A Marketing Challenge
Yes, we know you love digital marketing. We do, too. But digital marketing used alone comes with a huge disadvantage when it comes to senior living: the targeting parameters that usually make digital marketing so effective aren’t applicable to senior living. Age, income, net worth, home value—all the key demographics other than geography—can’t be used to identify and qualify prospects because of Federal Fair Housing Act guidelines.
The Targeting Precision of Direct Mail
But direct mail has so many advantages, particularly when targeting a senior living audience. Unlike digital, direct mail allows marketers to use a full range of targeting options.
- Ability to target with mailing lists for specifics, such as age, gender, income, and home ownership
- Use of mailing lists sorted for purchase preferences, zip code, and profession
- Capability of fine-tuning a message for precision targeting
The accuracy of direct mail targeting means vetted, high-quality prospects who can afford entrance fees, for example, rather than unqualified prospects who tie up community staff with phone calls and questions.
Yeah! We’ve Got Mail!
Not only can direct mail pinpoint with laser focus, but seniors actually like getting direct mail pieces. In fact, Baby Boomers are more likely to trust, read, and interact with direct mail than any other age group, seeing these mailers as a more personal way to communicate—unlike digital marketing which seems overwhelming to them. Plus, direct mail has an average lifespan of more than two weeks, meaning prospects hang onto these pieces. An email lasts for 17 seconds, but direct mail lasts for 17 days.
So Many Possibilities…
Direct mail is the workhorse, not the dinosaur, of effective marketing. In fact, direct marketing is more productive than ever! Here’s why:
- Personalized: New printing techniques mean more possibilities for making something clever, unique, and fun, pumping response rates way up
- Tangible: Something prospects can hold, keep, hang onto, and hang on the fridge
- High Response Rates: A multitude of sources put response rates around 5% and higher–well above email response rates of under 1%
- Cost Effective: ROI for direct mail is a solid 18-20%, with some studies putting postcards just shy of 30%
- Versatile: Magnets, calendars, desk toppers, pop-ups—lots of colorful, engaging possibilities
Burgers and Fries?
Burgers and Fries? Like Batman and Robin, some things were just meant to go together. And one of the advantages of direct mail is that it can now be used in combination with digital—so think of direct mail and digital as the burgers and fries of senior living marketing. Yes, direct mail is great—but the direct mail/digital combo is even better.
Colorworks combines the key demographic targeting criteria of a direct mail piece with an omnichannel digital solution called GrowthTrack creating a powerhouse hybrid for senior living marketing.
The Colorworks Advantage: Making a Great Combo Even Better!
Imagine the efficiency of the direct mail/digital combo provided completely in-house, from concept to design to mailing to tracking: Colorworks does it all.
With the in-house expertise and resources to execute direct mail campaigns integrated with digital advertising, Colorworks offers a unique advantage over traditional marketing agencies with digital-only expertise. This approach allows us to more accurately target seniors who are the best fit for your community, resulting in happier clients who appreciate the ease, efficiency, and cost savings of working with one company providing comprehensive marketing professionals and services.
So our recommendation for maximizing ROI for senior living?
The winning combination of cross channel marketing that can be tracked: enhanced direct mail marketing for senior living from Colorworks!