Senior Housing Language

A recent editorial in Senior Living Executive by Richard P. Grimes mentioned that an institutional language still is used in senior housing.

We need to start doing better. We need to embrace change and move away from the idea of institional care, facilities, patients, adl's and socialization.

Similarly, there was an article which was picked up on a local tv station about assisted living communities. Sadly, the clip the tv station used to accompany the story was an aerial of a very old 55+ condominium community in West Palm Beach, Florida called Century Village. What a shame this was a missed opportunity for some hearwarming video of a senior living community.

In my book, Marketing Senior Housing, I devoted a chapter to the language of senior housing and referenced subtle changes that need to take place speaking with customers. It's difficult when the trade association, ALFA (Assisted Living Federatin of American) implies assisted living facilities--yet we are telling everyone, people don't live in facilities...they live in communities and don't call them facilities.

Mystery shopping reveals the language being used by sales people. It's a good starting ground for training on a customer focused language that builds rapport and benefits your community.

Embrace the change. Speak to the customer in the language they understand.

Mystery Shopping Offers Constructive Advice

Many times sales peoples' response when they learn that they were shopped is "I could tell it was a shopper". My response, "Then why were your scores so low...why didn't you ask Mom's name?"

I don't think anyone finds it fun to be critiqued and yet how can someone improve, unless they know their strengths and weaknesses.

I draw the comparison to videotaping a golf swing. Certainly you don't want it shown on YouTube but it really helps in understanding what you are doing right or wrong.

In a weekly photography class I take, our work is critiqued by the instructor and fellow classmates. It's difficult to hear but these coments make me better.

Mystery shopping is similar.
There are also some findings that are equally useful. How the telephone is answered by a receptionist and transfered to the marketing department; how discovery is conducted and if they sound scripted or sincere; if a tour was encouraged or if a more passive approach was taken to send a brochure.

While face to face shops are useful too; they take about an hour of a sales person's time and can be more subjective by the evaluator. Since in senior housing there always be telephone contact, I think its useful to use telephone mystery shopping during and after hours.

It's also important to shop website for responses as well.

Mystery shopping reports should be shared with the person evaluated but not with everyone. If a team was shopped; a trainer can use the information gleaned for training but it's not necessary to play recorded phone calls for the group.