By MaryLee Herrmann

Do you know your community’s true value proposition?

It makes sense that when crafting your marketing messaging, a solid value prop is important. But did you know it can be beneficial in other ways?

In a recent Marketing Monday conversation, “How to Sell What you REALLY Sell,” Alex Smith (Further’s Pricing Assistant, a Foresight partner), Leigh Ann Hubbard (Foresight), and a panel of experts explained how value propositions impact:

  • Pricing
  • Move-ins
  • Resident satisfaction
  • Company pride
  • Team alignment

That’s why you have to get these value propositions spot-on. And there are techniques to do that!

Pricing Based in Reality

Let’s take pricing first: Alex stresses that the biggest thing you need to know when determining rates is how your community stands out. What differentiates you from your competition?

And this differentiation needs to be true and specific. As he points out, you can’t simply print “We’re the best!” on your brochure and be done with it. You need something tangible to back that statement up. (The Pricing Assistant is one tool that can help you figure it out.)

Satisfaction Based on Promises Delivered

One guest on the show, Eric Varian, senior vice president of sales at the Aspenwood Company, explains that value propositions aren’t only about claiming to be better than the community down the street, they are about doing your research to find out exactly what you offer that is unique — and then using that data to attract the potential residents that are most suited for your community. Finding a good fit helps ensure long-term satisfaction for everyone involved.

Eric also shared a great idea for pinpointing what is special about your community:

One of the things I like to do with my team is I like to have them go to their referral partners and ask them to explain why they refer our communities, or our specific community, so that we really understand if the market understands our differentiator …. Because once you clearly define it, you have to be unapologetically committed to it.

Though it might seem counterintuitive, at Aspenwood, they tell every prospect, “We are not for everyone.” Understanding what attracts customers to your community (and keeps them happy there) puts your team in a position to confidently speak about what you offer and where you excel.

Setting the Team Up for Success

All the panelists agree that it is crucial for each member of your team to be in alignment with your value proposition. Worst case is you’re selling something they can’t deliver on. Best case is you’ve uncovered gold — that they deliver every single day.

For example, Jessi Weldon, executive vice president of sales, marketing and research with Primrose Retirement Communities, shares about a community in Ohio where the leader “is always finding ways to say yes.”

His team decided they wanted to do a live nativity scene during the holidays, and one of the other leaders said wouldn’t it be great if they could find a live camel for the event.

Some people would brush that aside as an awful lot to deal with; however, this executive director said, “Why can’t we?” Sure enough, they had a live camel at their nativity scene.

Jessi explains, “This is just one instance of finding ways to say yes, and they are known from the referral partners, the customers, the families in that market as the community that will give you the best experience possible.”

So What’s Your “Camel”?

You don’t have to bring a dromedary on-site, but check out the roundtable discussion to learn more about how to find your community’s strongest components — and even how to use those to help calculate pricing. Then let us know your value prop!

For additional insight into evaluating your value proposition, schedule a Pricing Assistant demo with Alex.