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.

There are plenty of companies that want to sell their line of products to these LTC facilities.  The best selling advantage you can have is to know their industry before you ask for their business.  For more information on marketing to “Boomers”, check out “How to Market to Grandparents – Q&A on Tips, Tactics and Results” and more at http://www.theboomerblog.com/

• 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.

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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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?”
4. 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 ).
5. 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.