| As an active and vocal proponent of internet based | | | | If this article achieves nothing more than encouraging |
| marketing to Australian mature age consumers, I am | | | | operators of Retirement Village and Aged Care |
| often questioned on the financial benefits of an | | | | facilities to collate and compare their cost per enquiry |
| increased emphasis on online, versus offline, | | | | for each source of prospective residents (press ads, |
| marketing activities. | | | | radio, newsletters, online directories, referrals etc), |
| What is the targeted Return on Investment (RoI) | | | | then it will be a success. |
| that will justify the proposed expenditure on our | | | | In addition to the potential to vastly reduce your |
| website, or writing blogs, or other social networking? | | | | cost per enquiry, there are other significant |
| The inference in that question is that the | | | | opportunities to reduce offline marketing costs. The |
| recommended online expenditure will be additional to | | | | printing and mailing of brochures, newsletters and |
| current spending for offline marketing and sales | | | | other marketing collateral will reduce every time a |
| activities, but in reality that is rarely the case. Almost | | | | prospective resident goes online to view, and possibly |
| without exception, the expenditure allocated to online | | | | download, the information they are seeking. |
| activities will be redirected from current offline | | | | The scenario in which it is most difficult to justify |
| spending, with demonstrable improvement in | | | | directing marketing dollars to online activities, is one |
| achieving marketing and sales KPI's. | | | | where demand significantly exceeds supply, and |
| One significant benefit of online activity is access to | | | | there is virtually nothing spent on offline marketing. |
| an array of "same-day statistics", such as Google | | | | The justification in this case is based on reducing the |
| Analytics, to evaluate results. | | | | time investment of sales resources into prospecting |
| While the remainder of this article will cite scenarios | | | | activities, and the average time taken to execute the |
| relating to the developers and marketers of | | | | steps in your Sales Process. |
| Retirement Village and Aged Care facilities ("purpose | | | | The world's best salesperson cannot match the |
| built aged housing" to quote Prof. Andrew Beer), the | | | | prospecting effectiveness of Google. |
| takeaway is equally appropriate for all businesses that | | | | The monthly average number of Google searches in |
| target Australian mature age consumers. | | | | Australia for terms including "Retirement Village" is |
| The challenge to correctly predict the Return on | | | | currently around 70,000, and for "Aged Care" is |
| Investment, even if the outlay is substituted for | | | | 450,000. |
| existing expenditure, depends on the balance of | | | | To get your share of the search traffic in your |
| demand and supply in the operation, or specific | | | | geographic area your business must have an |
| facility, in question. | | | | effective online presence. |
| The RoI justification is simplest where supply | | | | The internet has caused major change in most |
| exceeds demand; in other words where stock is | | | | aspects of how today's business is carried out, and |
| available for sale, or where resales are taking an | | | | within the sales arena, none more significant than the |
| unacceptable time to achieve settlement. In this case | | | | change in the balance of knowledge between buyer |
| the proposed expenditure on a website rejuvenation, | | | | and seller. Before the internet's emergence, buyers |
| including basic Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), will | | | | had very little choice other than approaching the |
| result in a financially viable increase in the quantity and | | | | providers of the products or services they were |
| quality of enquiries to feed your Sales Process. | | | | seeking, and gathering the information they needed |
| Even assuming your closing ratios of enquiry: | | | | to take their purchasing decision via face-to-face or |
| registration of interest: contract: settlement do not | | | | telephone conversations with the sales |
| improve on the rates achieved from offline enquiry, | | | | representatives of the competing providers. |
| and that is an improbable worst case, the incremental | | | | Today's buyers are able to evaluate the competing |
| settlements generated by online activity will more | | | | providers, and to gather most of the information |
| than justify the investment required to establish and | | | | they need, before disclosing their interest to anyone. |
| maintain a "traffic attracting" online presence. | | | | This is achieved via the websites of the potential |
| From a quantity of enquiries viewpoint, it is | | | | providers, and increasingly through online forums, |
| significantly more cost-effective to increase the flow | | | | blogs and interest groups, where commercial |
| of enquiries via online activity than traditional offline | | | | reputations are enhanced, or destroyed, on a daily |
| marketing, and there is a quality of enquiry | | | | basis. |
| consideration, which can be equally beneficial. | | | | Previously the initial contact point, the receptionist or |
| This is achieved, firstly, because the online enquiry | | | | sales representative, was in the "make or break" |
| can be more tightly targeted than offline marketing, | | | | position of determining whether a sales enquiry would |
| utilising what we know about the prospective | | | | proceed to the next step. Today that initial contact |
| residents we most want to attract - the area they | | | | point, with a rapidly reducing number of exceptions, is |
| currently live in, their financial status, their affinities | | | | your internet presence. |
| and characteristics. | | | | The potential saving in this scenario relates to the |
| The next scenario in degree of difficulty to justify | | | | time required to execute the steps of your sales |
| online marketing expenditure is where demand and | | | | process. The prospective resident starts the Sales |
| supply are reasonably balanced. | | | | Process with a significant knowledge advantage |
| The assumption in this case is, say, a well established | | | | relative to their equivalents of 5, or even 2 years |
| Retirement Village with a small number of recently | | | | ago. |
| completed units available for initial sale, with ongoing | | | | There is a huge caveat is this fact. |
| resale turnaround timing at an acceptable level. To | | | | The need to reverse the seller orientation in the early |
| achieve this balance of demand and supply, we | | | | steps of your Sales Process, in favour of genuine |
| assume necessitates "industry average" expenditure | | | | buyer orientation, has never been more important, or |
| in offline marketing such as press advertising, printed | | | | more urgent. |
| brochures and marketing collateral, and printed | | | | But that's for another article to pursue. |
| newsletters to your database. | | | | My final point is one I hope will be my most |
| Industry experience in this scenario confirms there is | | | | provocative. |
| potential for a significant reduction in the "cost per | | | | If you believe the emphasis on online marketing |
| enquiry" - in some cases from an average offline | | | | activities is appropriate for other industries, but not |
| cost per enquiry in excess of $1000 to less than | | | | yet relevant for the buyer demographic in the |
| $100 online. This online cost assumes some | | | | Retirement Village and Aged Care markets, you are |
| expenditure for an external consultant and web | | | | perpetuating a very expensive strategic error, from |
| designer to facilitate the website rejuvenation and to | | | | which your enlightened peers are enjoying a |
| maximise "organic" search results, and limited | | | | compelling competitive advantage. |
| expenditure on Pay-Per-Click online advertising. | | | | |