments Deposits Completed Calls to Appointments: 5-7% Using lead tracking software, divide the number of appointments for the past year by the number of completed calls (calls where there is voice-to-voice contact). About 5-7% of those calls should result in appointments. Appointments to Deposits: 7-9% Using lead tracking software, divide the number of deposits for the past year by the number of completed appointments. About 7-9% of those appointments should result in deposits. These two metrics taken together offer a world of insight into sales capacity. If both metrics are very low and lead generation is on track, there may be a gap in sales skills. More frequently, though, we see that one metric is significantly stronger than the other. Completed Calls to Appointments Is Stronger than Appointments to Deposits Possible meanings: The salesperson has strong phone skills and needs a boost in closing skills. Something is getting in the way of closing the sale, such as pricing, lack of incentives, or lack of show-ready inventory. Appointments to Deposits Is Stronger than Completed Calls to Appointments Possible meanings: The salesperson has strong closing skills and needs a boost in phone skills. MOVE-INS The salesperson is calling through a cold database and there is a need for increased lead generation.

4 Lead Quality 50-65% Qualified Leads Based on our research, 50-65% of inquiries should be qualified. That means they meet the financial and general health requirements of your community % Qualified Inquiries Use lead tracking programs such as REPS and SalesForce to determine how many of your inquiries over the past year have become lost leads due to health or finances. If more than half of your leads have disqualified, it s time to re-evaluate your qualification parameters and revisit your lead generating strategy. Also, check to see whether your sales staff are placing elimination calls rather than encouraging an activity. Refining Your Lead Generating Strategy Obtain and target a purchased list of consumers who meet your community s age and financial requirements. Carefully check the readership of publications where print advertising is placed. Include language in your community s website that will allow visitors to self-qualify, such as a range of entrance fees, and images and language that speak to an active lifestyle. Ensure that all of your public materials match the parameters of your community. For example, if your community is a high end, luxury community, the website and advertising should be sleek and modern. Language should include terms such as luxury and refined. Mail Response Rates Direct mail is a powerful lead generating tool a community can purchase lists segmented by age, income, assets, and other parameters, and send targeted messages to just the right consumer. Direct mail typically is used to promote events that bring prospects onto the campus, and is even more powerful when followed up by telemarketing. In-House Leads ( %) Divide the number of responses, including those who can t attend the event but are still interested, by the number of active lead recipients. If the database has not been receiving mailings, the rate should fall between 2-3%. If they have been receiving mailings, expect 1.5-2%. These rates typically double with telemarketing. Purchased Lists in Primary Market ( %) Divide the number of responses, including those who can t attend the event but are still interested, by the number of purchased list recipients. Response rates are typically % for direct mail alone, and % when followed up with telemarketing. Direct mail is a great way to make contact with prospects and leads, and bring them into your community. It s also a great diagnostic. Assuming that all best practices have been followed for the timing and style of the invitation and event, the performance of a direct mail invitation can guide a community in: Determining the general strength of the in-house leads database. Cleaning the in-house database (removing returned addresses and prospects who ask to be removed). Evaluating the accuracy of the community s messaging, and their perception of what their prospect finds compelling. Highly targeted mailings can help reach and assess the strength of niche and pocket markets.

5 Website Performance Analytics programs like google analytics provide nearly limitless reporting on website performance and user activity. The first and most telling metrics we look at are known as user engagement metrics. These metrics are an overview of the number of visitors to your site and what they do while visiting. While there are some benchmarks for these numbers, it s most important to look at trends for your community s website. If you re launching an SEO campaign and regularly updating your site, these metrics should show improvement over time. Sessions This is the number of visits to your site. A good number of visits will vary by industry, market, and community. Pages Per Session This is the average number of pages visited in each session. This varies significantly by industry, but typically an average of 2-3 pages per visit indicates that users are engaging with your site. Average Time On Site A positive average time on site also varies significantly by industry, but an average of more than two minutes is generally positive. Bounce Rate The bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who land on your site and immediately bounce off the site without visiting another page. Like other metrics, a good bounce rate varies, so it s important to look at trends. Generally, a bounce rate under 50% is preferable. All of these metrics must be taken together over time, to assess the strength of user engagement. Possible causes of low or dropping user engagement metrics: Content is out of date Design is out of date / readability issues Pages are taking too long to load Site is drawing the wrong kind of traffic. HamlynMarketing.com 25 Chestnut Street, Haddonfield, NJ Phone: (856) Fax: (856)