Born from 1946 to 1964, the Baby Boomers represent the largest generation of aging adults ever. As they have grown older, this generation has single-handedly changed every stage of life that they have encountered along the journey. So what’s on the horizon for this highly demanding population group? Long-term health care!In 2004, the first of the Baby Boom generation turned 60 years of age. This segment of the population has the Long-Term Health-Care (LTC) industry primed for a 35-40-year-growth cycle. The future is bright for this industry that currently sports over 16,000 nursing homes nationwide.
So … Do you know how to get a piece of this growth oriented business? Here are some key elements to focus on when selling in this market.
A Diverse Market – The LTC market is made up of more than just traditional nursing homes. The industry includes: retirement villages; senior living communities; independent living; assisted living; geriatric nursing care; skilled nursing facilities; memory care residences; and hospice care. All of these areas make up the long-term care industry and each represents a different selling opportunity.
Staffing Issues – Like all health-care industry segments, staffing is a major issue. The recruitment, retention, training, and recognition of employees are key elements to the overall success of any LTC facility.
Public Relations – All facilities in the LTC industry are dependent on good public relations. They are involved in their community, often sponsoring local events that target seniors.
Safety – there is no bigger issue in the LTC industry than resident and employee safety. An effective plan of action is not only required by law, but absolutely necessary for the survival of any facility.
Why do companies create a company store? Understanding the answer to this question will help you determine whether this type of program is right for you. The following are the top five reasons why companies create an online company store to help manage their promotional products and corporate apparel:
To control their branding: brand abuse is out of control, they have no system of protection for their brand
To simplify their corporate apparel program: apparel selection and ordering is messy and requires too much administration
To centralize their location: they have no organized system to easily see and purchase the branded products
To control their purchasing: product purchasing is fragmented, no purchasing leverage and little organizational control
To minimize administration: too much energy duplicated across multiple locations to create similar branded products and delivery channels
You can reduce this list down to three simple words: speed, power and control. Speed is important in getting branded materials into the hands of the people that need them the most, quickly. Power is critical because a large organization needs a scalable, robust eCommerce solution that can handle virtually any branded product. Control is imperative. Maintaining brand consistency and providing easier ways to track departmental purchases are critical components to a healthy store.
The bottom line is, within most large organizations, the internal staff is spending too much time procuring and organizing material for their brand; the creative capital of these employees is best spent on mission-critical objectives, (i.e., selling, communications, market development, etc.). A company store provides the perfect vehicle to save time and simplify what is normally a complicated process.
Great customer service is delivered from the first touch-point to the last. It starts with your selection of suppliers, and continues through your organization – from the first line of contact when the phone rings, to order entry – and all the way through to the moment your program is delivered to the client and their end-users.Does everyone in your company know that they are personally responsible for creating a “World–Class Customer Experience” that exceeds the customer’s expectations? I especially like those organizations that give the title “Director of First Impressions” to their receptionist, or first person to greet you when you walk in the door. As Dan Schawbel writes, “Since people are the face of the company, there must be an emphasis on each person who represents the corporate brand.”
What are you doing to help encourage and support your internal/external team of players to deliver on this promise and this experience? The following is a list of some questions you should be asking:
How many times do you ask “What can we do better?”
How often do you review your processes and systems to save time or money – or simply make life easier for your team members?
How extensive is your customer service training and how often do you reinforce the world class your employees practice?
How do you recognize employees for their commitment and success in creating a “World–Class Customer Experience?”
With the appropriate skills, knowledge, attitudes, systems and processes, you can reach and exceed your goals and expectations of creating a world class customer experience.
For marketing to be effective, it first has to happen. We all know how difficult that can be with so many customers to serve and so many fires to fight. The secret is to integrate marketing into everything you do to make it automatic so it happens with or without you, so you’re constantly building marketing momentum, and so you’re growing your business every single day. All you need is the right mindset and a few systems, and you’ll quickly be a marketing machine. Here are some tips to get you started:
Make a commitment to keep marketing constant in thought and constant in action. Make it a daily topic of discussion. Marketing should always be on your mind and as common as issuing invoices and making payroll.
Always ask, “What is the marketing opportunity here?” Marketing opportunities abound in the day-to-day running of every business, but most companies miss a ton of them every day. The more you ask this powerful question, the more opportunities you’ll find.
Understand that “everything is marketing.” Everything creates an impression that can help or hurt you – everything. Constantly ask, ”How can we make a great impression here?”
Consider common activities in the day-to-day operation of your business and standardize how you address them. Earning a new customer, for example, presents a prime opportunity to make a big impression. Decide how you can celebrate new customers with a bang and then develop the system, tools, text, and everything else you need to make it happen seamlessly every time. A prime example here is to develop a method to always collect customer “testimonials” and make them public. According to www.reviewscale.com, you should gather testimonials as soon as you have a website (and a list of happy customers :)).
Build a strong marketing engine by constantly stirring awareness, emotions, mindfulness, conviction, and word-of-mouth. This applies to prospects, customers and everyone else who could help your business. Most companies miss at least two or more of these. If that’s you, you’re missing lots of opportunities and working much harder than you have to.
Finally, give yourself a dose of your own marketing. Sometimes we are our toughest target. Remind yourself “what’s in it for you” to keep your marketing constant in thought and constant in action.
We have recently entered the world of Social Media and decided that we should share what we have learned in this forum. We hope that you find helpful and useful information here and ask that you share it with your friends. In addition to this, we will share tips on promoting your business using case studies and customer examples. And of course we will post any “specials” or new “deals” that we happen to come across.
[amazonify]B000EXRSVM[/amazonify]
Online Stores 