Turn Senior Living Leads Into Residents With Email Marketing Automation

The senior living industry is experiencing the hefty weight of persistent labor shortages and rising operational costs. So for marketers looking to break free of the inertia and put the industry on an accelerative path, marketing automation is the way forward.

Having a marketing automation solution can boost qualified leads by 451%. And according to Salesforce, companies that use marketing automation see a 14.5% increase in sales productivity and a 12.2% reduction in marketing overhead.

It helps take the guesswork, human error and long hours out of emailing prospective residents and it’s typically simple to use.

What Is Email Marketing Automation?

Marketing automation software helps manage marketing processes and campaigns, across multiple channels, all automatically.

It replaces high-touch, repetitive tasks with automated processes — streamlining common marketing duties like email outreach, social activity, targeting/personalization, lead nurturing, or behavior-based follow ups. You can use it to better operate your campaign strategies and scale your personalization efforts (more on that in a minute), no matter how diverse your audience is. 

Today, we’ll focus on a few key ways that email marketing automation helps in senior living.

Clarify Your KPIs 

Email marketing automation platforms can allow you to define specific campaign objectives and goals. Depending on what your business needs are, that could be increasing website traffic, generating leads, boosting sales, retaining customers, or improving engagement. 

Remember engagement alone is usually not to consider if you’re trying to convert blog readers into prospects or get attendees for your next big event. Let your goals be your guide.

Make Your Marketing Personal

Just because it’s automated, doesn’t mean it has to be robotic. Personalization helps you meet the diverse needs and preferences of potential residents and their families — leading to higher levels of interest and engagement. They can improve click-through rates by 14% and conversion rates by 10%. 

Email marketing automation platforms can help you segment your email lists based on various criteria like demographics, behavior, purchase history, or engagement levels. And by targeting specific segments, you can align your goals to what each group needs.

For true personalization, divide your lead lists into subsets that receive a specific suite of automated content. You may have a separate email campaign for “seasonal residents” or “veterans” or “active retirees”. Remember: everyone joins a senior living community for a different reason. Developing specialized content for locals and for out-of-state contacts will help you reach the right leads with the right message. Email marketing automation platforms can also help you  cascade content based on user behavior or engagement levels.

Nurture Leads Through the Sales Funnel

The timing of your emails is crucial. Initial browsers and others who are at the top of the funnel need broad, informative content that will introduce them to the right senior living community. When they are further along in their process, you can introduce them to more specific ways your offering can meet their needs. Email marketing automation platforms can help you drip campaigns with particular goals in mind — such as nurturing leads, onboarding new customers, or re-engaging inactive subscribers.

Stay Focused on Pospects

What you ask your leads to spend their time on must consistently provide them with value. With every email you write in your campaigns, you want to ask yourself “how does this benefit this person?” What you are nurturing is not a sale but a developing relationship. You establish trust and confidence through on-point, timely content. And not just once or twice. With email marketing automation, you can schedule emails to be sent at the most optimal times. This ensures that the right message reaches the right audience at the right time, increasing the likelihood of meeting campaign objectives.

Streamline Your Senior Living Email Campaigns

Email marketing automation campaigns can help you establish achievable goals, personalize your content, and nurture leads into senior living residents. Taking a data driven approach to how you market your community will improve your ability to stand apart from competitors and do a lot with little.

To learn more about how you can use email marketing automation and other sales technology to reach your goals, download our free guide “Improve Your Senior Living Sales Performance With Better Lead Generation.”