(A Key Marketing and Advertising Strategy)

By Chip Kessler, Nursing and Assisted Living Facility,Census Building & Customer Service Consultant

 

From everything I’ve been able to surmise, advertising in your local telephone book directory is rapidly, if not already, an avenue producing diminishing results.  That said, if your tracking how you’re getting new residents shows you otherwise, by all means continue using this vehicle.   You are keeping track of how new residents are coming to your building, right?  If not, you basically have no idea what is and isn’t working among your marketing and advertising efforts, and are basically flushing a certain amount of money down the toilet.

 

Most of what I’m hearing from my consulting clients is that the days of folks going to the local phone book as a reference point for finding out what’s out there regarding nursing and/or assisted living facilities is drastically waning.  This coupled with the fact that it’s still rather expensive to do display ads in the phone book, makes it an investment not worth the end result.  Certainly you need to maintain a presence in the phone book however it should be very small.  It can come in the form of what’s called a “line listing” under your specific category (i.e. nursing homes or assisted living facilities) and areas such as rehabilitation, etc.  Proof positive can be seen when comparing the newest phone directory versus its counterpart of 10 or 15 or 20 years ago; the book is shrinking and a major reason why is because fewer and fewer larger ads are now in it.  Yet the telephone book folks still act as if it is 1986 (and not 2016) when things such as the internet and cell phones were items not on the front burner like today.  Concerning the latter, it’s served as a major death-knell to traditional telephone companies because if you only have a cell phone and not a “land-line” hard wired in your home, then you aren’t listed in the directory anymore and won’t receive one.

 

Keep these facts in mind the next time your local telephone advertising representative calls you regarding your present ad program.   Here unless you have positive proof that your display ads are “paying off,” it’s time to reassess how these dollars are being spent.

 

Chip Kessler is the nation’s leading consultant to nursing facilities nationwide, with over two dozen staff training and development programs, products and services available. He can be reached at chip@extendedcareproducts.com with any of your comments and questions.