Special Data Report: If You Could Change One Thing about Your Senior Living Marketing Automation Solution
In a recent study conducted by ActiveDEMAND, we surveyed 100 professionals in the senior living and care industries and uncovered that 24% are dissatisfied with their company’s current marketing automation solution. Another 23% indicated their team isn’t yet using its current marketing automation solution to its maximum capabilities.
When we asked respondents, “If you could change one thing about your company’s current marketing automation solution, what would it be?” Their answers fell into three categories:
1. Improve user experience and friendliness.
Most respondents agreed that top on their wish list was that their solution provider would make the technology easier to understand and implement. “Some of the functions are not automated enough,” said one participant. Reputable automation companies are constantly updating and upgrading software to cater to customer demand, so make your voice heard with your provider. Submit support tickets and continuously request the features you most want improved.
Another respondent elaborated, “I would choose a software more tailored to our business. With our current solution, things are so customizable that it creates more labor needed to implement marketing automation because of all the options and variabilities. We do not have a dedicated marketing department or person, and we need something easier to use for our non-marketing employees.” This team structure is not uncommon in senior living organizations, yet most solutions are designed for sophisticated marketing teams.
Action Item
Seek out a solution that caters to your industry so you get the support and training needed to have your internal team fire on all cylinders.
2. Improve marketing and customer engagement.
Surprisingly, many survey participants said they wished their current solution better accomplished what we believe to be the basic function of marketing automation: engagement. In the words of one respondent, “I’d like more flexibility to handle complex segmentation and personalized messaging at scale across customer journeys. Smarter automation requires robust segmentation.” Indeed, the software itself should be intuitive to the point where automation not only makes marketing more intuitive but also boosts marketing outcomes by building trust with older adults and decision-makers. One easy-to-implement feature of many automation systems that can support stronger engagement and trust building is the virtual sales assistant or live chat.
Action Item
If you haven’t already, be sure to ask your provider to support your team in using this feature to better engage future residents and their families.
3. Improve customer support and training.
The data also indicated that respondents’ dissatisfactions are correlated with low levels of support and training they are getting from their current marketing automation solution providers. In fact, 26% said their current provider doesn’t offer useful training, and another 24% said their current provider doesn’t offer good support. As one respondent said, “If there is one thing that I would change, it is the customer service because while the app is amazing when we need help or have a problem with something, customer service is just really slow.”
Action Item
This is another scenario where your detailed feedback can encourage software providers to improve systems. Or it just might be time to explore a more people-centered marketing automation company.
What do you like about your current marketing automation solution, and what do you wish would be improved? We would love to hear from you as we continuously improve our software and service for the senior living industry.
To learn more about how ActiveDEMAND can build out campaigns like these for you and your team, book a demo today. No cost, no obligation, no sales pitch. Promise.
ActiveDEMAND is a marketing automation software company supporting multi-location senior living organizations in building trust with future residents and family members at scale. Our marketing automation software is used in more than 3,800 senior living communities across the United States. More than 7,500 marketing professionals nationwide use our marketing automation software. For details, visit www.activedemand.com.
