By Susan Saldibar

Congratulations on muddling through 2020. 

Lots of lessons learned, one being that we need to know, now more than ever, what’s happening “out there”. Not just news about COVID and vaccines. We need more data about consumer behavior as it relates to today’s crazy world, not yesterday’s predictable one.

That’s why we go to people like Valerie Whitman, VP of Senior Living for LeadingResponse (a Foresight partner). LeadingResponse collects this data on an almost daily basis. And Valerie understands the value of sharing it. 

What’s Happening “Out There”?

Here, according to Valerie’s surveys and data, is what’s happening “out there”:

  1. Attendance rates to virtual events, like webinars, have skyrocketed. In April we were seeing 41% average attendee rates to live webinars. Then, after more surveying and more data gathering, we found that if you had a meal delivered to a prospect in advance of your online event, attendance jumped up to an average of 86%.
  2. We are also finding that on-demand, “evergreen” webinars are yielding an average of 71% attendee participation. The other good thing about pre-recorded, on-demand events is that you get your leads faster than waiting for a live, scheduled event. You can also use that interactive recorded webinar for lead nurturing and building your educational webinar library series.
  3. We were pleasantly surprised to see the rapid senior adaption to technology, particularly virtual technology. This time last year, seniors were telling us “no way”. They preferred to hold out for the in-person contact. Now, they’ve grown used to using smartphones and tablets for online chats and virtual events. Especially when you make the platform easy for them to use, such as no download required!
  4. One of the biggest surprises we found in the results of our extensive survey of seniors and adult children, is that many seniors hold a strong preference for living in a senior living community rather than being isolated alone at home.
  5. Seniors living alone expressed concern about not having the ability to get to the grocery store or to the doctor; things they felt would be better served in a senior living community.

And There’s More Where This Came From

Valerie feels that these are good signs that senior living (despite all the bad press of recent months) is still seen by prospective residents as having clear benefits. Even in the middle of a pandemic. So there is hope for those operators who follow the data and market accordingly.

Valerie has a lot more data and insights and is in the process of assembling some of the questions and comments from concerned prospective residents and their family members expressed during their live webinars. That’s up next. So stay tuned.

For more information about LeadingResponse, please visit their website.

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