The numbers tell a compelling story: nearly half of senior living residents are now over 85 years old, representing the fastest-growing demographic segment in communities nationwide. This shift isn’t just changing who lives in senior communities – it’s fundamentally transforming how families make decisions, what they prioritize, and how they want to be communicated with throughout the selection process.
For senior living operators, this demographic evolution demands a complete rethinking of CRM communication strategies. The families of 85+ prospects have different concerns, decision-making processes, and communication preferences than those of younger seniors. Understanding these nuances isn’t just helpful – it’s essential for conversion success in today’s market.
Understanding the 85+ Family Dynamic
When a family is considering senior living for an 85+ loved one, the conversation has often been years in the making. Unlike younger seniors who might proactively explore options, the 85+ demographic typically enters the senior living pipeline during a crisis or significant health change. This creates a unique emotional landscape that CRM communications must navigate carefully.
Families of 85+ prospects are often dealing with:
- Urgent decision timelines driven by health events or safety concerns
- Multi-generational decision-making involving adult children, grandchildren, and sometimes multiple siblings
- Complex medical considerations requiring specialized care coordination
- Financial pressures from extended care needs and limited time for financial planning
- Emotional resistance from seniors who may not have initiated the search themselves
These factors create communication challenges that generic CRM messaging simply cannot address effectively. Success requires a nuanced approach that acknowledges the family’s emotional state while providing the specific information they need to make confident decisions.
The Communication Preference Gap
Research consistently shows that families of 85+ prospects communicate differently than those of younger seniors. They tend to prefer:
Phone calls over digital communication: While families of younger seniors might appreciate text updates or email newsletters, 85+ families often want direct voice contact, especially during the initial inquiry phase.
Detailed, comprehensive information: These families need extensive details about medical care capabilities, staffing ratios, emergency procedures, and specialized services. Surface-level marketing messages don’t build the trust required for conversion.
Frequent, proactive updates: Given the often urgent nature of their search, 85+ families appreciate regular check-ins and status updates, even when there’s no new information to share.
Multiple communication touchpoints: With several family members often involved in the decision, your CRM needs to manage communications with multiple contacts while maintaining message consistency.
Redesigning CRM Workflows for 85+ Families
Traditional senior living CRM workflows often follow a predictable pattern: initial inquiry, tour scheduling, follow-up sequences, and conversion tracking. For 85+ families, this approach needs significant modification.
The Urgent Response Protocol
When an 85+ prospect inquiry comes through your CRM, the response timeline should be measured in hours, not days. Configure automated workflows that:
- Trigger immediate email confirmations with direct phone numbers
- Alert staff for same-day callback attempts
- Provide emergency contact options for after-hours inquiries
Multi-Contact Management
Your CRM should be configured to capture and manage multiple decision-makers from the first interaction. Create custom fields for:
- Primary decision-maker (often an adult child)
- Secondary contacts (siblings, other family members)
- Medical decision-maker (if different from primary)
- Financial decision-maker
- The senior themselves (if participating in communications)
Each contact should receive tailored messaging based on their role in the decision-making process.
Care-Focused Content Sequences
Standard marketing sequences emphasizing amenities and social activities often miss the mark with 85+ families. Instead, develop content tracks that also address:
- Week 1: Medical care capabilities and nursing staff qualifications
- Week 2: Safety protocols and emergency response procedures
- Week 3: Specialized services for age-related conditions
- Week 4: Family communication and involvement policies
Personalizing Messages for Maximum Impact
The most effective CRM communications for 85+ families feel personal and demonstrate understanding of their specific situation. This requires moving beyond basic merge tags to create truly customized messaging.
Condition-Specific Communication Tracks
If your CRM captures information about specific health conditions during the initial inquiry, use this data to trigger relevant content sequences. A family dealing with dementia care needs different information than one focused on post-surgical recovery or chronic condition management.
Timeline-Sensitive Messaging
The urgency of the family’s situation should influence your communication frequency and tone. Families needing immediate placement require different messaging cadence than those planning for future needs.
Family Structure Adaptation
Single adult children making decisions alone need different support than large family groups with multiple opinions. Your CRM should adapt messaging frequency and complexity based on the family structure you’ve identified.
Addressing Common 85+ Family Concerns
Your CRM communications should proactively address the specific concerns that keep 85+ families awake at night. These typically include:
“Will my parent be safe?” – Every communication should reinforce safety protocols, staff qualifications, and emergency procedures. Include specific details about fall prevention, medication management, and 24/7 supervision.
“Can you handle their medical needs?” – Provide detailed information about on-site medical staff, partnerships with healthcare providers, and experience with specific conditions. Include case studies or testimonials from families with similar medical situations.
“How will I know what’s happening?” – Clearly explain your family communication policies, technology platforms for updates, and visitation policies. Many 85+ families have been primary caregivers and need reassurance about staying connected.
“Is this the right financial decision?” – Address cost transparency, what’s included in monthly fees, potential additional costs, and financial assistance options. Provide tools for comparing costs to current care arrangements.
Timing and Frequency Optimization
The communication preferences of 85+ families often differ significantly from general senior living prospects. Consider these timing factors:
Optimal contact times: Many adult children managing 85+ parent care are juggling work and caregiving responsibilities. Early morning (7-9 AM) and evening (6-8 PM) contact attempts often yield better results than traditional business hours.
Follow-up frequency: While you don’t want to overwhelm families, 85+ prospect families typically appreciate more frequent communication than younger senior families. Weekly touchpoints during active consideration phases often feel supportive rathe than pushy.
Decision timeline acceleration: Build your CRM sequences around shorter decision timelines. While younger seniors might take months to decide, 85+ families often need to make decisions within weeks or even days.
Measuring Success Differently
Traditional CRM metrics like email open rates and click-through rates may not accurately reflect engagement with 85+ families who prefer phone communication. Consider tracking:
- Phone response rates and conversation quality scores
- Family meeting participation rates and outcomes
- Multi-contact engagement across all family decision-makers
- Time from inquiry to tour and tour to decision
- Referral rates from satisfied 85+ families
Technology Considerations for 85+ Communications
While your CRM needs sophisticated capabilities to manage complex 85+ family communications, remember that the families themselves may prefer simpler technology interfaces. Consider:
Mobile-optimized communications: Adult children are often managing care decisions on mobile devices during work breaks or commutes.
Print-friendly formats: Many 85+ families still prefer printed materials for important decisions. Ensure your email communications format well for printing.
Large font options: When the senior themselves is participating in communications, ensure readability with larger fonts and high contrast designs.
Building Trust Through Transparency
Trust-building is accelerated when families of 85+ prospects feel they’re getting complete, honest information. Your CRM communications should:
Acknowledge challenges honestly: If there are waiting lists, care limitations, or adjustment periods, address these proactively rather than waiting for families to discover them.
Provide specific examples: Instead of generic statements about quality care, share specific examples of how you’ve helped families in similar situations.
Offer references: Many 85+ families want to speak with other families who’ve made similar decisions. Build a reference program into your CRM workflow.
The Human Touch in Digital Systems
While CRM automation enables consistent, timely communication with 85+ families, the most successful operators balance automation with personal interaction. Use your CRM to:
Trigger personal outreach: When automated sequences identify high-engagement prospects, alert staff for personalized follow-up calls.
Track personal interactions: Log phone conversations, in-person meetings, and family feedback to inform future communications.
Coordinate care transitions: Use CRM workflows to manage the complex coordination required when an 85+ senior moves from home or hospital to your community.
Looking Ahead: The Growing 85+ Market
As the 85+ population continues its rapid growth, senior living communities that master specialized communication strategies for this demographic will gain significant competitive advantages. The families making these decisions are often dealing with their first senior living search, facing urgent timelines, and managing complex medical and emotional factors.
Your CRM system should be your competitive advantage in serving these families effectively. By understanding their unique needs, communication preferences, and decision-making processes, you can create communication strategies that not only improve conversion rates but also build the trust and confidence families need during one of their most challenging decisions.
The 85+ factor isn’t just a demographic shift – it’s an opportunity to differentiate your community through superior family communication and support. Communities that recognize this opportunity and adopt a strategic CRM platform will be best positioned for success in the rapidly evolving senior living market.
Ready to turn trusted communications into confident move-ins? Contact us to see how LivingMetrics™ senior living CRM with community level control over campaign automation, automated communication management and built-in video features can help your community build trust faster, support families through every step, and turn meaningful connections into move-ins.