Big Buzz recently surveyed more than 100 senior living executives to uncover insights into how they achieve higher marketing outcomes through team alignment.
When asked how often the sales and marketing teams of your peers’ entire organizations meet, 3% of respondents said their teams meet once annually, 24% meet once quarterly, 48% meet once monthly, 23% meet as needs arise, and 2% indicated that their marketing and sales team never meets together.
To keep momentum and consistency in senior living growth and scaling initiatives, we suggest a quarterly pulse of regular whole-organization sales and marketing meetings. Having a one-page strategic marketing plan on hand, similar to the template below, can help frame the conversation and give way to actionable outcomes. The “BIG,” or Big Important Goal, at the top, as well as the objectives in the left column, stay the same for the year, and the strategies and measures are refreshed each quarter dynamically as the bulk of the meeting agenda.
Here are a few deeper insights from your peers on how they are using the quarterly pulse meeting and one-page strategic marketing plan:
“During our whole-organization sales and marketing meetings, we dedicate considerable time to discussing and refining our strategy. We delve into market trends, emerging technologies and new marketing methods to ensure that we remain at the forefront of the industry. By aligning our goals with our sales and marketing activities, we can effectively navigate the ever-evolving market landscape and maintain our competitive edge.”
– Third-quarter 2023 survey respondent
“At the heart of our organization’s success lies our dedicated sales team. To support their growth and enhance their effectiveness, we prioritize providing comprehensive training and development opportunities. During our meetings, we focus on evaluating sales performance, setting ambitious but attainable targets and incentivizing our sales team. We inspire our sales staff and equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge to excel in their roles. It’s more than a meeting; it’s a time to motivate our team to achieve exceptional results.”
– Third-quarter 2023 survey respondent
“In our whole-team meetings, we carve out time to discuss our levels of care, including each one’s strengths and weaknesses and how we can close any known gaps. We explore how to bring various levels of care to market effectively, ensuring that we communicate the value proposition of each while also staying consistent with our overall brand positioning. This is how we enhance customer satisfaction, differentiate ourselves from competitors and expand our reach.”
– Third-quarter 2023 survey respondent
This e-book has additional information.
Wendy O’Donovan Phillips is CEO of Big Buzz, a marketing agency that for more than 15 years has helped senior living marketing and sales teams nurture leads to increase occupancy, grow and scale. She is the author of the book “Flourish!: The Method Used by Aging Services Organizations for the Ultimate Marketing Results,” has been published in McKnight’s Senior Living, has been a regular contributor to Forbes, and has been quoted in the Washington Post, ABC News and Chicago Tribune.
The Big Buzz leadership team regularly lectures in front of audiences ranging from 25 to 6,000 attendees, including at Argentum and various LeadingAge chapters. Agency awards and accolades include recognition for excellence by the American Marketing Association, Gold Key Award Winner by the Business Marketing Association, HubSpot Academy Inbound Marketing Certification and Top Advertising and Marketing Agency by Clutch.
The opinions expressed in each McKnight’s Senior Living guest column are those of the author and are not necessarily those of McKnight’s Senior Living.
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