The Importance of Gathering Senior Living Reviews Throughout the Resident Journey

Most senior living operators ask for reviews from their residents. What so many fail to do is to ask for reviews from prospects and their families at various stages during their journey. The sales and marketing benefits of asking for reviews starting at the inquiry stages all the way through to the resident stage are many. Read on to learn more!

Why senior living reviews are so important in sales and marketing

Choosing a senior living community is a very emotional decision filled with doubts, fears, and concerns. Online reviews provide seniors and their loved ones with affirmation that others have been in their place before them and have come out of the process for the better.

Online senior living reviews provide a sizable portion of your prospective residents and their families with a comprehensive and up-to-date picture of your community. The numbers are there to back that up:

• The 2021 PowerReviews Ever-Growing Power of Reviews report found that more than 99.9% of consumers read reviews when shopping online at least sometimes, and 98% of consumers feel that reviews are an essential source when making purchase decisions.
• Reviewtrackers found in their 2022 report that consumers are checking reviews predominately on Google (63.6%) and Yelp (45.18%).

With that many consumers doing their homework on those platforms, it’s hard to ignore the importance of reviews to your senior living communities.

Brightlocal’s 2022 survey found that when deciding which business to choose, the 3 most important review factors are the overall average star rating, how recent the latest reviews are, and the total number of reviews. The same survey found that 3.3 stars is the minimum average rating customers accept. The takeaways here are:

• A less than perfect star rating isn’t necessarily a turnoff for your prospects;
• Recent reviews are very important to prospects; and
• The number of reviews is also a critical deciding factor.

Tips for getting more – and better – senior living reviews

According to Brightlocal’s 2024 data, 69% of consumers who were asked to leave a review did so, and 45% did it at least half the time. The same Brightlocal data found that the most effective ways of asking for a review are: 

• In an email (32%)
• In person during the sale/experience (28%)
• Through social media (27%)
• In a text message (26%)
• On a receipt or invoice (25%)

As we mentioned earlier, the opportunities to get reviews of your senior living community extend beyond the moved in stage. Here are other effective times to ask for them:

• After tours: This time is so effective because your community’s first impression is still fresh in the prospect’s mind. They’re likely to mention key aspects in the review, including cleanliness, friendliness of the staff, overall ambiance, and the initial impressions about the residents.
• During the move-in process: Downsizing and moving are among the top stages that prospects and their families are worried about when making the senior living decision. Reviews at this time can help to capture the positive experiences during the transition and initial adjustment period.
• Ongoing: There’s a tendency to think that “one and done” is all you need when it comes to senior living resident reviews, but regularly requesting updates from residents and their families can help to build the number of reviews and keep your reviews recent. Suggest to your prospects, residents, and their loved ones a focus on daily living, activities, care quality, and community engagement for inspiration. 

If you find that the number of reviews is lagging, a strategy of incentives and encouragement can turn that trend around. Offering small incentives like gift cards and branded community swag are great ways to encourage participation. Encouragement by the executive director and even from corporate leadership to participate in leaving a review can also have a positive impact.

Don’t forget reputation management: a key component of a strong reviews strategy

Negative reviews are inevitable, so understanding how to effectively respond to them is important to maintaining your overall online reputation. Google itself offers businesses some valuable guidance for responding to reviews: “You can reply to reviews, which can help build customer trust.” “When you reply to reviews, …reviewers will get a notification when you reply to their review. After they have a chance to read your reply, they can update their review.” And if a review is inappropriate, Google even offers a process to request its removal.

Ready to generate more senior living reviews as part of a complete sales and marketing strategy? Grow Your Occupancy provides the sales coaching, accountability coaching, and sales-skill coaching essential to establish, implement, and maintain your occupancy growth strategy. Find out more about Grow Your Occupancy: book your free 30-minute consultation today.