Helping consumers narrow down their choices.
A month or so ago I sat down with Andy Cohen the CEO of Caring.com a Senior Housing Forum Partner to talk about the world of senior living and online lead generation. That conversation resulted in an article titled If You Were Starting From Scratch How Would You Market Your Community?. As we were talking very specifically about how Caring.com fits in the senior living lead generation ecosystem he said this.
“Caring.com is the eHarmony of senior living.”
A Changed World
One of the spectacular benefits of the Internet is the way it has empowered consumers to make better, more informed choices.
- When you hear about a new restaurant, off you go to Yelp to see what others have to say.
- Going on a cruise to Alaska? You wouldn’t dare give up a credit card number to a tour or travel company without going to TripAdvisor or Cruise Critic to see what kind of experiences others have had.
- Looking for a new refrigerator, stove, microwave, camera or computer? The reviews are critical in narrowing your choices.
Too Many Choices
In the world of senior living, most marketplaces provide dozens of options to choose from. It can be difficult to tell which communities provide the right services and at what prices. Even a web search turns up a dizzying number of choices.
I did a search for assisted living Citrus Heights (where I live) and Google provided me 133,000 links. I might click through to a page or two of those . . . maybe. I would likely be more confused than before I started. A search for assisted living, Citrus Heights at Caring.com yielded 265 results which is still pretty overwhelming. What makes it a lot better is the very first choice is a link to a list of 22 assisted living communities that have consumer reviews. This is still a daunting list, particularly since as a consumer I may not even be sure my loved one needs assisted living.
Who Should I Date
As Andy explained, the reason Caring.com is like eHarmony is that people use eHarmony’s services as a starting point to figure out who is worth further investigation. They look at dozens of potential dates or mates and select a few individuals who seem worthy of further investigation. Then comes the dating period, which ultimately means a further narrowing to a single choice for a lifelong commitment. It is the same thing when someone starts looking for senior living.
Often what happens is that a site user thinks 22 communities with consumer ratings is pretty overwhelming so they call or email caring.com, which then allows an expert to help the prospect further narrow the dating field to 3-5 communities that are worth further investigation.
Closing the Sale
As senior communities compete to be “the one,” it is still a bit like eHarmony. A quick response suggests a high degree of interest and a not so quick response suggests a low level of caring.
You Have To Be There
The final piece of the puzzle is that if you are looking for a mate but don’t have a profile on eHarmony or another dating site, your chances of being found drop dramatically. It is not to say that you won’t find Mr. or Mrs. Right. It just becomes a lot tougher.
Steve
RE: comments on Yelp…it’s not so easy. Apparently the owner of the site that is being written about can delete comments from viewers, esp. if they don’t pay for their subscription.
I have commented several times on Yelp regarding an AL and it repeatedly was deleted. So I wouldn’t trust Yelp.
Don’t know about others.
STEVE! REMEMBER CHERRY BLOSSOM COTTAGE WHERE WE, NOT ONLY, GOT ON THE, IN THIS CASE, THE 22 WITH REVIEWS LIST, BUT WERE AT THE “TOP” OF THE, “HIT,” LIST BY HAVING THE “MOST” REVIEWS! I WONDER IF MANY “PROVIDERS” HAVE THE GOOD SENSE TO DO WHAT I DID, I.E. GET THEIR HAPPY RESIDENTS TO, WITH HELP, WRITE REVIEWS?
ROLLIE HENRY,
ROSEY RETIREMENT RESOURCES, PORTLAND, OREGON,
971-201-7564, [email protected]
I’M WORKING HARD AT ADDRESSING THE FACT THAT MANY, MOST, FACILITIES LET THEIR RESIDENTS GO “BRAIN DEAD,” LIKE CHERRY BLOSSOM COTTAGE DID ME, AND DOES THEIR RESIDENTS. I’M OFFERING “LIFE LONG LEARNING THROUGH INTERNET TECHNOLOGY” BY TEACHING SENIORS TO USE THEIR, VERY OWN i-Pad, AND “SURF” THE INTERNET BY THEMSELVES! THAT IS “EXACTLY” WHAT I DID, FOR MYSELF, AT CHERRY BLOSSOM COTTAGE WHEN I REALIZED I WAS GOING “BRAIN DEAD” AND THAT, VORACIOUS, READING, AND BINGO, WASN’T ENOUGH. I PAID, MYSELF, FOR WIFI IN MY ROOM BECAUSE CHERRY BLOSSOM ONLY HAD IT IN THE LIVING ROOM, AND REFUSED TO PAY TO HAVE IT EXTENDED.
ANYWAY, I’D BE PLEASED TO HEAR FROM YOU, AND BENEFIT FROM YOUR INSIGHT ON WHAT I’M DOING! F.Y.I. – THIS “IS NOT” A “FREEBIE,” AS, MANY FACILITIES WOULD LIKE! ONE AVENUE I’D LIKE TO PURSUE IS THE FAMILY MEMBERS OF THE ELDERS. FIRST, I’D LIKE THEM TO UNDERSTAND THAT, WHAT I CALL THE “MENTAL CARE GIVING” AT, I’LL BE KIND, MANY FACILITIES IS, MOSTLY, NONEXISTENT. BINGO AND DOMINOES DOESN’T CUT IT! I’D LIKE THE FAMILY MEMBERS TO KNOW THAT ROSEY RETIREMENT RESOURCES WILL NOT LET THEIR, MOM OR POP, GO “BRAIN DEAD!” THEY SHOULD CARE ENOUGH ABOUT THEIR SENIOR’S MENTAL WELFARE TO BE, THRILLED AT THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE THEIR LIFE WORTH LIVING! TO ME, THAT IS “PRICE LESS!”
As a RN, I saw a need for quality resources as the missing piece of the puzzle for families seeking housing and care options for their loved ones and created Assisted Living Locators over a decade ago.
I believe online resources who have never met with clients face to face or personally assessed ad visited the individual properties do provide a “e- match service”; however, given a choice families would choose a service where they have access to a local Eldercare Advisors who carefully select and personally pre-screened the assisted living properties, provides that personalized touring and lastly the on site follow- up to ensure the best placement possible.
I believe that the grass-root, face- to-face service is vastly under rated and under utilized. The public needs to be informed of these hands -on-services by trained professionals in addition to strictly an online resource such as Caring.com.