Marketing Mysteries Solved!

Business & Economics Podcasts

Are you a senior living executive looking to solve a complex marketing mystery or challenge? In this gripping podcast, you will gain tools to uncover the marketing problems killing your organization fastest, strategies that will focus you on the right clues, rather than distractions, and evidence of much more lasting marketing solutions. Real executives like you are engaged in active listening and strategic thinking to solve real marketing mysteries with facts and data. Guests include senior living executives in sales and marketing as well as select sales and marketing consultants to their organizations. Gain clarity on how you can increase ROI, generate higher quality leads and sustain long-term success. Immerse yourself in the suspense, sleuthing and satisfying endings to solve your marketing mysteries! Voiceover: Robin O'Donovan, Artwork: Stephanie Vecchiarelli, Audio Editing and Mastering: Wendy O'Donovan Phillips, Molly Waters, Melinda Gisbert, Copyediting: Evan Franklin. Your host Wendy O’Donovan Phillips is CEO of the senior living marketing agency Big Buzz, www.bigbuzzinc.com. She is the author of two marketing books available on Amazon and her firm consistently exceeds $1 million in annual revenues, which only 1% of women-owned businesses achieve, by applying the marketing solutions you will learn in this podcast. She is one of 1.5% of U.S. marketing agency owners to have sat on the Forbes Agency Council. She has dedicated her career to solving complex marketing mysteries.

Location:

United States

Genres:

Business & Economics Podcasts

Description:

Are you a senior living executive looking to solve a complex marketing mystery or challenge? In this gripping podcast, you will gain tools to uncover the marketing problems killing your organization fastest, strategies that will focus you on the right clues, rather than distractions, and evidence of much more lasting marketing solutions. Real executives like you are engaged in active listening and strategic thinking to solve real marketing mysteries with facts and data. Guests include senior living executives in sales and marketing as well as select sales and marketing consultants to their organizations. Gain clarity on how you can increase ROI, generate higher quality leads and sustain long-term success. Immerse yourself in the suspense, sleuthing and satisfying endings to solve your marketing mysteries! Voiceover: Robin O'Donovan, Artwork: Stephanie Vecchiarelli, Audio Editing and Mastering: Wendy O'Donovan Phillips, Molly Waters, Melinda Gisbert, Copyediting: Evan Franklin. Your host Wendy O’Donovan Phillips is CEO of the senior living marketing agency Big Buzz, www.bigbuzzinc.com. She is the author of two marketing books available on Amazon and her firm consistently exceeds $1 million in annual revenues, which only 1% of women-owned businesses achieve, by applying the marketing solutions you will learn in this podcast. She is one of 1.5% of U.S. marketing agency owners to have sat on the Forbes Agency Council. She has dedicated her career to solving complex marketing mysteries.

Language:

English

Website:

http://www.bigbuzzinc.com

Episodes

The Differentiation Mystery

4/15/2024

The Differentiation Mystery A worry-free home. A personal living experience. Warm staff. This is Aliviya Rose Manor, headed up by Terrance Schabilion and his wife Wendy. Their small, private community is nestled in a residential neighborhood, creating a comfortable environment and providing socialization and fun. It’s different. Seth Godin Purple Cow different. In their words, “Our home is the right size where our residents feel comfortable and a part of a group.” In this episode, Terrance and I explore the true meaning of differentiation in the senior care industry, and he sheds light on three marketing differentiation secrets he swears by: 1) the power of Google My Biz, 2) the art of asking for Google reviews, and, 3) a warm cocoon in the shower. Listen to find out more! Learn about Aliviya Rose Manor: www.aliviyarosemanor.com Recommended reading: Purple Cow, Seth Godin, https://bit.ly/3J7OJtC

Duration:00:27:36

The Automation Mystery

3/29/2024

The Automation Mystery Marketing automation isn’t really about the mechanization of communications, it’s about helping as many families as your community possibly can. There are two universal truths in marketing, says my guest in this episode, Sean Leonard, CEO of ActiveDEMAND: 1) We have too much information; and, 2) Everyone needs help. With that in mind, our jobs become making marketing better, infusing it with the creativity, inspiration and sense of trustworthiness that helps older adults connect, get help before even having a conversation with a care community and make great decisions about their future care. Yet too often we inadvertently erode trust with inconsistencies in messaging and timing of delivery of communications. Listen in to learn everything from how to build trust at scale to how to make that very first call a win every time. Follow Sean: www.linkedin.com/in/leonardsean/ Get details on ActiveDEMAND: www.activedemand.com/senior-living/

Duration:00:35:03

The Proper Use of AI Mystery

12/1/2023

In this episode, Jenni Bost, Vice President of Marketing with Radiant Senior Living, and I unpack together the proper use of AI in marketing. The story starts with technology preceding artificial intelligence. She and I both believe in first gathering survey and analytic data to identify the types of marketing that have the biggest impact on sales. This data offers guideposts as to where to focus efforts. We discuss how the right marketing automation and CRM software can further strengthen relationships and success rates with prospects. Then we get right down to the nitty gritty on AI: My general stance is AI is the junior copywriter. It’s the marketer’s responsibility to: 1) give the junior copywriter rich topics and data points to start and 2) polish the junior copywriter’s “cruddy first draft” with additional research, quotes and industry insights. People read people, they don’t want to read robots. And Jenni weighs in from there. Have a listen! Learn more about Jenni and her team: www.radiantseniorliving.com Read the about the eBook referenced: https://www.bigbuzzinc.com/download-team-alignment-is-the-secret-to-achieving-higher-marketing-outcomes/ Learn more about the marketing automation referenced: www.activedemand.com

Duration:00:36:17

The Sales Leadership Mystery

8/9/2023

Too much management, not enough leadership. That’s what my guest, Shane Ness, Regional Director of Sales at MBK Senior Living, and I believe is the root cause of low occupancies from a sales perspective. In this episode, Shane and I explore the real secret to building trust and relationships with the sales team, a two-day “Tour Development Sales Training” he swears by for improving census fast and ways to connect person to person, heart to heart, rather than getting swept up in the busy-ness of sales. Together, we unpack what empowerment really is: asking from a place of curiosity, setting healthy boundaries, relentlessly sharpening emotional IQ. Shane even gives listeners a three-part approach to driving the sales effort while still putting people first. Listen now! Learn more about Shane and his team: www.mbkseniorliving.com Read the about the sales training referenced: www.bigbuzzinc.com/crista-senior-living-case-study

Duration:00:38:38

The Heart Work Mystery

7/12/2023

My guest in this episode is Niki O’Brien, Director of Sales and Marketing with Legend Senior Living and winner of 2016 Argentum Sales and Marketing Director of the Year. Niki loves solving problems with her team and is an expert on revenue growth, maintaining the highest level of occupancy and developing and executing sales strategies. In this episode, Niki and I explore sales strategy as framed “Heart Work,” a mainstay of Legend Senior Living’s culture. We discuss how strategy is different than tactical work, how to support in improving hopelessness and isolation one conversation at a time and Niki shares her approach to researching, understanding and taking action on a sales and marketing approach that honors whole person throughout the process. Reach Niki and her team: https://legendseniorliving.com/ Get the Four Agreements book we reference: https://amzn.to/44hng1T Get the Being Mortal book we reference: https://amzn.to/3LLbBRN Get the Storytelling eBook referenced: https://bit.ly/3VphQOs

Duration:00:30:15

The Involvement Mystery

6/6/2023

After families make the decision to move an elder into a senior care community, there is a natural feeling of disconnection opposed with a deep desire for involvement. My guest in this episode is Doug Wilcox, CEO of How’s Mom, an app provided by senior care centers to help families communicate with care staff and keep up to date on loved ones in senior care. Doug and I discuss how technology can make involvement easier, care more well-rounded and families more connected. We also discuss how involvement starts long before move-in: the more connected folks feel right from the onset, with family and peers, the more connected they will stay. Doug founded How’s Mom in 2018 when he recognized the need for stronger family communications while shepherding his mother through senior care. Listen in to this passionate, insightful take on involvement even across state lines. Find out more about Doug and How’s Mom here: www.howsmom.net

Duration:00:36:33

The Industry Revolution Mystery

4/27/2023

If we just shared our secrets and set and worked toward the right industry benchmarks, there are enough aged adults in the U.S. to get every operator in the nation to 100% occupancy. This is the philosophy of my guest in this episode, Cassie Tweten, Chief Sales Officer with Arrow Senior Living Management. Together, she and I explore seven challenges facing senior living sales teams now, we focus on the one challenge we deem “the shark closest to the boat,” and we envision a new future for senior living in which that challenge is eradicated industrywide. We delve into the importance of inviting micro-commitments throughout the marketing and sales cycles, and she offers ways to implement those across your communications. A change is gonna come! In the episode, I mention our eBook: The Complete Data-Driven eBook: Calls to Action that Work: The Senior Care Industry Insider Report Get that here: https://www.bigbuzzinc.com/download-calls-to-action-that-work-the-senior-care-industry-insider-report/

Duration:00:37:58

The Referral Agency Mystery

4/3/2023

Are your communities addicted to referral agencies? In this episode, my guest Angie Hildebrandt from 31-location Our House Senior Living unpacks why the industry is glued to referral agencies, what it’s costing senior care organizations like yours and steps to take to stop using them in favor of nurture marketing that earns higher and steadier returns. She laments that her company was once investing six figures with multiple referral agencies, only to find the returns were far lower than the investment. In her words, they were quite simply, “A bad business decision” made before her time. And yet, she shares how it felt scary to move away from referral agencies – a sentiment I often hear from her peers. We discuss short-term and long-term approaches to righting the marketing ship, moving away from expensive placement agencies that only deliver cold leads.

Duration:00:38:21

The Image Mystery

3/6/2023

My guest in this episode is Tom Sanders, the mastermind behind Senior Stock Photos, a stock photography company that provides stock photos of seniors over the age of 55. What I love most about Tom’s work is that he creates authentic senior stock photos that truly celebrate aging – none of that run-of-the-mill stuff. Together, we uncover why stock photos from big box outfitters don’t connect: the photographer must have a connection with their subject, and it is that connection that shines through when the target audience interacts with the photo in the senior living communities’ marketing materials. No connection, no connection. Tom shares about photographing a 111-year-old woman who had been retired 40 years and written a dozen books in that timeframe. He shares tips and tricks to capturing terrific photos with your phone for use in social media marketing, and even how to make photography and videography a regular part of the activities schedule. One, two, three – SMILE! Find Tom’s work here: seniorlivingvisuals.com/ seniorstockphotos.com/ tomsandersphoto.com

Duration:00:38:55

The Engagement Mystery

2/6/2023

Some folks are just naturally curious, creative and engaging, and Rachel Hill Creative Director for Senior Living Foresight, is one of them. In fact, Rachel is one of my favorite creatives in the senior living industry. She’s a writer, she’s a blogger, she’s a videographer, she’s a podcaster, she’s an influencer. In this episode, she and I talk about the importance of curiosity in sales and marketing, insider tips on off-the-charts social media marketing engagement and even our least favorite parts of social media. Listen all the way to the end for quick tips on favorite social media marketing tools, most important marketing social media metrics to measure and social media marketing pitfalls to avoid.

Duration:00:39:54

The Inputs Mystery

12/21/2022

Sales and marketing outcomes are directly impacted by inputs. What inputs are mission critical? In this episode, my guests say critical inputs include research to uncover true messaging from brand to values and beyond, mutual respect for everyone on the internal and external team, dedicated and structured inter-team communications and repetition, repetition, repetition. I talk with Lisa Detweiler, VP of Sales and Marketing, and Jodie Roberts, Director of Marketing, both with Senior Services of America. Together, they oversee all sales and marketing for 19 communities across three states – and they have dialed in the right inputs to achieve impressive outcomes. Jodie even shares with our listeners two great questions to ask to sharpen time management. Terrific inputs add up to great outcomes.

Duration:00:35:26

The Automation Mystery

10/27/2022

There are clues lurking in your existing marketing that will reveal your preferred buyer’s journey right to your door, show you precisely what is working well that can be bolstered for stronger results and expose exactly what’s not at peak performance that can be built better. Can you see those clues? My guest in this episode is Eric Murphy from ActiveDEMAND, and he reveals ways we can find and act upon those clues to make the most of all marketing efforts, automating many marketing and sales efforts in personal ways that tie to the individual’s motivations, needs and desires. Take the guesswork out of your most complex marketing efforts, consistently deliver the right communications from every location and begin building deep prospect relationships predicated on trust now, even before they ever talk with your team.

Duration:00:37:20

The Crazytown Mystery

9/30/2022

You are tired. Your clients need too much from you. You are short staffed. You’re ready to quit and go work at Starbucks. My guest in this episode, Brenda Abdilla, lets us go there in our minds. Then she offers practical experience and concrete tools and strategies to come back better than ever. Brenda serves up neurological data on how the human brain processes, recovers and sets the future self in motion. We go deep on why we’re all in crazytown right now and step-by-step ways we can get back to sanity regardless of circumstances at work. Breathe. You got this!

Duration:00:33:57

The Thinking Mystery

9/1/2022

Do you feel exhausted? Stressed about work and life? Like you are working harder with less fulfillment than ever? You are not alone, and there is a solution. Certified leadership coach, Sarah Ciavarri, PCC, CDTLF, CDWF-C, M.Div., joins me in this episode to discuss her book Finding Our Way the Truth: Seven Lies Leaders Believe and How to Let Go of Them. She unpacks with me the seventh lie: “I’m Responsible for it All.” We explore what’s real in that statement for senior care leaders, where it can turn unhealthy and a simple practice that can be done in small moments day by day to quiet unwanted thoughts, stop the cycle of negative thoughts, create more clarity and support leaders in making stronger decisions across the entire organization – operations, marketing and finance. She gives listeners actionable steps to better understand themselves, better understand the world and get back to finding joy in the tiny moments that add up to our lives. This is a can’t-miss listen! Get the book: https://amzn.to/3ya1cXC Contact Sarah: https://www.sarahciavarri.com/

Duration:00:40:42

The Passion Mystery

8/1/2022

What if there was a senior living brand that was powered by pixie dust and sprinkled good juju for everyone it touched? It’s not that silly a notion, actually. My guest Christy Van Der WestHuizen is Vice President of Sales and Marketing at MBK Senior Living, where they practice yoi shigoto, which translates from Japanese to “the good work.” This means hiring good people and being good to those people so they can in turn be good to those they serve. So simple, yet so magical. Christy and I discuss how to weave that goodness through the fabric of a brand, how to amplify it across social media and content marketing and the beauty and humility in doing the next right thing over and over, day in and day out for the greater good of humanity.

Duration:00:36:25

The Empathy Mystery

7/1/2022

The Empathy Mystery Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Brené Brown writes in Atlas of the Heart, “If research is going to serve people, it has to reflect their experiences.” What if marketing analytics and digital efforts are only half the picture? What about the people we serve, what about their experiences? How can we collect data qualifying those experiences, acknowledge the ambivalence felt by the folks we serve and inspire them to confidently take the next right action? My guest in this episode is Alexandra Fisher, illustrator, painter, data maven and co-founder of Sherpa’s training and CRM technology whose design and functional specifications promote connection in senior housing sales relationships. She and I sat down to discuss how to put data behind relationship marketing and the importance of balancing digital marketing with relationship marketing efforts.

Duration:00:36:58

The Phoenix Rising Mystery

6/1/2022

My dear friend and guest in this episode, Dawn Abbott, lost her business partner, husband and father of her three kids in a catastrophic boating accident. A few years later, the live events company she and her late husband had built to a multi-million-dollar business suddenly vanished in the financial crisis of 2020. 98% of revenue, the entire team – gone. And yet, she would get back to what she refers to as a “high-energy place” doing what she loves. Even more, she now works with teams of up to 200 people on how to do the same. We discuss what it’s like to rise from the ashes of trauma, how to get back to 100% strong in life and in business, and the promise of setting goals around action rather than outcome. (Think, what do I need to do rather than what do I need to get.) If you are willing to grow and willing to be honest, you have what it takes to be a phoenix rising, too.

Duration:00:33:19

The Deep Work Mystery

5/2/2022

When was the last time you immersed yourself in the deep work, losing track of time as you engage your creative mind? My guest in this episode is Larry Williams, Director of Sales and Marketing at L&R. He and his team understand that “every day you battle villains that want to steal your time and destroy your brand in a cruel myriad of ways: an unending stream of one-off marketing requests, printer and production confusion, lack of templates, waiting on IT resources that may never come.” As an antidote, he unlocks the secrets to stepping back into doing what you love. We discuss the book Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most, the power of meditation, the importance of detachment and the true motivators for spending more time in deep work. Clear your desk of those nagging to dos and listen in for lasting answers to the age-old question: How will I get it all done?

Duration:00:30:42

The Inside Job Mystery

4/1/2022

Often, we think external circumstances must change before things can get better: numbers are low because we are in a recession, census is low because of a pandemic, new leads dipped because of encroaching competition. My guest in this episode, Kristen Reyes-Tarsiuk of CRISTA Ministries demonstrates that in the most trying times, lasting marketing and sales solutions for pervasive issues are an inside job. As a result of empowering her team to overcome any obstacle regardless of circumstances outside their control, CRISTA Ministries saw new inquiries increase 77%. How did they do it? Kristen shares how she and her team agreed on one clear plan, got motivated by a compelling vision then focused on content marketing, social media marketing and relationship-based sales approaches to gain and sustain real traction.

Duration:00:32:13

The Wabi-Sabi Mystery

3/10/2022

The Japanese term wabi-sabi refers to the concept of accepting imperfection in design and life. Few people I know embrace wabi-sabi in sales and marketing like guest in this episode, my friend Steve Moran. Steve is founder of Senior Living Foresight, a thought leadership incubator that publishes 5-10 articles weekly to help senior living leaders excel. He and his team challenge existing assumptions and tackle hard issues, and, he admits, sometimes even make people mad. He and I discuss how to make great connections at events without fearing the few who don’t wish to chat, how to share great content without worrying about critics and how to hone a strong presence on social media without being too perfectionistic. His message: work hard, celebrate the wabi-sabi and take a day off!

Duration:00:25:40