You have just started your home care business. You are rearing to meet – and preferably – exceed your revenue target for the quarter. Don’t expect to get the phones ringing without marketing your business offline and online.

The good news is that the right marketing strategies can help you get your business out to potential clients, and encourage them to then reach out to you. This post discusses the most effective marketing tips that boost home care sales performance.

How to market your home care agency to seniors

• Plan a community outreach event at your facility or a local senior center to introduce your business and spread awareness about senior health issues, independent living and other relevant topics aimed at older adults. Avoid overt marketing, but request attendees to include their contact number and email when they register for the event.
• Demonstrate your knowledge and authority by speaking at community events and Rotary clubs.
• Pitch guest articles to your local newspaper and create a blog on your website to be found by seniors and/or their kids via organic Google search.
• Update your blog content calendar to keep serving potential customers new articles and improve your search engine rankings.

Marketing to seniors is quite different from marketing to a business or to younger audiences. You don’t want to get technical or use flowery/hip language, rather get to the point, and state your message in a straight-forward manner. However – as for how you might use infographics to market to a business, or videos and GIFs to engage a Millennial crowd – use images to get your message across clearly and impactfully to seniors.

Avoid stating anything negative, using phrases such as ‘twilight years’ and ‘dependent’, or appearing condescending. Have fact-based, problem-solution conversations that emphasize aspects of ‘increasing independence’, ‘ensuring security’, ‘becoming healthier’, ‘staying fit’, ‘enjoying life’, and ‘enhancing family relationships’.

Home health care referral sources

You can potentially network with dozens of professional referral sources, besides requesting current clients for recommendations. Here is a look at twenty different home health care referral sources:

Avoid targeting all referral sources at once as you may not be able to devote sufficient time to each and your interactions with sources may not be as impactful to generate leads. For instance, you can begin by focusing on one specialist, two independent living facilities and one rehabilitation hospital. These are all professional referral sources, so you can also help them in return, that is, drive referrals their way. Sure, this may be difficult if you are a new business, but over time, you should be able to build a mutually-beneficial relationship.

Also, remember that professional referral sources won’t just refer to any home care agency as it is a matter of their reputation too. With the appropriate license, general liability and professional liability insurance, a well-managed facility and perhaps backing from a reputed investor, you can put your best foot forward before referral sources. Make sure you educate them about your business, background, and services, stating your agency’s advantages and unique selling propositions. Supply them with your brochures, business cards, and other marketing collateral that they can hand out to prospects.

Follow-up with your referral sources on a regular basis. Thank them when referrals contact you and keep them in the loop when a referral converts to a client.

The opportunity for home care businesses is tremendous, but so is the competition

A study entitled Use of Home-Based Medical Care and Disparities in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that a big gap exists between the need for in-home medical care and what older adults are actually receiving. ^[[1]]

The gap is more noticeable in rural areas, where residents are 78% less likely to receive home-based care than their counterparts living in metropolitan areas. These statistics are significant given that many deaths among rural Americans – including those from stroke, heart disease, and unintentional injuries – are preventable. ^[[2]]

The study also found that men were 24% less likely to receive in-home care services compared to women. Asian patients were 31% less likely to receive home-based care than white patients. Black patients were 21% more likely to receive home-based care than white Medicare beneficiaries.

Also, consider that 87% of adults aged over 65 years of age want to age in place rather than move out of their current home or community. ^[[3]] The demand for home-health services exists alongside an underserved market with discrepancies observed across gender, location and race.

Explore how these statistics and realities about home health care can help you create targeted marketing messages. For instance, you can hold a community meeting focusing on how home health care benefits aged male individuals as much as senior women.

Conclusion

As the competition inevitably heats up, the pressure to stay on top of their marketing game is likely to be intense for home care businesses. By leveraging effective home care marketing tips, you can drive up sales performance and grow your business steadily.

[1] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jgs.15444

[2] https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2017/p0112-rural-death-risk.html

[3] https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/info-2014/aarp-ppi-survey-what-makes-a-community-livable.html