Colorado Real Estate Journal - November 4, 2015
Question of the Month
Q: There hasn’t been a time since around the year 2000 that we have had so many new properties coming into the market simultaneously. Have your absorption expectations changed, and how have you adapted your marketing and sales strategies or expectations to meet this challenge?
Jason Atwell
We have observed all of the new entrants into the market, but have not seen an adverse impact to our business plan expectations. Douglas County has been named one of the top 10, fastest-growing senior populations in the nation.
Wind Crest, our Erickson Living Community in Highlands Ranch, just recently released 203 independent living units into the market and has only 10 remaining. Another building of 99 additional IL units is scheduled to open in early 2017. With the addition of this building, our community will have 882 IL units. Our continuing-care building, 144 private suites, is nearly full with very little availability in assisted living and memory care.
We anticipate continued, steady growth over the next several years and will continue to build more IL units as the demand continues. We have increased our absorption expectations based upon studying the market and by observing the demand that we have experienced and upon what we anticipate will continue. We have not changed our marketing and sales strategies other than to share the message of our scarcity of units and we consistently urge our prospects not to wait, but to move now while they can enjoy the lifestyle that our community provides.
It is my firm belief that seniors who move into communities enjoy a lifestyle better than those who remain in their houses and that there are enough seniors to fill ours and many, many of the communities in our market.
Shannon Ingram
At Anthem Memory Care, we welcome the arrival of more quality senior care options in Denver. With Alzheimer’s and other dementias expected to increase by 40 percent in Colorado in the coming decade, everyone concerned about this issue must work together to ensure those affected and their families have the services and support they need to meet this extraordinary challenge.
The growth of other providers in the market has not affected our business and we do not expect that it will. At the beginning of 2015, we began building a more structured sales and marketing function, but this move was a planned step that is part of our growth rather than a response to market conditions. We did make some small adjustments to our expectations in Denver this year, but we have exceeded those goals.
As to the reason for our success: From our organization’s inception, we have stayed true to our mission of going beyond simply providing daily care services and security to those with memory-impairing diseases. In also offering them understanding and significance through purposeful daily living, we provide the fulfillment, pleasure and transformed life that come from knowing they matter.
Lorna Lee
With 10,000 baby boomers retiring every day, the senior-living industry has predictably responded with a spike in new development over the past few years. Consumers are the clear beneficiaries, having that many more and varied options from which to choose. Meanwhile, operators are left with the challenging consequence of slower fill rates. In such a consumer’s market, the onus on operators is to identify and present their unique differentiator to the public, to present it with consistency, across all touch points of brand. Sales and marketing messages, spanning the gamut of channels, must communicate with conviction not only the mission of a company, but also the culture that mission inspires. Strategic campaigns should pivot around a highly localized message, sensitive to and reflective of the market’s unique voice.
By this, and with a clear action plan, sales teams can hit the pre-open benchmarks that predicate fill-up goals. A refreshing change in sales methodology is to replace the myopic goal of simply amassing leads with that of investing the time to build real relationships with a much smaller lead base. By doing this the sales process not just slowed, but enriched, creating a setting in which families’ spoken and unspoken priorities are heard and met. With this paradigm shift comes a parallel slowing of the hiring process, essential for selecting not just appropriate skill sets but also motives of the heart. For if senior living is to hold to its moorings, it must be led by compassion for and love of seniors.
Eric Lindsey
This is an exciting time for senior living. In the two decades that I have been serving seniors, it seems as if this question pops up often. The natural ebb and flow of development and absorption rates force us to reevaluate often the best course of action toward marketing and sales.
Frankly, we thrive on that. By having great competition and a lot coming on line at the same time, it forces us to sharpen our message and skills. Just look at how technology has changed the playing field in the past five to 10 years. Social media essentially did not exist until around 2006. Here we had an entirely new way to touch our customers and residents. The family communication process alone was revolutionized by social media and we have adapted our community technology accordingly. Mobile devices, activity (life enrichment) tracking, real time “life” updates and instant two-way messaging are all products we have in our Villagio communities that were just ideas a few years ago. These options are now essential, not only in the pre-move-in or marketing process, but also for post-move-in communication.
Having the flexibility of connecting with family members and our residents, or potential residents, is more important than ever, and our tools allow that. To adapt to ever-changing environments yet maintain values and standards is a challenge, but I am proud that Villagio has done well in this regard and will continue to for many years to come.