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When consumers look for a senior living or senior care provider, they almost always start with online research. But since senior care purchase decisions are complex and highly considered, most appointments and tours are scheduled over the phone. That’s why marketers need to take a data-driven approach to driving and converting sales calls.
Learn more about the senior care customer journey, the importance of phone call conversions, and the latest marketing strategies with the stats below.
Senior Living and Senior Care Shoppers Often Begin Their Journey Online
1. 39% of senior living hunters hit the "organic search" trail to find their perfect community. Mastering local SEO becomes key for senior living facilities, as potential residents seek them out organically. (Source: genexod.com)
2. Pew Research reports nearly half of adults 65+ flock to Facebook. This makes it a ripe social media haven for savvy senior living marketers. (Source: solinitymarketing.com)
3. Believe it or not, smartphones rule for seniors, with 77% owning them and a massive 60% of website visits coming from those shiny screens. So, mobile-friendly websites aren't just a "nice to have" for senior living communities — they're a must-have for connecting with potential residents where they live, scroll, and swipe. (Source: solinitymarketing.com)
4. Forget "assisted living for Mom or Dad"! 48% researching senior living options are searching for themselves. This signals a growing trend of self-awareness and proactive planning among active seniors. (Source: seniorhousingnews.com)
5. 75% of senior living consumers research options on search engines. The overwhelming majority of senior living and senior care customers start their journey with online research. (Source: Google)
6. 83% of nursing home consumers did not have one provider in mind while running a search. Most senior living consumers start out undecided, creating a golden opportunity for your marketing to educate and convert them. (Source: LSA)
7. Senior citizens’ searches for “senior living” grew 15% in the past year. These searches will continue to increase as younger, more digitally savvy adults age. (Source: HydroWorx)
8. 6,000 online searches related to senior care are made every hour in the US. Senior living and care marketers with strong SEO strategies have the advantage in today’s landscape. (Source: Senior Housing News)
9. 68% of senior living marketers say their website is their most effective channel. After performing their initial search engine queries, senior living and care consumers will shop around on various websites to learn specifics. In order to capture leads, it’s important to optimize your website to drive calls and conversions. (Source: Senior Housing News)
10. The average cost for a senior living lead is $431. This dwarfs the CPLs of most major industries, including business services ($229), software ($106), manufacturing ($235), and home improvement ($85). (Source: McKnight’s Senior Living)
11. The average conversion rate for senior living leads is 30%. Even after senior living and senior care marketers spend upwards of $400 per lead, the majority of these leads don’t convert. (Source: McKnight’s Senior Living)
The Senior Living and Senior Care Consumer Journey Is Growing Increasingly Fragmented
12. The average sales cycle for an independent living resident is 120 days. By contrast, the average sales cycle for an assisted living resident is 70 days. (Source: Imagewerks Marketing)
13. 47% of independent living residents move into a home after 2 years of starting their search. Independent living is a highly considered purchase — family members perform extensive research to ensure their loved ones are receiving the best possible care. (Source: Creating Results)
14. It takes, on average, 25 touches to convert senior living customers. Throughout their research, family members will engage with senior living facilities through numerous touchpoints and channels. (Source: Creating Results)
15. The average conversion rate for senior living web leads is only 23%. Whether by phone call or an on-site tour, senior care consumers often require offline interactions to help their decision-making process. (Source: Creating Results)
Inbound Phone Calls Are The Most Valuable Conversion for Senior Living and Senior Care Marketers
16. 70% of senior living and care consumers will call during the consumer journey. Since senior living and care is a highly-considered purchase, it often requires direct communication with a qualified agent. (Source: DialogTech)
17. More than 60% of tours at senior living communities are the result of an inbound call. Inbound phone calls are often necessary to move senior living consumers down funnel. (Source: NextWave Care)
18. Calls will influence $1 trillion in US consumer spending this year. In our mobile-first world, calls are often the most convenient way for customers to convert. (Source: BIA/Kelsey)
19. Phone calls convert to 10-15x more revenue than web leads. Calls are the most valuable conversions senior living and care marketers can drive. By tracking the calls driven by your senior living and senior care ads, you can measure your full ROI and optimize accordingly. (Source: BIA/Kelsey)
20. Callers convert 30% faster than web leads. Calls provide a more immediate return on your senior living and care marketing investment. (Source: Forrester)
21. Caller retention rate is 28% higher than web lead retention rate. Driving calls from senior living and care marketing campaigns is also more profitable in the long-term — callers are more loyal than web leads. (Source: Forrester)
22. 84% of marketers report phone calls having higher conversion rates with larger order value (AOV) compared to other forms of engagement. Phone calls are often the most valuable marketing conversions for senior care providers. (source: Forrester)
23. 41% of organizations report having increased phone conversion rates by 25% or more in the past 12 months. Not only are consumers calling more due to COVID-19 — they’re also calling with higher intent to make a purchase. Both the volume and value of calls are increasing for many businesses due to COVID-19. (Source: Forrester)
24. 85% of marketers believe inbound calls and phone conversations are a key component of their organization’s digital-first strategy. Senior care marketers plan to tap into phone call data to better understand their customers and inform their strategies. (Source: Forrester)
Conversation Intelligence Data from Phone Calls Helps Senior Care Marketers Deliver Better Personalization and Drive Revenue
25. 48% of marketers have provided or expect to provide enhanced customer experiences as a result of scaling conversation intelligence across the enterprise. With conversation intelligence data, senior care marketers can enhance ad targeting, segment email campaigns, serve personalized website experiences, and more, based on the content of phone conversations. (Source: Forrester)
26. 43% of marketers have improved or expect to improve customer acquisition and retention as a result of scaling conversation intelligence across the enterprise. When you tailor consumer experiences based on the content of their phone conversations, you better meet their needs and earn their loyalty. (Source: Forrester)
27. Marketers who have scaled conversation intelligence across the enterprise have seen or expect to see improved analytics efficiency, increased business efficiency, improved employee productivity, and seamless integration with existing systems. Conversation intelligence allows senior care providers to get smarter insights into their consumers and make more informed decisions to drive efficiency. (Source: Forrester)
General Statistics About the Senior Living Industry
28. The senior living market is booming, with a projected need for 881,000 new units by 2030! With such a surge in demand, crafting targeted campaigns that speak directly to seniors' needs and aspirations becomes more crucial than ever. Imagine tapping into this vast pool of potential residents who are ready to embrace a new chapter in their lives — that's the golden ticket waiting for marketers who can truly connect and resonate with this growing demographic. (Source: gitnux.org)
29. Senior care is a hiring boom. Over 649,000 strong, this workforce thrives on enriching lives. Marketers take note: showcasing their impact and staff stories attracts top talent, fueling recruitment and building a vibrant care community. (Source: gitnux.org)
30. The wait is short. When it comes to moving in, nearly 72% of those shopping for a senior care environment are ready to jump right in — either right now or within a year. (Source: Senior Housing News)
31. Nursing homes are on a seesaw: Up from 2022 but still dipping from their 2015 peak. Over 1.157 million call them home, while 818,800 seniors opt for the social buzz of residential care communities. What does this mean for marketers? Understanding evolving preferences is key! Cater to seniors seeking alternatives to traditional nursing homes, and highlight the vibrant communities offered by residential care options. The market's changing — adapt your messaging to stay ahead of the curve! (Source: Haven Senior Investments)
So What Can Senior Living and Care Marketers Do to Drive More High-Quality Calls?
- Make it easy for senior living and care shoppers to call you. This includes using call extensions on Google Ads, making “call now” an action on web pages, and including a call option on web forms.
- Track callers from marketing source to sale. This will help you understand how your digital marketing is generating calls.
- Integrate call data with your martech tools. In turn, you’ll gain a full view of the customer journey and allocate your budget more effectively.
- Target past callers and lookalikes with the right ads. Your callers provide a wealth of targeting data you can use to more effectively acquire new customers and retarget qualified callers who failed to schedule an appointment or convert.
- Personalize the call experience. To convert callers, it’s important to provide a seamless, personalized experience that makes them feel valued and known.
- Analyze conversations to measure what percentage of calls aren’t being answered at each location, if long on-hold times result in high call abandon rates, if the caller was a good lead, if they converted, and which agents or locations are best (and worst) at converting callers to customers. You can then make the appropriate adjustments to your marketing and coach your agents if necessary.
- Optimize, analyze, repeat. Once you start generating more calls, it’s important to continually test and scale your process, while correcting issues that hurt your ROI.
Additional Reading
Want to learn more about how Invoca can help senior care marketers improve performance? Check out these resources:
