We all know that today’s senior living prospects are looking for more than quality care - they’re looking for a thriving community that will provide their loved one with a high quality of life. In order to drive occupancy with this in mind, there’s no doubt that senior living communities need to find the best set of partners to build something magical. Resident lifestyle is a large, complex, exciting picture - and while we know the benefit is worth the investment, we should also look towards the primary driver for community living: a dynamic group of individuals actually living in the building. Good senior living technology should be a rich part of your approach to occupancy building, with clear opportunities to enhance your sales process.
We have community partners who have seen such a high level of benefit from Rendever that a tour of our platform has become an integral component of their sales playbook. For these partners, every single prospect tries on a Rendever headset as part of their first visit, giving them a first hand view of the approach they take to building a thriving community. Each prospect experiences one of our magical moments for themselves, and they get to infuse joy into a decision-making process that is often stressful.
What's more, they see the community's commitment to providing a modern living experience, they become confident in the belief that technology should provide more than managed medical needs, and they feel the authenticity in the community understanding that - fundamentally - we're all humans who want to live a full life, despite any limitations.
There are a few points that drive this home. If you’re looking to build occupancy through a thriving lifestyle, there’s a big opportunity to leverage the breadth of the platform we've built and infuse it into your sales process - which, of course, must focus on what the modern prospect is searching for.
Don't get us wrong, we love a good grand entrance. Walking in and feeling immediate warmth - from a welcoming front desk staff to a beautiful flower display - these details all make a difference. But it can't stop there. Today's prospective family lives in the 21st century, and while it may sound obvious - they expect more than beautiful decor, they expect modern living. In many cases, before deciding to start touring community options, they have spent at least a few months using at-home technology to make their loved one's life better. Voice-assisted devices like Alexa are widespread, 61% of older adults own a smartphone, and 44% of them own a tablet.1
To match these modern expectations, senior living technology has become widespread. And with the quantity of senior living options available in most markets, communities need to take the extra step to stand out. That's where Rendever comes in.
Rendever is the only senior living technology on the market to have been honored on Time's 100 Best Inventions list, and we went on to earn a spot on Time's 100 Most Influential Companies. This is because our technology has transformed countless lives.
Data shows that - in today's world - 92% of prospects expect personalization during their buying cycle. As an industry, we naturally understand this. After all, moving a loved one into a senior living community is one of the most personal and emotional decisions people make. A personalized process will not only match the modern purchasing process, it will also cater to the emotional needs of your prospects by delivering a human-centered buying journey.
How can Rendever help you do this? With the Rendever family portal, you can listen in and work with prospects to capture their life story and deliver that experience at the perfect moment. Our Reminiscence Journey tool coaches your team through the process of building a dialogue that results in a personalized life story, immediately ready to share in VR. While it was designed for reminiscence therapy, our Reminiscence Journey tool merges two fundamental elements of the sales cycle - asking purposeful questions and delivering a personalized experience. It also opens the door for the level of relationship building necessary in this decision-making process. You don't have to take our word for it - this approach is so exciting that the National Institute on Aging awarded us clinical trial funding to study the impact of this form of personalized family engagement, delivered remotely through VR, on residents with memory care needs.
Imagine this: a prospect reaches out to you in a moment of need. They're stressed and trying to make the right decision for their loved one, but the entire process is overwhelming. And, frankly, scary. Rather than ask them to take the trip into your community, you offer to buy them coffee at their neighborhood coffee shop. You recognize the stress and meet them where they are, in a place they already feel is an extension of their home.
Through this initial action, you've already reduced the burden for them. With this simple gesture, you're immediately setting your community apart from the competition, who are trying to schedule a trip into the foreign land that is their community. Now, you get to have a natural, face-to-face conversation in a place they feel comfortable.
At some point during that conversation, they will probably want to see the community life you're offering. After all, seeing is believing. This is where EnvisionHome™ comes in. EnvisionHome™ is our virtual reality platform that allows senior living communities to create and deliver the next generation of virtual tours through immersive VR. The platform is designed so that sales and marketing directors can seamlessly run virtual tours with prospective families from wherever they are. The headsets are synchronized so you can guide prospective residents and their families through the experience using a simple tablet interface. Plus, you can make your meetings more efficient by letting prospects see multiple locations within one meeting - meaning you get to tailor the purchase process within your own network of communities. See it for yourself with a remote demo here.
References:
2. https://www.salesforce.com/resources/research-reports/personalization-trends-2020/