Avoid These Email Marketing Mistakes at Your Senior Care Organization

From social media marketing to content marketing, senior care communities have many potential tools available to generate leads, build census, and build relationships. Of all those marketing tools, email marketing might be one of the most valuable.

Email marketing offers many benefits. It’s affordable, allows senior care communities to create personalized content, can be an excellent way of providing value to an audience, and allows senior care communities to reach readers with timely content. While emails can make an excellent addition to an overall marketing strategy, there are also several common mistakes that can negatively impact the results you’ll see. Understanding why email marketing is effective and how to approach this technique can help you maximize its effectiveness for your senior care organization.

Why Email Marketing Is Important for Senior Care Communities

Aleksandra Korczynska, CMO of GetResponse

There are several reasons why senior care communities turn to email marketing. “Generally speaking, email marketing is a powerful tool for any senior care organization,” says Aleksandra Korczynska, CMO of GetResponse. She notes that according to Forbes, 94% of baby boomers were using email as of 2017. “We’re talking about one of, if not the best, ways to communicate with your target audience,” she says. “Often, companies create the right message for their target audience but deliver it through the wrong channels. In the case of senior care organizations, it’s a winning channel.”

Email marketing offers a unique combination of a high return on investment (ROI) while requiring a minimal investment. Korczynska explains that according to the Data & Marketing Association, email marketing offers a 38:1 ROI. That ROI means that for every $1 senior care communities invest in email marketing, they get $38 back.

Common Email Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

While email marketing may deliver an excellent ROI, several common mistakes can negatively impact the ROI. The first is to send out emails that lack appropriate personalization.

“I think that some senior care facilities create under-personalized email campaigns,” says Korczynska. “Some companies think about their customer persona very generally. They know that they’re targeting baby boomers mainly, but that’s about it.”

She explains that it’s essential to break down an email list into different segments. Those segments are dependent on factors like the recipient’s age, geographic location, potential needs, and stage in the customer journey. “The idea is to get as much data about potential customers as possible and customize the message according to different groups’ needs.” That personalized message is more effective than a broader message that may not be highly relevant to recipients.

Korczynska notes that failing to leverage lifecycle automation is also a mistake. “Lifecycle automation campaigns are part of personalization as well,” she says. “Organizations need to adjust their communication based on what stage of the customer journey their potential customer is at, and create a relevant message.”

For example, during the reach stage, a senior care organization might create a set of automated emails that provide recipients with new and valuable information and that work to build trust. In the nurturing stage, those emails might include an offer to schedule a virtual walkthrough or call, resident and family testimonials, videos about the organization’s unique programs and benefits, and more. While these emails are automated, they are also personalized to reflect the customer journey stage that the  recipients are in, making them relevant and helping to maximize their effectiveness.

Email Marketing Best Practices for Senior Care Communities

To maximize the effectiveness of email marketing, Korczynska encourages senior care communities to consider the customer journey. “Companies should clearly know their personas and customer journey. It’s important to know all of the customer’s fears, doubts, and objections,” she says.

Once a senior care organization knows and understands its target personas, Korczynska recommends setting up automated email campaigns that include the right content and timeline. For example, that content might include a welcome campaign after a person submits their information through the organization’s website. The senior care organization might then send an offer for a tour or some educational content.

Korczynska also encourages senior care organizations to experiment with their email content. “Many senior care organizations tend to send very simple content in their newsletter,” she says. “But we need to remember that it’s not 2010 anymore, and many seniors are using TikTok and other platforms. Companies should be able to experiment with the content to ensure they get their strategy right.”

Email marketing is a highly effective tool, and it can complement a senior care organization’s other marketing efforts. By embracing the above best practices and identifying potential mistakes, a senior care organization can maximize their marketing ROI and get better value out of the time and money they invest in email marketing.

Paige Cerulli

Paige Cerulli is a contributing writer to i Advance Senior Care.