“ I know I should incorporate some type of post-marketing activity in my marketing plan for patients, residents or families that purchase our senior living service. Is it possible to do that with inbound marketing?”
Yahoo! I was excited when a marketing director recently ask me this question. Why? Because they really hit on an untapped marketing strategy that very few senior living marketers integrate into their marketing plan.
Is there opportunity to generate more revenue with an inbound post-purchase strategy?Absolutely.
Often once we’ve closed the sale, we simply move on to the next lead or inquiry and rarely give thought to the newly-acquired customer. Let’s consider short term rehab patients as an example. Based simply upon their age as well as the possibility that they have two or more commodities, the likelihood that they will need your services again is pretty significant. Yet once they discharge, little effort is put forth in remaining engaged with them…a potential lost future opportunity.
Or think about that independent living cottage you just sold with that six figure price tag. It may seem funny to think that people would have buyer’s remorse after making that life changing decision, but they do. Plus they still have a lot of questions and concerns that are left unaddressed and create a poor experience which results in bad WOM.
You put a great deal of time and money in new patient or resident acquisition. The reality is it costs you 10-12% more to acquire a new customer as opposed to focusing on one you already have. In addition, according to Marketing Metrics, the probability of selling a service to an existing client is in the neighborhood of 60-70 percent, while the probability of selling to a new client is only 5-20 percent.
TheSecrets to Post-Sale Engagement
Focusing on the post-purchase experience helps to reinforce the positive decision they made and create fans or advocates for your service. What organization can’t benefit from positive WOM, right!?Incorporating post-purchase content in your inbound marketing strategy (also known as digital marketing) is an optimal tactic to help make your customer feel good about the decision they made to use or purchase your senior living service. Take a look at the following examples of how to incorporate post-purchase content in your strategy:
1. Questions. Whether your customer(senior or adult child) is being admitted, moving in or being discharged home,they always have questions and you have the answers. Why not create a FAQ Tip Sheet and email it to the adult child or senior spouse, or create a video and place it on a special page of your website?
2. Coach. A great deal of stress and emotion are associated with senior living services, especially when it comes to unrealistic expectations. When you coach and guide your customers on what they can expect, you have a higher probability of managing a favorable relationship.Consider your admission/move in booklet–why not turn it into a pdf and email it to the customer before they arrive? Or create a video that lives on your website that they can easily access and incorporate links to other educational resources you have available online.
3. Reinforce your value. It’s important to make your customers feel happy about their purchase decision, even long after the decision has been made.Think of replicating your lead nurturing process with a customer retention nurturing process. Create new forms of content and have a plan in place to share that content through your various digital channels with your customers.Incorporate a combination of community specific content, educational aging-related content and content of personal interest to each individual. Incorporate thought leadership content in the form of interviews from your professional staff, residents or families themselves that you post to your blog.
4 Ask. Influence plays a significant role on buying decisions people make online. People will make a buying decision as a result of a third parties reference about your services. Translate those customer surveys into snippet of shareable content on your social channels and in you’re -newsletter. Also put a plan in place to ask for testimonials and use them on your website and in your social channels. Better yet, ask for online reviews.And the one tactic I see rarely incorporated is having a plan in place to ask those happy customers for referrals!
Quick Closing Tip
Remember your work is only beginning once you’ve made the sale. Don’t let future revenue opportunities pass through your fingers. Your focus should be on turning the buyer into a loyal customer that will return for your service and refer others as well. A post-purchase content strategy is easy when you use an inbound marketing and sales approach. It’s all about putting the right content in the right channel and delivering it the way your customer wants to receive it.
Marketing Essentials is an Inbound Marketing& Sales agency that partners with organizations to grow traffic, leads and sales conversions that affects their bottom line in an attributable and predictable way. Need help with your post purchase content strategy? Connect with an Inbound Business Strategist today at mktessentials.com or call 419-629-0080 to schedule a free strategy session.