In our last blog entry, we talked about step 1 to outbound sales calls success for selling to seniors, creating the proper enviroment. Today, we’re going to talk about steps 2 and 3 for selling to the mature market. Again, today’s topics are nothing new. In fact, several different sales training programs utilize these very same techniques. Two sites I highly recommend every sales team visit is Traci Bild’s site and Selling and Persuasion Techniques, written by the incomparable Dr. Robert Caldini. Traci is one of the industry’s premier sales trainers and much of what we write about has been learned by applying her techniques from her book 7 Steps To Successful Selling and then making adjustments as we learn from our clients’ experiences.  In addition to joining the Tuesday Morning Sales Club, I recommend purchasing anything Traci publishes. She is a genius.  The secret is knowing how to apply these techniques to what you are doing each and every day … selling senior housing.

Step 2: Let Your Smile Shine Thru

For most retirees, the decision to call us did not come lightly. After all, moving to an active 55+ retirement community, continuing care retirement community (CCRC), assisted living facility, or skilled nursing home is a life altering decision. When people call us, they are scared. Usually, despite what they might be telling us, that call has been stirred by negative circumstances in their life (failing health, the death of a spouse, or loneliness). It’s our job as a sales team to lift them up and reassure them that they made a good decision to call us. The first task in accomplishing this sales goal is for our voice to exude courtesy, warmth, enthusiasm and knowledge.

If this is an incoming call, the correct way to answer is, “Hi! This is FIRST NAME. Thank you for calling COMMUNITY NAME! How can I help you?

If this is an outbound call, we’ll be taking a much different tack on our opening communication, but more on that later.

• Exude a warm, friendly attitude topped off with generous dose of enthusiasm and knowledge.

• Conveying energy and a can-do-attitude is the key to success. If we show excitement towards our jobs and the community we are selling, our customers can’t help but be excited. Remember, enthusiasm is contagious!

• Speak clearly, loudly and at a pace that they can comprehend (remember, like me, much of this audience has lost a good part of their hearing).

Step 3: Engagement

The key to senior housing sales success is placing outbound phone calls. Lots of them! At a minimum, you should be making 20 outbound calls a day (except on event days).

The top senior housing sales people in the country convert 1 of every two calls they place. How? By following a process. Remember, these people — the prospects —contacted us. They have a need.

Opening step for outbound calls

“Hi, is John in? (Pause, wait for “yes.”) Hi John, this is Tom Mann calling. (Pause, wait for “yes?”)

Most people say “Hi, is John Smith in? This is Tom Mann from the Heritage of Green Hills. How are you today?” And the prospect will say something like, “I’m fine” or “Hi, Tom, unfortunately, I can’t talk right now.” Why? Because they instantly recognize you as a sales person.

When we know we’re dealing with a salesperson our guard instantly goes up. In fact, most people HATE sales calls. Why? Well, first off, you are interrupting my day with your call. Second, I know you want my money. And my money is something I and our prospects guard with a zeal … and they are thinking, “Please, I have stuff to do. I don’t have time for this right now” and they might even be polite and talk with you a little, but they want to get off the phone. This conversation is destined for failure.

When you start a conversation this way, you might not even get to discuss the real reason you called…to talk about how your community can help them. So avoid that trap that pretty much ALL sales professionals get in to — which is naming your community. Instead, we would like you to use this very successful and proven opening step.

Here is how simple it is.

Ring, ring. “Hello is John in?” PAUSE, WAIT FOR REPLY

“Yes, this is he.”

“Hi John, this is Tom Mann calling.” And pause.
 
Polite and personalble, and I’m sure you are wondering “OK, when are we going to tell them who we are with?” And we will, just not yet. Because if you do, you can kiss the likelihood of this call being a success goodbye. This is a relationship business. If you open with this technique, you will form the personal connection.

I am not TR Mann Consulting, I’m Tom Mann, so I am never going to call someone up and go, “Hi, this is Tom Mann with TR Mann Consulting, how are you today?” If I did, that person KNOWS it’s a sales call. Instead, I’m going to say “Hi, John, this is Tom Mann calling. And they are going to go, “Hi Tom” if they know me. And if they don’t know me, they’ll reply, “Hi, Tom?” and then they’ll wait for me to tell them what the call is about. Or, they go, ”How can I help you?”

It’s very important that you address the prospect by first name only. Don’t say, “Hi, is Mr. John Smith in?” Yes, I know you were trained to be polite and that Miss Manners would like you to address people this way. Unfortunately, Miss Manners can’t help you sell. Even after we train people, this is a hard habit to break. I don’t even think sales people even realize they are doing it. But what friend do you know, that calls you up and asks, “Hi, is Tom Mann in?” So you’re going to go, “Hi, is John in?” Pause and wait for “yes.” “Hi John, this is Tom Mann calling.” Research shows us that the word “calling” instigates a “yes?” response … but you have to pause, so that they can say “yes?” The team at The Tuesday Morning Sales Club believes that communication is about two people engaging. You speak, I speak. In a poor sales environment the sales person typically does 85% of the talking. That is not communication. You must use your ears as well as your mouth. Learn to listen. So your new parameters are:

A. Address them by first name. If it’s a couple and you only have one of their first names, address them only by last name, “Hi, is Mr. Smith in?” NOT “Hi, Mr. John Smith.” (Note: when meeting in person, it’s OK to refer to them by Mr. or Mrs. and then their last name as is a common sign of respect in the South, ie., Mr. John.)

B. Then you are going to introduce yourself by both your first and last name and you are going to use that magical word “calling” directly after your name. Followed by a pause. When you pause, they are going to say “yes” 99% of the time. Now, don’t worry if you don’t get the “yes,” there are two other things they’ll do.

They’ll say “oh, Hi Tom, how are you?” When they do that that means they recognize you. That’s a positive and that’s what we want, a positive response.

The other thing they might do is pause.

“Hi, John, this is Tom Mann calling.” (If they don’t respond after a long pause,  start back up, “if you recall…” then you go on to step 4.

The other thing they might say is “who?” In that case, just restate your name. “Tom Mann.” They will respond with a, “yes?” This just means they can’t remember or place your name, so they are trying to figure out who you are. That’s a good thing, now instead of trying to figure out how to get off the phone, you have them engaged. They’re thinking … thinking … thinking… “Tom, who?” That is what we want. We want them engaged.

So your call should go like this:

“Hi, is John in?” (Pause)

“Yes, this is he.

“Hi John, this is Tom Mann calling.” (Pause)

 “Yes?”

“If you recall, you requested an information kit from the Heritage of Green Hills.” (Pause)

“Oh, yes I did.

You have now prepared your customer for step 4, which we’ll write about next time. In the meantime, share the passion you have for this incredible life-changing product! Also, I invite you to join our Tuesday Morning Sales Club.

Interesting side note: “Calling” is not the only magic word.  Dr. Caldini in his book The Principals of Influence, discusses the power of another magical word:

What single word increases compliance from 60% to 93%, simply by adding it to a request?

That single word is . . .  “because”

“This parallel form of human automaticity is aptly demonstrated in an experiment by social psychologist Ellen Langer and her co-workers (Langer, Blank, & Chanowitz, 1978). A well-known principle of human behavior says that when we ask someone to do us a favor we will be more successful if we provide a reason. People simply like to have reasons for what they do.

Langer demonstrated this unsurprising fact by asking a small favor or people waiting in line to use a library copying machine: “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I’m in a rush?” The effectiveness of this request plus-reasons was nearly total: 94 percent of those asked let her skip ahead of them in line.

Compare this success rate to the results when she make the request only: “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine?” Under those circumstances only 60 percent of those asked complied.

At first glance, it appears that the crucial difference between the two request was the additional information provided by the words because I’m in a rush. However, a third type of request tried by Langer showed that this was not the case.

It seems that it was not the whole series of words, but the first one, because, that made the difference. Instead of including a real reason for compliance, Langer’s third type of request used the word because and then, adding nothing new, merely restate the obvious: “Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I have to make some copies?” The result was that once again nearly all (93 percent) agree, even though no real reason, no new information was added to justify their compliance.”

Additional note: I’ll be presenting the 10 Steps To Sales Success For Selling To Seniors  in full at the National Active Retirement Community (NARA) 11th Annual Business Conference in Columbia, SC October 20-22.

Selling to seniors? The success of a good senior housing sales team rests in their ability to build relationships over the phone. Why the phone? Because after a retiree requests information, they are WAITING for us to tell them what the next step is. In fact, the mature market needs us to help them break the inertia that comes from living in the same home 10, 20 or even 50 years.

Trust us, no one ever requests information on a active 55+ retirement community, CCRC, assisted living facility or skilled care because they are low on a little light reading. If they have requested a brochure (or retirement information kit as we like to call the brochure), they are in need!

And yet, despite the fact that the phone is the pipeline to sales success, we find it is often one of the most ignored areas of sales training.

Over the next several weeks, we are going to share with you The Tuesday Morning Sales Club’s 10 steps for phone sales success. This system was designed by the TR Mann Consulting team … a team with over 20 years of senior housing sales and marketing experience. They have helped sell over 20,000 homes with a settlement pace four times faster than the industry average.

As a member of The Tuesday Morning Sales Club, you’ll not only benefit from the TR Mann Consulting team’s vast experience, you’ll also benefit from the latest techniques and research that will cull for you from the rest of the senior housing industry.

Some of what we will share with you will be old hat, some of it will be brand new to you. In our experience, what separates the top 5% of sales people in the country is a practiced system that is followed religiously.

It is our belief that lack of training leads to lack of confidence and success on the phone … which in turn leads to lack of outbound calls. A confident, well trained sales person loves the phone.

So, let’s get started. The first step is the most obvious, but also one of the most overlooked.

(Write these steps on index card as they appear in the gray boxes, then place them in front of you during your calls, cycling through each as the call progresses.)

Step 1: Environment

Just like a good pilot does a walk through before taking off, you want to make sure that you environment is set up for success.

Never let the phone ring more than 3 times before someone picks up.

It’s important to answer as quickly as you can (always by 3rd ring). It shows the prospect that we are all about prompt service and that their call is important to us. Also, it is a proven fact that people will often hang up if they think they’re call is going to go to an answering machine. People HATE answering machines. NEVER, EVER, EVER, let a call go to an answering machine (unless it’s after hours). Answering quickly gets the call off to a good start!

Give full attention

• There are many distractions going on around us when we pick up the phone; be sure to give your full attention to the caller. Our callers are important to us, so let’s show them we care enough to give them the courtesy of our attention.

• Do not let your computer distract you during your conversation. While you are handling calls the only thing that should be on your computer screen is the customer relationship program and your appointment calendar. Nothing else.  (We estimate that an open email program knocks down your effectiveness by at least 25%).

• If you have an office door, keep it closed during your calls.

Nationally speaking, the average cost per lead for an independent retirement community is in excess of $500. Each time we don’t answer before 3 rings (or we let the WRONG person pick up the phone) we are tossing $500 in the office paper shredder.

Are you ready for step 2?

As many of you know, I speak at a lot of conferences on boomers, seniors, and the mature market, so I’m hard to impress but this is a conference that I can’t wait to attend (let alone speak at). America’s top professionals involved in building for, marketing to and serving people 50+ will be speaking at the National Active Retirement Community (NARA) 11th Annual Business Conference in Columbia, SC October 20-22 (http://www.retirementlivingnews.com/).

Think about it, you’ve got three major associations represented at this one event! The National Active Retirement Association with Dan Owens … the International Council on Active Aging’s (ICAA) Colin Milner … and the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB)!

Professionals, academicians, real estate developers, marketers, sales people and other businesspeople seeking to capitalize on the unprecedented aging of America will attend. Topics will range from internet marketing to strategies to attract retirees to invest in your community to advice on how to successfully design, build and market 50+ housing.

Hearing Colin Milner speak is worth the price of admission alone. In addition to being a dynamic speaker, Colin is the founder of the ICAA, a spectacular association focused on promoting healthy aging. Today, Colin’s vision is shared by over 8,200 organizations connected to the ICAA network across the world.

In addition, I always like to be where the money is. John Randolph of Lancaster Pollard, one of the powerhouses in financing senior housing, will be speaking.

Dr. Joe Gribbin, head of the masters’ program at the Erickson School of Aging at the University of Maryland, will give a detailed presentation about the future of Social Security and Medicare.

I’ll be speaking (Tom Mann of TR Mann Consulting and The Tuesday Morning Sales Club) on “Selling to Boomers and Retirees – A Boot Camp on Getting to ‘Yes’ in a Challenging Market.” For those of you who don’t know me, here’s a short bio.

Throw in the honorable Andre Bauer, Lt. Governor, State of South Carolina and you have one powerful event!

Plus, NARA will be collaborating with the National Association of Homebuilders to offer special 55+ courses to builders in conjunction with the conference.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Wednesday, October, 20 2010
(Open to the General Public)

8:15 – 8:45 a.m. Coffee/Juice/Networking 

8:45 – 9 a.m. Convene/Welcome/Recognition of Guests

9-10:15 a.m. Opening Speaker

10:15-10:30 a.m. Break

10:30-12 a.m. Taking a Sharp Eye at Social Security and Medicare
Dr. Joe Gribbin, College Park, MD, Dean, Masters’ Program
Erickson School of Aging, University of Maryland

Special Conference Seminars:

1-4 p.m.  Retirement Relocation Seminar (Separate Conference Event)
Trends and Tips on Luring Retirees to Your Community

Sponsors/Hosts: Thomas,Warren + Associates of
Phoenix, AZ, Retirement Lifestyles™ magazine and NARA.
Facilitators:  Gene Warren and Alan

1-4 p.m.  Selling to Boomers and Retirees (Separate Conference Event)
“A Boot Camp on Getting to ‘Yes’ in a Challenging Market”

Sponsors/Hosts: TR Mann & Associates, Retirement Lifestyles™ magazine and NARA.
Facilitator:  Tom Mann, co-founder of TR Mann Consulting, The Tuesday Morning Sales Club, and Mature Market Experts

6 – 8 p.m.  Welcoming Reception/Networking – (Dinner on your own)
Thursday, October 21, 2010

8:15 – 8:30 a.m. Coffee/Juice/Networking 8:30 a.m.  

8:30 – 8:40 a.m. Convene/Welcome/Recognition of Guests and Introductions

8:40-9:30 a.m. A Look at Our Aging Future

Colin Milner, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
CEO, International Council on Active Aging (ICAA)

9:30-10:30 a.m. Trends in Boomer Services, Retiree Marketing and 55+ Building

PANELISTS:

*Dick Ambrosius, South Dakota, NeoCorta

*Dave Segmiller, Charlotte, NC, Freeman White

10:30-10:40 a.m. Break

10:40-11:45 a.m. Serving a Growing and Powerful Market:  55+ Active Adults

David Reitz, Chicago, Ill, 55+ Active Adult Expert

11:45-12:45 p.m. Lunch at Columbia Convention Center
   Preparing for an Aging State (And World!)

The Honorable Andre Bauer, Lt. Governor, State of South Carolina

BREAKOUT SESSIONS:

1-2:30 p.m.  A Study of the 55+ Housing Market:
Designing, Building and Selling Active Adult Housing

PANELISTS:  

*Nancy Borum, ID Collaborative, Greensboro, NC

*Dan Horner, Tribute/True Homes, Charlotte, NC

*Jim Chapman, Jim Chapman Communities, Atlanta, GA

1-2:30 p.m.  Retiree Recruitment for Towns, Cities, States:
Recruiting Retirees through Tourism & Special Programs

PANELISTS:  

*Simon Hudson, Columbia, SC

*Miriam Atria, Capital City/Lake Murray Country

*Sherri Gothart-Barron, Director, GO TEXAN program, State of Texas

2:30 – 2:45 p.m.  Break

2:45-4 p.m.  Internet Strategies to the 55+ Consumer

2:45-4 p.m.  Getting New Projects Financed

 John Randolph, Atlanta, GA, Lancaster Pollard

6 – 8 p.m.  Reception/NARA Awards (Offsite:  Directions and transportation options to be provided; dinner on your own)
Friday, October 22, 2009

8:30-9:30 a.m.  Opening Speaker

9:30-10:45 a.m. Economic Development through Rural Retiree Attraction

John Cromartie, Washington, D.C., Senior Demographer, USDA

10:45-11:45 a.m. Speaker Roundtable/Final Thoughts on Marketing to “Boomers and Beyond”

11:45 a.m.  Door Prizes/ADJOURMENT

Line up to learn your longevity likelihood.  Aren’t you just loving the opportunity we will soon have to download that free genetic marker test kit, the one that with 77% accuracy will tell whether we will live past 100? Boston University scientists have ‘no plans to profit’ from the results, but they will make the kit available later this summer. (Warning: analysis of the results will be costly.) I am so struck by how the law of unintended consequences could play out, especially in areas of insurance — as with a home test kit for Alzheimer’s, people might be more likely to purchase long-term care insurance. With a longevity test on the market, how long will the term need to be in term insurance? Taking it a step further, should insurance companies offer free kits as a marketing device? Should your doctor know that you’ve taken such a test? Should a health insurer know? What happens to rates, deductibles and lifetime caps? What kind of housing and support systems would we want if we knew we could live to 100 or more (or if we knew we would suffer from Alzheimer’s)? What would our families do with that information?

Which brings me to home care — what we want. So let’s just imagine that many more of us are going to make it to 100, that we fear nursing homes and obsessively want to stay in our own dangerous-but-familiar houses. Of course, we will want to be there all alone in our later years, visited only by home health or companion aides from the growing home care industry (hopefully they won’t visit us too often, though, and draw attention from the SEC). Hopefully the aides are background-vetted, well-paid, well-trained, dedicated and conversational, and are the low-turnover folks. Hopefully they will take us out to events and social activities, make sure that we are well-monitored and Skype-connected to our far-flung relatives, if not in the home then by driving us to places like this just-opening and Skype-enabled Clearwater Aging Well Center.  Hmm. Do you believe this?

We have the time to craft a better experience. Let’s face it, the lonely boomer at home at 100 is unlikely: our mis-managed bodies may not permit it — even if the above scenario was realistic. That doesn’t mean we aren’t going to live far beyond ye olde expectations. If we knew how long we might live, we also need to imagine and advocate for lower-cost, longevity-friendly housing for those ‘middle’ decades of the 70′s and 80′s, but that will house us when we’re 95 and low on money. We need a rethink of nursing homes, blending them into services for seniors in a community — so that they move past the current shrinking anathema status. That might mean more consolidation, along with blending of skilled services first into communities, and then those services into group housing that will match our budgets and interest profiles. 

Care we want — can we get it? Where we’ll be living, the aides are kind to us: they form friendships and support each other and are well-supported by management. They enable us to find friends and continue to do activities we like — with others, not alone. Where we’ll be living, monitoring our well-being will be welcome and standard; enabling our tech-connectedness will be understood and supported by management and staff. When we move in, we won’t need to take our tech gadgetry with us — they’ll be part of the residence, with Kindles and Nooks in the library, wireless in our home, and appropriate use of video. Maybe useful and friendly robots (not just Paro-fluffy-friendly) will free up the repetitive and low-skilled labor, doing so at a low cost, freeing up staff to focus on higher-skilled tasks. This has happened in every single other industry in the past 50 years — why not this one?

We are in a crisis of mistaken expectation — thus tech opportunity.  In today’s economically challenged world, we suffer from a lack of product and service marketer realism (see Tom Mann’s Mature Market blog about senior housing developers) all along the continuum of care to the consumer. Everyone wants things the way they were (as in the above senior housing example) or they don’t know what they want but are shocked at what they actually get, whether it is with the doctor, the hospital, or the home care agency. Those who are creating and selling tech-enabled products and services have an opportunity to sell into the gap — whether it is in cost-reduction, family expectation management, or enabling standardized back office consolidations for service providers — who want to enable a better longevity experience at a lower cost.

Mature Market Experts: Selling to Boomers, Seniors, and the Mature Market: Marketing to Baby Boomers, Seniors and the Mature Market - By Tom Mann, TR Mann Consulting: My partners at TR Mann Consulting and I regularly receive emails and phone calls from reporters, bloggers, advertising agencies, marketing firms, and consumer good manufactures asking us what the secret is to selling to Baby Boomers, seniors, and the Mature Market. I would argue that there are no secrets to selling to these different age groups, just refined techniques. Here are some baby boomer, senior and mature market marketing basics:

How is marketing to baby boomers different from marketing to seniors, the mature market or the public in general?

For decades now, marketers have been selling their clients on demographic breakouts. They tell you that the baby boomer generation (the 76 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964) represent unlimited herd-like opportunities. On top of the 76 million American Boomer goldmine is another six to eight million immigrant boomers.

The magic demographic breakout? People born between 1946 and 1955 are called leading-edge boomers by these marketers. Those born between 1956 to 1964 are commonly referred to as late- or trailing-edge boomers.

These lazy marketers will tell you that these are two sociologically distinct target audiences . . . the “leading-edge boomers” grew up during the Vietnam War era. They will tell you that they were shaped by the “cultural revolution,” modern feminism (remember Billy Jean King and Bobby Riggs?), the Beatles, the assassinations of JFK and Martin Luther King, and the civil rights.

And yes, these events did influence some of their decisions but unfortunately for marketers, it’s much more complex than that. Boomers and the mature market (like all humans) are driven more by their personal needs (remember Maslow’s pyramid?) and the stage of life they are currently in.

In short, marketers need to understand that it’s about “stage” . . . not age. In other words, where is that individual in their personal journey? Just because we are from the same generation doesn’t mean were in the same stage.

David Wolfe, one of my favorite bloggers and a true expert on aging states on his blog Ageless Marketing:

“Needs drive our behavior. Our need to be physically and mentally comfortable, whole, safe and secure does not change from one generation to the next. In Maslow’s hierarchy, that bundle of needs is the most basic of all needs. Then, our need for love and to be loved never changes from one generation to the next. The same holds true of our need for self-esteem and the esteem of others.

What does change from generation to generation are the ways in which we strive to meet our needs.”

By approaching consumer’s with a “stage mentality” new targeting opportunities arise. My favorite example of this is one of my clients, GRAND Magazine. GRAND doesn’t address the readers’ age; it addresses the stage of life this group (Grandparents) has just entered. By recognizing the importance of this role, the grandparent role, GRAND and its advertisers, connect with their audience on a much deeper level. Think about it this way, there are over 72 million grandparents in America, and according to Age Wave Communications they’ll spend over 30 billion this year on their grandchildren. And I would say that $30 Billion is low, I’ve seen estimates of over $75 billion a year!

Because we believe it’s about stage, NOT age, at TR Mann Consulting we have created a different set of lens for looking at the sales process called the Maslow-Mann Brand Match. The great thing about this approach is that unlike the traditional marketing approach it’s inclusive, rather than “cutting out” market segments . . . so your market opportunities are bigger, not smaller. For example, did you know that the average age of a grandparent in the U.S. is 48? If you applied a traditional approach to reaching grandparents (a presumed age) you would miss much of the market.

Why are so many people and companies talking about boomers and the mature market now? How much buying power do boomers and matures have?

You have to remember, every eight seconds, another boomer turns 50. Over 50% of the households in the U.S. are now headed up by a baby boomer. And the mature market continues to grow at an incredible rate; by 2010 one-third of the U.S. population will be over 50. By 2020, one in five Americans will be over 65.

More importantly, they control the bulk of the nation’s wealth . . . and they shop! According to a recent study by Nielsen and Hallmark Channels, households with baby boomer members account for nearly $230 billion in sales of consumer packaged goods and represent 55% of total consumer packaged goods sales.

Those numbers get even bigger when you include all the mature market, the 78 million American seniors who were 50 or older as of 2001 controlled $28 trillion, or 67% of the country’s wealth.

The mature market controls 70 to 79% of all the financial assets, 80% of all the savings accounts; 62% of all large Wall Street asset accounts; and 66% of all the money invested in the stock market.

Boomer women in particular will control the bulk of the mature market’s wealth. By 2010, women are expected to control 60% of all wealth in the U.S., according to a study from Allianz Life Insurance Company.

If you want to see more of these amazing numbers on mature women, click here.

What is the best way to market to boomers and the mature market?

Boomers and seniors are at completely different stages of their lives. It’s important to identify which stages most closely align with your product or service.

· Do they have kids at home? Young or returned to the nest?

· Do they have parents at home?

· Are they healthy? What ailments do they have?

· Are they retired?

· Are they active?

The point is, that by acknowledging that marketing is a whole lot harder than just selling to a “herd” of boomers you’ll start to position your product more carefully.

Aside from physical ailments and illnesses, as we age and mature, we tend to proceed further up Maslow’s pyramid with our needs becoming less materialistic and more emotional/spiritual. Creating advertising that connects emotionally and logically is essential. This is one of the reasons TR Mann Consulting likes to use testimonials for our clients. Testimonials tell stories, they connect emotionally and logically. Plus, they maximize the principals of authority and social proof (The principles of influence: Consistency, Likability, Authority, Social Proof, Scarcity, and Reciprocity — as taught by researcher, Dr. Robert Cialdini).

Next, you have to take in consideration the visual and psychological differences between the different stages. One stage might be “elderly with declining health.” For the 65+ audience your ads should look dramatically different than if you were targeting younger boomers exclusively. Why? Because vision becomes an issue for print and TV, as do fast cuts in TV commercials. Although, in my opinion, all your ads should include these inclusive visual techniques . . . after all, why cut out potential customers? (If you’re interested in learning more about the mature market and vision, click here, then go to the bottom of the page and select “Vision and Aging.”)

Want to learn more about Baby Boomers, Seniors, and the Mature Market?

Of course, an article this short can’t possibly cover a topic this complex and do it justice. But hopefully, it does stop you from buying the traditional “herd-mentality” marketing approach being sold by most marketers for reaching the Boomers. If you’d like to learn more to improve your chances for marketing success with the mature market, give TR Mann Consulting a call at 410-292-4333.

Note: this blog was orginaly published December 23, 2008. For some reason, when our blog was rolled over to our current URL this blog didn’t follow. Therefore, we have reposted.

Mature Market Experts: more mature market news and stats more often – Mature Market Frustration with Technology – Despite the fact that over 50% of the households in the US are now headed up by someone over 50, tech companies just don’t seem to be thinking about the details that should imply. A perfect example, it requires super human skills to read the serial number on the back of my IPOD. Think about it, if you are going to ask me for a number so that I can register, make it so that I can actually read it. Steve Jobs . . . are you listening? Trust me, this won’t offend your younger audience. (I should note, that I’m a huge fan of Apple’s designs skills, even the best sometimes stumble.)

Advertising Age recently noted a study by the Consumer Electronics Association and TNS Compete of 3,135 adults in November of 2008: “Older consumers also reported a higher level of frustration with the complexity of technology. Sixty percent of consumers 50 or older identified feature-laden products as a main source of frustration with technology, compared with 39% of consumers 18 to 49.”

Personally, I don’t think most of the fixes require huge technical advances but rather a little empathy. So how about you, do you have any examples of STUFF that drives you crazy?

Originally published 1/12/09 – Republished when dropped from site

Mature Market Experts: stats and news you can use on boomers, seniors and the mature market – Google Analytics and Analyzing Internet Data – Internet technology has become a tool that businesses selling to seniors can not afford to ignore. As boomers, seniors, and the mature market rely on it for everything from social networking and entertainment to price comparisons and online purchases, a side benefit is that enormous amounts of information becomes available for collection and analysis. Businesses and advertisers marketing to the baby boomer consumer could design their product and message based on these statistics. Last week’s 27th annual symposium of the University of Maryland’s Human-Computer Interaction Lab brought government researchers, business financial analysts and computer scientists together to debate how to organize and display this gold mine of information in a beneficial way. To learn more about how this endeavor may help your future business click here.

At a minimum, you owe it to yourself to look at your Google Analytics to see if you are focusing your website’s keywords on the right terms (this assumes that you’ve been paying for Google Adwords …. if you haven’t been, it is worth doing just to see what valuable information you can glean). And while you’re at it, plug your website’s url into www.websitegrader.comfor an eye-opening view of your website’s flaws.

How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?
-Satchel Paige

I was in the mall this past Saturday. Not a place I’m accustomed to investing any time in—especially on the weekend; but necessity dictated the excursion to the Mecca of shopping known as Clackamas Town Center. My wife had some to-dos (she’s very purposeful) and I had some general notion of what I was after. Like two infantry soldiers we synchronized our watches and agreed to return to a designated spot in 2 hours.

After 30 minutes of meandering through merchandise I thought: “Two hours…what was I thinking?” Generally a malaise seems to come over me as my energy level tends to be in an inverse relationship with the amount of time spent in malls.

Feeling like Margaret Mead, or a stranger in a strange land, I began to have a subtle shift in my thinking. A little voice seemed to be saying “observe.”

With a change in my interpretive filter I notice a reoccurring theme among the bustling masses of determined shoppers…Approaching from behind I’d see two “girlfriends” walking and engaged in either cell phone conversations or chatting. Most of these pairs were dressed much alike.

As I passed them and looked over I noticed these weren’t contemporaries at all, rather, one was the daughter and the other the mother! Now, twenty years ago there was no doubt who was who—but that has all changed.

Clicking

The futurist Faith Popcorn wrote about this phenomenon over a decade ago in her brilliant book, Clicking (1996). She called it “down-aging,” which is all about throwing out the rules and constraints that dictate how we should behave by certain points in our lives. Ms. Popcorn predicted the rejection of the cultural construction of age, and the potential for personal interpretation.

Once aware of down-aging in our culture, you begin to notice it everywhere as older adults time-shift life experiences and their looks. Popcorn describes elder-moms/elder dads who are standing in the check-out line at the grocer with pampers under one arm for the baby and attends under the other arm for themselves!

Fitness and athletics is another arena where down-aging is evident. The bad news is in sports rehab clinics all across the country clinicians are seeing more geri-athletes with sports related injuries—the good news is that clinicians are seeing more geri-athletes with sports related injuries.

I ran marathons with Mavis Lindgren who began her running career at age 62, and completed her first of 90 marathons at age 72! Go to any gym in the morning and you will be surrounded by gray hair and PE uniform-looking attire.

I once overheard a 20-something blonde beauty at the front desk of a well know fitness chain express her dismay that there were too many old people at the club. Seems she was afraid of the place becoming known as an “old gym.”

I laughed to myself thinking of her disconnect with her paycheck and who comes through the door and I envisioned her drowning in the gray tsunami…just off shore brewing.

It’s almost tired to even mention how marketers have embraced down-aging from the return of many of the classics like high-top black converse sneakers (I read an interview with Daryl Hall of Hall & Oats fame, he was wearing high-top black converse without shoe strings), to increased popularity of the anti-tech toys you played with as a child-like the Schwinn Classic Cruiser bicycle. Portland is deluged now with “fixed speed” bikes, a minimalist 2-wheeler that harkens back to the basics.

As Faith Popcorn notes:
Whatever the crisis-change mechanism at work here, the underlying feeling is “there’s got to be more.” And this search for ever-more leads to down-aging. Not forgetting about your age or railing against your age, but tossing away the old ideas of what chronological age is. For down-aging is fundamentally about changing expectations, dreams, desires, visions. It’s about a constant state of growing, of saying “yes” to life and all its possibilities (p. 275).

Hyper-Habituation (Think Mick Jagger)

I think it was Albert Einstein who said: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” A possible concern with down-aging is that it can be taken too far. As gerontologist HR Moody suggests, each era has its quality of experience not to be missed–neglected it could damage the soul. This is something to consider as you lace up your sneakers and jump on your cruiser…

THE 3 AGES:

1) Chronological age-Age on your birth certificate
2) Physiological age-Age of your biology and biomarkers
3) Psychological age-Age of how you think (Young or old)

See:
 Faith Popcorn’s Brain Reserve

Enjoy!

Mature Market Experts – more news and stats you can use on boomers, seniors and the mature market – The BBC Brain Training study — let’s flip it around: There’s no such thing as bad publicity.  This study is being reprinted on every website that has even a remote connection to boomers, seniors, or game-playing or is suffering from a slow news day. (Although you have to wonder how senior housing executives will react to seeing it published in McKnight’s). So I am not going to set foot into the quagmire about whether this is a good study or a bad study — as observed by Alvaro Fernandez of SharpBrains and Steven Aldrich of Posit Science.  I will also bet that this study will not slow the cognitive fitness market down, which SharpBrains sizes as $1 billion within 5 years — you have to work hard to slow a market that fits so well with the fear, uncertainty, and doubt of baby boomers about aging and brain-related impacts. And like all studies (wine is good for you, wine is bad for you, more exercise, but not too much), no doubt there will be another study contradicting it soon enough. Instead, let’s turn it around.

Those who surfed the web for general knowledge improved at finding it.  Looking at the BBC study news item, let’s read this sentence: “A third control group was asked to browse the Internet and seek out answers to general knowledge questions. The results are clear,” said Adrian Owen, a neuroscientist at the Medical Research Council, in a statement. “Statistically, there are no significant differences between the improvements seen in participants who played our brain-training games, and those who just went on the Internet for the same length of time.”

What’s that mean? So let’s just assume that surfing the Internet reduces risk of depression, that looking for information online improves your skill at finding it, that taking advantage of access to 62,000 health-related websites makes one a better-informed healthcare consumer, that using connected health technologies can help us ‘age well in a connected world’ (Cisco). To name just a very few endorsements of Internet access for older adults. What if we use the BBC study to confirm that healthy older adults who surf the web seeking knowledge will get more skilled at doing this if they practice — and that if they practice, they might learn a new skill, reduce depression, or even connect to other people who share their interests?

That sounds like a GOAL to me.  Maybe a computer, a broadband connection (see Project Goal), and some training could help older adults just improve the quality of their lives? What if warding off brain-related problems and decline could be improved simply by access to knowledge and something interesting? Now that Project Goal has launched to improve broadband access and use among older adults in the US, how about its sponsors getting together to launch a baseline study that evaluated all of these factors before and after acquiring broadband access? Who knows, maybe a side effect of that access will turn out to be improved cognitive health?

Colin Milner, Founder and CEO of International Council on Active Aging

Medicine And Technology Advancing At Record Pace, ‘Middle Age’ Extended

Colin is the founder and CEO of the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA). He and his organization are dedicated to changing the way people age by working with professionals in the retirement communities, assisted living, and wellness fields. ‘Wellness’ refers to the expanded focus of health professionals on promoting life and vitality, and not just on avoiding disease. Colin believes the wellness trend will expand in the years ahead.

New Insights About The Body … And Mind

“With so many people in the industrialized world having issues with physical energy levels and depression, science and fitness will begin to look for holistic ways to boast your energy levels,” Colin says. “We’ll begin to look at exercise, diet, and sleep on a personalized level with measured results. The difference from today’s approach is that we will soon look at each of these variables (exercise, diet, and sleep) not as individual variables but as highly intertwined variables that affect each other.” This change in focus will encompass not just the body, but the brain as well.

“One in eight baby boomers is expected to have Alzheimer’s by 2050 and one in five adults over 50 has memory issues,” Colin says. “Just ten hours of the right brain fitness exercises can have a significant and long lasting impact on health care costs and outcomes, according to a report in the ACTIVE study funded by the NIH and published in BMC Health Services Research. “The National Institute on Aging recommends keeping the brain active because mental exercise lowers the risk for developing Alzheimer ’s disease by 47%. The body of evidence linking mental activity to the delay or even prevention of dementia continues to grow. All of which means that preventive measures or brain fitness present a huge opportunity.

“Yes, there are some companies already focused on brain fitness, but we have to do better,” Colin points out, noting that it will take more than scientific studies to induce people to modify their habits. “We have to make brain fitness fun, if it’s going to become part of a true lifestyle change,” he says. “If it’s not fun, people will quit after a short spell, just like they do with a restrictive diet plan. Right now, most of the programs are too rudimentary, too scientific, and too boring! The ICAA’s three preferred providers — LEAF Ltd., Conductorcise, and Cognifit — are doing some very innovative things and I expect to see other companies join them in this very competitive field.”

‘Participation’ vs. ‘Engagement’

Companies which provide services to seniors will need to look beyond traditional approaches to aging, Colin notes. “There is a difference between participation and engagement,” he explains, pointing out that ‘engagement’ will become more important in the years ahead. “The example I always use is my school career. While I was a participant, I was not engaged and my grades suffered. Similarly, it’s not enough for seniors to be enrolled in a health plan’s fitness plan or be just living at a retirement community. People are looking to be fully engaged because they understand that engagement is a key component to being healthy.

“Technology has already changed how we are aging and we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg,” Colin continues. “I think one of the most exciting possibilities rests in 3D Holographic projection. Just like we used to see in the old Star Trek adventures, soon your fitness instructor will be projected into your home to work out with you. The technology is not that far off. Don’t believe me, just check out what Musion Systems Ltd. is doing!”

Effect On Companies

Colin believes that companies which don’t adjust to the new expectations of people entering their retirement years are likely to struggle. “Today’s mature market has very different expectations for how they expect to age,” he says. “The dinosaurs of the last generation — like outdated senior centers and retirement communities — are a complete turnoff. In fact, just string the phase ‘senior center’ in front of most boomers and you’ll see a clear reaction. For example, retirement communities and golf destinations are being replaced by urban, multi-generational settings with proximity to restaurants, shops, gyms and theaters. Simply put, outdated products with obsolete names and terminology must change … or face extinction.”

So how does Colin and his wife, Julie, try to age well? “First, we try to create new experiences. Because I’m on the road so much, I rack up frequent flier miles which we try to put to good use. My wife, kids and I each get to choose one place to travel to for a new adventure, which is important for the brain,” says Colin. “I also try to exercise, with some form of cardio exercise five times a week, while at the same time trying to reduce stress in my life.” Colin continues, “I’m a lucky man. I love my job, I love my wife, and I’m doing something that really contributes to society. What more could I ask for!”

Mature Market Experts: stats and news you can use on boomers, seniors and the mature market – Who Are You Marketing To? If your business is marketing consumer goods or services to a specific ethnic segment of the elderly population, the Administration on Aging’s website will be of interest to you. You can find various stats on the United States baby boomer population, such as the senior population projections for the Hispanic population over 60, 65 or 80. Breakdowns on the mature market’s racial makeup are provided by state. Statistical profiles for African Americans, American and Native Americans, Latinos, and Asians, provide numbers and percentages compared to the general population. Living arrangements, education and income levels, life expectancy, chronic medical conditions and access to health care are all accessible at this valuable website. To learn pertinent facts about your market click here. 

With the demographics of age and race in the US shifting exponentially, if you haven’t thought about how you’re going to address these new mature market opportunities, there is a good chance you’re missing out … which is why over a year ago, we added Elianne Ramos, an expert in Hispanic and Latin American markets to the team. Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Are the financial gyrations you are asking your customer to perform - to move into your retirement community, assisted living, or nursing home - natural?

Very often when our firm, TR Mann Consulting, receives a call from a senior housing developer, the patient has cancer. By this I mean, that the retirement community, assisted living, or nursing care facility is struggling with occupancy and the bank is knocking at the door. Both the client and the bank want to know the same thing, “Can this be saved?” But before we discuss the cure, I’d like to discuss a little bit about how we got here.

One of my first questions if often, “how is your pricing?” To which I am almost always greeted with, “As you can see from our feasibility study, we are right in line with our competitors.”

This response once caused me physical pain. Unfortunately, I’ve gotten so use to it that I no longer flinch. Sadly, if you could see your competitor’s occupancy and cash flow, you would know that they too are going out of business. Yes, it’s true; misery loves company … why else would your project have bench-marked itself to someone else’s proforma rather than the realities of your market?

Can your customer afford your product? Do they perceive that they can afford your product? What is the true strength of your site’s 20 mile radius (and more importantly, your 10 mile radius)? At your current pricing, what is the required penetration rate for each of your units to sell? I have actually seen projects that require a 65% penetration rate for their high end units (in other words, 65% of the age and income/asset qualified prospective buyers would need to buy). This, my friends, is feverish logic.

Worse yet, often as communities get further and further behind, they make poor budget decisions that dramatically effect marketing (cutting their advertising budget and staffing budget).

Of course, price is not the only variable that can get out of whack. The next, most common mistake we see is placing a community where the population won’t support the project. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard, “Oh, but we’re a retirement destination” or, my other personal favorite, “the surrounding area is filling in around us.”

OK, now what?

Sadly, when confronted with reality, most developers (and many banks) initially reject the medicine of lowering prices, “if we lower our pricing, the proforma doesn’t work. And remember, our pricing per square foot is very competitive.”
 
What they’re really thinking is, “why can’t you just sell our way out of this problem?” and “we’ve already tried special incentives and they didn’t work!”

This is an honest reaction, after all, no one likes to see their investment NOT make money, or even worse lose money.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking. The community is losing blood on multiple levels:

1. Vacant units are not only not collecting revenue, the carrying costs are getting heavier
2. The community operations (i.e. dining, transportation, medical, etc.) are not realizing any efficiencies because staffing and supplies costs are being carried by a small number of residents
3. The community is not enjoying the full effect of one of its most powerful tools, referrals. One, there aren’t very many residents to give referrals. And two, the resident’s are scared to give a referral for a community they know is one shaky ground (and trust me, they can see what’s going on)

The Doctor’s Advice

Usually, the cure rests in two areas: Marketing and Pricing. With marketing there are usually two variables at play. Most of the communities we have visited are simply not generating enough leads and they’re not converting the leads they have. Usually, we can easily solve the first issue of generating enough leads with an experienced, cost-efficient marketing approach.

Unfortunately, the second issue, conversion rates, is a tad bit more difficult. Many communities have experienced sales people who flourished during the easy 90’s but who are struggling mightily in today’s environment. Sometimes the issue is not their issue (see discussions above). However, sadly, sometimes the issue is that individual sales person is not a closer. What makes these situations difficult is that often that sales person was part of the team from day one. The teams that can’t face reality and don’t make the difficult decisions, go down as a team.

As TR Mann Consulting works with clients around the country and as we discuss the state of the industry with peers, a reoccurring theme pops up again and again. It is extremely difficult to secure and retain good sales people. This phenomenon has been particularly acute since the real estate and retirement community industry collapse. There’s a reason real closers are not choosing our industry …. PAY! It is also, our opinion, that the role of sales has been under appreciated (for example, TR Mann Consulting places priority of top sales directors and sales people over that of an executive director in startup communities). Getting the right sales person, a true closer, is paramount to your community’s success. 

Once you have your lead generation problem fixed and the right sales team in place, you need to give the team the tools to get the job done. Namely, you need to have your pricing aligned with the reality of the current real estate market … which means that seniors in your market can trade the equity in their house for your product (again, the sale price or equity they will trade needs to accurately reflect today’s real estate market). Or, if you run a rental community, that they feel their equity will last their life time.

A Dose of Reality

We’re not saying that reality is always pleasant but we do know this, the sooner the team (management company, developer, and bank) come to grips with the real challenges in front of them, the closer they are from emerging from these difficult times.

TR Mann Consulting specializes in marketing senior housing. This experienced team creates realistic feasibility studies and marketing plans designed to protect and maximize investments in this valuable industry. They are experts in accessing troubled properties, retirement communities, assisted living, and nursing care facilities and then providing solutions.

PS  I’ve been amazed at the response our blog, “Death of the Continuing Care Retirement Community” has generated. The changing likes and dislikes of today’s mature market, along with technology, is changing this industry at record speeds. Also, if you’re in New York on May 14th, I hope to see you at the Marketing to Boomers and Beyond event. When you register, make sure you get the Mature Market Experts discount. On the individual registration pull-down bar, select “Individual Registration (10% MME discount) $157.50.” Workshop guests can reserve rooms for the night of May 13 at a discounted $259 rate on the Marriott website: www.nymarriotteastside.com but to receive the discount, you’ll need to CALL reservations and provide them with the  Group Code: BUMBUMA (this code won’t work if you try it online)

-Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

(photo: wings.avkids.com)

 I was handed a sympathy card the other day and informed about the death of a coworker’s parent; then asked to write something.

Most of us have had this experience; all the “usual” comments have already been written as you search for a spot to add yours. You’re left with the choice of emotional-plagiarism (“thinking of you at this time”) or struggling to find meaningful words to express the loss. For me it’s challenging, death is so final; much easier to sign birthday cards.

 Final Acts

On occasion in the ICU/CCU during quiet moments, patients would ask me why they were still alive. My answer was always part science; I’d describe the medical measures taken to stabilize the body—and part philosophical; I’d also explain whatever it is that they are supposed to do in life wasn’t done yet.

This latter point was also the dominate theme at the American Society on Aging conference this year, and dovetailed with AARP’s messaging about Awakening human potential in the second half of life, or the well worn: “Don’t die with your music still in you.”

 Doing the Work

“Charles” is a front-end boomer who was in the army as a young man, studied Eastern Philosophy for years, is a part-time carpenter—part-time writer, and captivating story-teller.

He invests much of his time in coffee shops engaging in social intercourse—so much so, he expressed concern about not writing enough. The conversation took on the theme of “doing the work.”

Not offering advice, I informed him that the gods have entrusted him with the gift of story telling—and to not corral them into written form would be the sin he would have to atone for in the end.

His solution was to employ a new coffee shop several times a week to do the work. If I had to bet, Charles will re-create his old setting; it’s in his DNA. Meanwhile, the gods will be frustrated…but redemption is always possible.

Is there something you’ve left undone? 

 It’s never too late to become what you might have been.

 See:

Not Dead Yet (the movie)

 When I grow up

Apple Inc.'s new iPad can make web browsing easier for aging eyes.

Mature Market Experts: stats and news you can use on boomers, seniors and the mature market – Will the iPad Attract Seniors to Your Website? Maybe your business has nothing to do with computer technology, but everything to do with advertising to Baby Boomers. According to nielsenwire, the last five years has seen a huge growth in the number of seniors actively using the Internet (more than 55 percent, from 11.3 million active users in 2004 to 17.5 million in 2009).

So, what does Apple Inc.’s latest product, the iPad, have to do with you? If you are unfamiliar with this gadget, imagine a hybrid of a tablet computer, the iPod and select features of the iPhone (its not a phone).  It’s screen size is comparable to a small laptop. Yet, it only weighs 1.5 pounds and is a mere half inch thick. The large Multi-Touch screen is extremely easy to use and allows boomers to view vibrant, sharp web pages in their entirety. Making things very readable for senior eyes! Instead of using a cursor, just touch with a finger tip. It comes off the shelf with features that enable people who have vision impairment or are deaf or hard of hearing to use the iPad. So, those in the 65+ group that are currently put off by computers may soon be viewing your web site and internet advertising. Watch this Steve Jobs’ video, it’s as he’s talking directly to and for boomers.

How to capitalize on this new opportunity? Allen Moon suggests in his article, How the iPad Will Change the Way You Do Business, “Make sure your site has a blog that features regularly updated articles your target audience will find useful and entertaining. You can even create videos… include more interactive social media features on your site. These features are the most effective way to encourage your users to pursue an ongoing relationship with you and your other customers, and form a community around your business.” Marketing to seniors via the internet may become easier as the iPad’s popularity grows. Even online reviews, from sites such as sites like Yelp, Citysearch and Yahoo! Local, will be more accessible to boomers as they can easily read enlarged e-mail messages while on the go with this mobile device. A smart marketing plan will take these developments into account in order to take advantage of this technology in the next few years.

sources:
www.apple.com

Work — what they (sort of) mostly do and expect to retire at 66.  Now here’s where things get interesting: 8% work part-time, 6% are self-employed, 5% are looking for work, 7% are on disability, and 8% are fully retired.  Let’s turn that around and see it for what it is:  only 60% work full time for companies! Somewhat ironically, they expect to retire at 66, although 50% plan to either take their social security benefits earlier (before they are eligible for full benefits) at age 65 or get the partial benefit at age 62. Delusionally-speaking, 69% have set the date for taking social security as exactly the same as they said it was two years ago — despite declining value of their assets and the state of the economy, not to mention their level of employment.

What, me worry?  Here’s where the delusional part really begins in earnest. Sixty-six percent of them have one or both living parents. Half of them have children still living at home. But what are they concerned with — despite these two arguably significant future care-related issues? Twenty-five percent worry about affordability of their own health care, and only 18% of the respondants worry about remaining useful. Only 15% imagine they will want to or have to work part-time in their retirement years; only 13% of them worry about funding long-term care needs, and only 12% of them are concerned with outliving their money.

Middle boomers — read the older boomer tea leaves. In another MetLife report from October, the real world of older boomers is explored in the pleasantly-titled Buddy Can you Spare A Job? Three-quarters of today’s older boomer workers expect to work for pay after retirement, but fewer than 35% report actually making it happen.  Meanwhile, turns out that working in retirement correlates with better health. From this, we can conclude that older boomers need the money. Middle boomers will need the money too, and not just for their own health care costs. And it doesn’t hurt that working can be engaging, that it provides you with a purpose, and that it keeps your mind from rotting.

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Mature Market Experts: stats and news you can use on boomers, seniors and the mature market – 5 Important Trends for The Ages - Ever since I wrote Death of the Continuing Care Retirement Community on our Mature Market Experts blog, people have been asking me what the future holds for our aging population. Here are some trends I see that will change the lives of aging baby boomers and seniors:

1. Virtual communities – With the help of technology, organizations such as the Village to Village Network are successfully changing how seniors age in place. By offering a wide variety of services – from in-home preferred vendor lists, cultural and social events and member-to-member volunteer opportunities … to health and wellness programs, educational and special interest programs and community service – all accessible via phone or computer – organizations such as these are making it easier for people to successfully age in place.  Beacon Hill Village in Boston, founded in 2001, is a great example of this, as is the newer Mill City Commons.

Please note, that I said, “successfully” age in place. Adding elements such as common dining tables and happy hours at local partnering dining establishments, along with the transportation to get there, adds an important social element that was previously missing from this sort of offering.

Baltimore/Washington has become a hotbed for these villages. According to a recent Washington Post article, there are six in Washington, DC, at least two in Fairfax County and eight others in various stages of development in Montgomery County. I expect the rest of the country will soon follow important trend.

2. New Urbanism – This “new” trend was supposed to happen a long time ago. I think a couple of things are finally conspiring to make it more likely to happen now:

a. Urban land values have dramatically dropped, allowing creative developers to take advantage of better pricing

b. Towns and cities have become desperate for tax revenue making them more amenable to developers’ designs

c. The recent recession has altered the “bigger is better” mindset that had taken over housing … which means the more modest square footage available in urban living is becoming more acceptable (that being said, I wouldn’t build anything less than 2 bedroom floor plans if at all possible)

d. Boomers don’t want to move to a “retirement” community and understand the benefits of urban life

Again, smart retirement community developers will understand these trends and meld them into their plans. A perfect example of this is the The Cardinal at North Hills, which is a full-service retirement community being built in the heart of North Hills, a newly revitalized part of Raleigh, North Carolina. North Hills’ wonderful array of new shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues become tangible amenities of The Cardinal and a key component in their marketing.

3. Technology – The key to executing excellent ideas like virtual communities is efficiencies. Technology provides the efficiencies that allow models like this to work for the very first time. Just as important, the technology now allows for the monitoring of a senior’s vitals (and non-vitals). According to a recent report, Caregiving in the US of 50+:
• 23% of caregivers reported utilizing an electronic organizer/calendar
• 16% use an emergency response system
• 12% utilize electronic information with their doctor or care manager,
• 10% reported using electronic sensors to detect safety problems
• 7% said they use website/software for health records

Again, just as important is the use of technology for social contact, for example email and Facebook. Recently, my children introduced visual Skype to their grandparents. It is advances like these that mitigate some of the risks associated with social isolation.

Look for investors to continue to pour money into health care/social issue technology.

4. Mini-retirements/lifelong employment – Boomers tell us they’re going to work far beyond age 65, for two reasons; necessity and fulfillment. Yes, boomers and seniors have been hit extremely hard by the recent recession … but I also believe that people are beginning to understand that life “engagement” is essential to good health (this is particularly important for the brain). As a result, I believe many boomers who would have previously turned to retirement will turn to “mini-retirements,” meaning vacations of one month or more. These longer vacations allow for the opportunity to invigorate the mind and soul in a more meaningful way than the traditional vacation (this concept was first espoused by Tim Ferriss, who wrote an interesting book called the 4-Hour Work Week).

Today, it’s a lot easier to slip between the world of work and play, thanks to technology. It’s now just as easy to get most work done from the sunny Caribbean as it is from DC, New York, Chicago, or LA. I predict that we’ll see this as a growing trend … longer careers dotted with mini-retirements.

If you operate a retirement community with monthly service fees, make sure you offer an adjustment for these long lapses in their occupancy. Otherwise, you might be scaring off some of your younger residents who like to travel. In addition, make sure that your community offers administrative services, that working residents can utilize at a cost. Making it easier to maintain their business, will make it easier to choose your community.

5. Health care plans will begin to pay for prevention – as I discussed in the point above, research is beginning to show us that if you don’t use it, you lose it! Health care companies will begin to focus on preventive health care rather than reactive health care. Expect to see more health plans adopt programs like Silver Sneakers. Why? Because it saves the plan money, helps with new member recruitment, while at the same time assisting in member retention.

Brain fitness will be a key component of this plan, as the costs of Alzheimer’s and dementia threaten to ravage the US health care system (there are now nearly a half million new cases of Alzheimer’s each year; and by 2050, it is expected that there will be nearly a million new cases per year).

Developers of retirement communities and active 55s would be wise to partner up with these preventative programs, as they will become an increasingly important marketing “amenity” in your community. Note: I recommend reading The Anti-Alzheimer’s Prescription.

Remember, when it comes to building housing for seniors, it’s all about control. A senior who is tackling the aging process is looking to remain in control of their life. That’s hard to do, when your body is letting you down. Anything you can do as a developer/operator that enables them to maintain that goal gets you closer to a sale.

About the author: Tom Mann is the Managing Partner of TR Mann Consulting, a marketing/advertising firm that specializes in marketing to boomers and beyond.  In the last ten years, he has helped sell over 7 billion worth of retirement communities. He is also the co-founder of Mature Market Experts.

 (photo bbc.co.uk)

 It was formerly a terrifying view to me that I should one day be an old woman.
I now find that Nature has provided pleasure for every state.

-Mary Worley Montagu

In the ancient Western traditions dragons were often portrayed as frightening and destructive forces that the gods must battle with in the pursuit of good triumphing over evil. “Here there be dragons” is a phrase thought to be placed on maps by medieval English mapmakers depicting dangerous or unexplored territories past the edges of their known world.

The phrase might well be used to describe the unknown and “terrifying” territory of old age. Living past the age of 65 is a relativity recent phenomenon. Life expectancy for women at birth in 1900 was just 48.3 years (men = 46.3). Contrast that with one-in-five Americans being over the age of 65 by 2030 and out numbering teens two to one. Longevity, for the developed world, is the “here there be dragons” of the modern era. For World War II generation women the topography of old age is the landscape of daily life—for boomer women it’s still uncharted waters.

Do You Want to be an Old Woman?
I remember listening to the lungs of an elderly woman who was admitted for congestive heart failure (CHF). As I strategically placed my stethoscope on her chest I said: “Big breaths—Big breaths.” Her reply surprised me; in a quivering-Parkinson’s voice and a smile, she quipped: “They…use…to…be…”

This brings to mind a quote from Gypsy Rose Lee, in Barbara McDowell and Hana Umlauf, Woman’s Almanac (1977):
I’ve got everything I always had. Only it’s six inches lower.

I’ve always enjoyed telling that story because it speaks to a truth about aging. If we are fortunate enough to get old we’ll experience the physical changes which accompany age—and hopefully have a sense of humor about it.

Have you seen the recent ad from Kaiser Permanente: Do you want to be an old woman? This campaign is bold and brilliant in that it flies in the face of conventional wisdom in several important ways:
1) Marketers will tell you to shy away from using terms like “old” or “aging” when selling to boomers and beyond.
2) The traditional medical model has emphasized “sick-care” not “health-care.”

This ad turns conventional wisdom on its head and has the audacity of hope (thanks Mr. President) to ask the question straight out: Do you want to be an old woman? It’s NOT about anti-aging—in fact it’s just the opposite. Emphasizing prevention (get a mammogram) so you can live long enough to BECOME AN OLD WOMAN and experience all the unknown experiences (territories) awaiting you.

This is about “compressing morbidity” and extending health—not just extending life. And the message is delivered with the soulful sound-track of Michelle Shocked – When I Grow Up. This ad demonstrates a deeper understanding of human behavior and respects the maturing psyches of women who are living fully within their age.

When running marathons with Geri-Athlete Mavis Lindgren, I often overheard her say: “I’m having fun being an old lady,” and she meant it. Perhaps out in the uncharted edge waters of old age she had encountered a different kind of dragon, of the Asian tradition, that often symbolize power, happiness, good fortune and wealth—and had a message for those of us still waiting back on the shore…That there is pleasure at every state.

One of my favorite movies scenes of all times is when middle-aged baby boomer Evelyn Couch (Kathy Bates in the movie Fried Green Tomatoes) is waiting patiently for a parking spot in a shopping center. Just as the spot becomes available, two young girls in a cute little car cut in front of her and steal her parking spot.

Evelyn Couch: “Hey! I was waiting for that spot!”
Rude Girl: “Face it, lady, we’re younger and faster! “

Then, Evelyn calmly and coolly reeves up her car and then repeatedly rams her car into the back of their tiny VW Bug, smiles and says, “Face it, girls: I’m older, and I have more insurance.”

As our population ages, and as the senior population continues to possess the lion’s share of our country’s disposable income, it becomes more and more apparent to me that the mature market rules — or can choose to rule as Kathy Bates’ character did.

Research from Harris Interactive says that retirees feel that Madison Avenue has forgotten they exist. The study, commissioned by the TV Land cable network, shows that two-thirds of adult TV viewers say that most television programming and advertising is targeted at people under 40.

In cities around the county, an eye-popping 80+ percent of mature market respondents over 40 claim they can’t find TV programming that portrays their lives. The sooner programming reflects seniors’ interests, the sooner they will buy the advertised products. OK, maybe they aren’t rushing out to buy Apple IPads yet, but the mature market still buys a ton of consumer products.

I think these PowerPoint slides accurately capture the insanity of this situation.

Truth be told, I could care less if the mature market buy doesn’t buy products from marketers who are asleep. But I’m smart enough to know that economics is very often the driving force behind our society. How much longer will society devalue the mature market’s contributions (current and future)? If we are going to climb out of this recession, we need to recognize both the economic and social value of the senior population.

Today's retirement communities like The Heritage of Green Hills defy the stereotypes of continuing care retirement communities.

 Mature Market Experts: more news and stats you can use on seniors, boomers and the mature market – Death of the “Continuing Care Retirement Community” – I am about to make myself some enemies. At TR Mann Consulting, we believe that marketing your retirement community as Continuing Care retirement community may be one of the worst decisions you could ever make. In fact, I would put as much distance between my retirement community and the term “continuing care retirement community” as possible. Why?

Semantics are important. They shape how your staff interacts with your clients. They also shape your customers’ opinion of your offering — and how they feel about themselves. Your job is to make them feel good about themselves in relation to your product.

Less than 3% of the age and income qualified population will ever move into a Continuing Care Retirement Community. “Why is there such a huge gap between the wonderful truth of what Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) are . . . and what the general public perceives them to be?”

What we know:
Today’s modern-day continuing care retirement community is an extraordinary social invention. Residents of CCRCs often say, “I should have done this years ago.”  If you are over 70, there is no denying that a continuing care retirement community can help you avoid the trappings of social isolation that are hard-wired into your house in the suburbs. Anyone who has ever worked in the industry has seen the wonderful transformations that people make as they rediscover their social side.

What the public thinks:
What’s the number one objection retirement community sales people hear from prospects? “I’m just not ready for THIS  kind of living.” Most often, this statement is coming from a senior who is over the age of 80! Sadly, most people think “CCRCs” or “Lifecare Communities” are assisted living, nursing homes or old folks’ homes in disguise. What breaks my heart is that this perception prevents seniors from enjoying both the social and medical support that would dramatically improve their lives today. Worse yet, by waiting, your potential resident dramatically lowers their chances of getting into a truly “independent setting” in the future. The problem then compounds … moving when you HAVE TO, as opposed to moving by choice, significantly lowers the odds of successful transition.

What we know:
The retirement community industry has put its foot in its mouth. After all, what do you hear when someone says, “CONTINUING CARE?” When people hear “continuing care” they view it as inevitable that they will cycle through the full system . . . in their minds they think, that’s why they (the operators) call it “continuing care.”  We know that the vast majority of people will not need the higher levels of care available in continuing care retirement communities. Yes, it’s valuable if your retirement community offers these higher levels of care but you need to be very, very subtle about how you portray these services.

Who wouldn’t want to avoid expensive assisted living and nursing care?  More importantly, who wants to live in a nursing home? This huge perception gap between what today’s CCRC communities really are, and what the public thinks they are is keeping the vast majority of the people (96%+) away from an incredibly rich lifestyle.

Notes from the field:

• Modern-day Continuing Care Retirement Communities are awesome.

After working with retirement communities for over two decades, I say this for two reasons. One, seniors who move into a continuing care retirement community have more social interaction . . . more social interaction equals happier people. Research has shown that the active, social lifestyle found in modern-day continuing care retirement communities helps to reduce the risk of disease and disability. By the way, dining is a HUGE component of this – nutritious, balanced meals are very often not the norm for seniors living alone. Not to mention, the benefits of dining with friends.

Two, seniors who move into a CCRC are able to practice preventative medical care rather than reactive care. This, my friends, is a HUGE advantage! For example, would you rather improve your balance through exercise or spend months recovering from a broken hip? My parents moved into a CCRC over eight years ago (Charlestown Retirement Community) and it turned out to be one of the smartest moves they ever could have made.

• The terms “Continuing Care Retirement Community” and “Lifecare Retirement Community” should be banned from your sales person’s vocabulary.

Look carefully at these two terms: 
•  “Continuing Care Retirement Community” – hmmm, this is the place I go for “Continuous Care.”  Sounds a lot like “Skilled Nursing Care.” The industry throws around a confusing array of terms and acronyms, most of which are medically related, and none of which the general public understands. Mudding the situation even further are the distinctions between type A, B, and C continuing care retirement communities that few people in the industry, let alone the general public, understand. And all reinforcing negative perceptions.
• “LifeCare Retirement Community” – am I going to need care for the rest of my life? Do I need “Life Support?” Clearly, my neighbors will be sickly if I move in here. I can’t wait to share dinner with a guy in a wheelchair drooling (sorry, but it’s what the customer is thinking).

Sadly, the industry suffers from murky, medical sounding terms and definitions (in fact, in many cases, there are purposeful “misuses” of terminology designed to confuse the customer, ie. the assisted living facility that wants to sound like a CCRC). Here’s an example of what the today’s top 3 Google internet listings were for term “life care”:

LIFE EVENT MANAGEMENT SERVICES : LIFECARE
LifeCare.com is the nation’s premier provider of human resources work and family benefits. Our services include child care and adult care counseling, …
www.lifecare.com/ – 24k – Cached – Similar pages

LIFE CARE CENTERS – AMERICA’S NURSING HOMES
Life Care Centers of America provides skilled nursing homes, assisted living, long term care, retirement, home care, and Alzheimer’s centers to help you and …
www.lcca.com/ – 45k – Cached – Similar pages

LIFECARE HOSPITALS – LONG-TERM ACUTE CARE (LTAC) SERVICES AND …
LifeCare Hospitals, national healthcare service / hospitals for long-term acute care (LTAC).

None of these sound like a fun place to live.

Both “continuing care”  and “lifecare” are infused with medical, nursing home connotations that make the customer sound and feel weak. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes, do you want to look and sound weak in front of your friends and family?

• The industry has to move from a “nurse mentality” to a “service” mentality.  

And it can’t just be our words (think of the subtle message your community’s shuttle bus currently offers, if you’re a potential resident do you want to arrive on the scene in a bus that could easily be confused for your county’s senior center bus? Or better yet, one of Jerry’s kids? Wouldn’t you prefer a nice sedan or a trolley with no community labeling?

Now, I hear some of the more sophisticated marketers retort, “yes, but we don’t use this language in our marketing!” You don’t? Take a look at your contracts, the directories you’re advertising your retirement communities in, and the associations you belong to.

• Applying an industry label doesn’t help the customer feel better about your community or themselves.

Today’s retirement community offerings are not your father’s Oldsmobile.  By calling our retirement communities a CCRC we are putting the negatives first. As Scott Bedbury, the genius behind Nike and Starbucks once said, “Brands, like coffee beans, are highly sensitive sponges that absorb whatever is around them. And they don’t discriminate between the good, the bad, and the ugly.” There have been plenty of ugly CCRCs in the last 25 years, do you want that association?

Those of us in marketing have often said, “the customers’ house is our biggest competition.” The truth is that our biggest competition is the perceived safety that their house represents vs. the negative perceptions about CCRCs.  We need to distance ourselves from these negative perceptions by dropping the old labels and visuals queues (CCRC accreditation logos, shuttle buses, etc.), and then by associating fun, exciting visuals and descriptions. Today’s retirement communities ARE different.

Today’s sophisticated retiree is looking to protect their quality of life and their financial health. We need to eliminate the excuse, “I’m just not ready for THAT style of living.” It’s time to rethink our message and reach out for a new identity.

Mature Market Experts: More news and stats you can use on boomers, seniors and the mature market – After the Downturn, Will Seniors Retire? A new study released by economists Thomas Steinmeier of Texas Tech and Alan Gustman and Nahid Tabatabai of Dartmouth College suggests that most baby boomers will recover sufficiently from the 2008/2009 economic downturn to only slightly delay their retirement plans.The study purports that the average worker close to retirement age (53 to 58) holds only about 15.2 percent of their money in the stock market. The rest of their projected wealth comes from anticipated Social Security Benefits, pensions and other assets. [Author's note: this is based on the University of Michigan's Health and Retirement Study - does Michigan have a higher percent of pensioners than the rest of the country?] Also, the study’s authors suggest that the recession may actually encourage retirement for baby boomers in a very competitive job market. To learn more click here.

Mature Market Experts: More news and stats you can use on boomers, seniors and the mature market – Baby Boomers Boom into Volunteerism - Volunteerism is on the rise in the US. Some site the realization of increased need in this difficult economy as their motivator. Others are unemployed and willing and able to contribute their time, perhaps instead of the money they might have given in the past. The president’s emphasis on community service is also credited with the drastic increase in volunteers. Numerous people have signed up through the website www.serve.gov. Many of these volunteers are boomers, and nonprofits are benefiting from their business and professional skills, as well as more traditional physical labor. They in turn, site satisfaction as a major reward for their altruistic efforts. To read more click here.

Baby Boomers and Volunteering

• Nearly a third of all boomers – comprising some 25.8 million people – volunteered for a formal organization in 2005. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
• At 33.2%, the volunteer rate for baby boomers is the highest of any generational age group, and more than four percentage points above the national average of 28.8%. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
• A typical boomer volunteer serves 51 hours a year, or approximately one hour a week. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
• The percentage of retired baby boomers who volunteered increased steadily, from approximately 25% in 2002 to approximately 30% in 2004. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
• Volunteering tends to peak at mid-life, around the current age of baby boomers, and then decline slightly; declining further among the oldest old (typically 75+).
• The biggest single inducement for baby boomers to volunteer is being asked by someone with whom one has an established relationship.
• Baby boomers are less likely than older age groups to volunteer out of a sense of duty or obligation and more likely to volunteer as part of a social interaction.
• Baby boomers are more likely to volunteer as a result of social, self development, self-esteem, or leisure-focused motivations. Episodic, familiar, community-based opportunities are also preferred.
• Four out of five boomers see work as playing a role in their retirement years, with only 20% anticipating retiring and not working at all (AARP):
• Of U.S. workers over 45, 69% plan to work in some capacity during retirement, with only 28% expecting not to work at all.
• More than 75% of workers 45+ feel that work is important to their self-esteem.

(Research taken from the 2004 “Reinventing Aging – Baby Boomers and Civic Engagement” report, Harvard School of Public Health & MetLife Foundation Initiative on Retirement and Civic Engagement, unless otherwise cited.) Source: Get Involved

If you own or operate a retirement community or health club, you owe it to your residents/patrons and yourself to serve as a spark for their spirit of volunteerism. By enabling them, you not only engage their body, mind and spirit … you also open an incredibly valuable public relations source for the community. Many retirees are searching for new meaning in their lives. After all, society tends to devalue you once you retire. What’s the first question someone asks you at a party? “So, who do you work for?” Well, these stories don’t appear in the paper by accident, they are often guided by talented PR people. And the effect? Seniors look at a story like this and go, “I want to be involved!” Very often their next thought is, “Man, I want to live at a place where people are doing cool stuff!”

Think about it this way, have you ever placed an inspirational story about one of your residents/health club members? PR is even more powerful than advertising. It comes across as an unsolicited recommendation. I guarantee you, the stories that you don’t yet know about your residents/members will amaze you. And even more importantly, getting to know your residents/members this deeply, so that you can discover these stories, will be even more important than the PR itself. Your members will feel a real connection with you. They know that they belong and are cared for. Plus, most people love being stars!

Hint: These stories are EASY to create, if you know how to create real relationships with the people you work with and the surrounding community. If you’d like some more “relational marketing” ideas, check out this PowerPoint presentation.