Driving Occupancy: A Strategic Checklist for Skilled Nursing, Senior Care and Healthcare Communities

In the fast-paced world of healthcare, senior care and skilled nursing, maintaining optimal occupancy rates is essential for success. Admissions teams are critical in attracting and converting leads into patients or long-term care residents. A comprehensive checklist encompassing all aspects of marketing, lead management and relationship building can be a helpful place to start building your strategy.

This checklist can help guide administrators and admissions teams to position their organizations for success.

Getting Started

1. Complete a lost lead, competitor and SWOT analysis.

2. Utilize a database system for lead management (Salesforce, HubSpot or another CRM tool).

3. Log all leads and keep tasks and action items up to date.

4. Follow up consistently with leads via calls and emails.  

5. Leverage CRM to implement email campaigns to stay in touch and prompt a decision.

6. Train individuals responsible for answering the phone on how to manage inquiries and tour requests.

7. Track leads by source by asking how they heard about you.

Tour Readiness

1. Check the tour route regularly to help ensure it is free from clutter and is inviting.

2. Be prepared to make introductions to staff and residents for fresh, in-person testimonials during every tour.

3. Invite all pending patients/residents to tour and attend monthly events.

4. Invite referral sources and other healthcare professionals to tour the community.

Generating Referrals

1. Join and participate in community organizations that service the concerns of aging and seniors.

2. Create a resident referral program and promote it regularly in the community.

3. Track family information and inquire with them for referrals.

4. Interface with referral sources regularly and share success stories and clinical capabilities.

Marketing

1. Create an omnichannel marketing plan that spans both traditional and digital mediums. Include activities such as SEO, social media, advertising, PR, in-person events, and printed collaterals.

2. Develop a variety of content to inform, educate and excite target audiences with a clear call to action.

3. Create a strategy for addressing both positive and negative online reviews to help build your online reputation.

4. Implement a plan for quickly addressing customer inquiries and comments online.

5. Train staff on the value that you bring so they can articulate your key differentiators to others.

6. Develop video assets for marketing, such as virtual tours and testimonials.

7. Keep your website up to date with helpful resources and service offerings, and highlight life in the community with testimonials from both residents and staff.

Measure Success

1. Establish benchmarks for key performance indicators such as conversion rate.

2. Regularly analyze metrics and referral trends for all our online and offline marketing.

3. Show your team how their active participation in your marketing efforts helps to drive your results by sharing reports and successes.

Remember, success in healthcare admissions is a continuous effort. Implementing a consistent strategy with a clear plan for measuring success is key.

For support in developing your marketing strategy and beyond, the experts at Healthcraft Creative Solutions are here. With deep industry expertise, we understand the challenges healthcare providers face. Connect with us for 15 minutes and you’ll see why we are the clear partner for your healthcare organization.