Marketing 101: Sell your services NOW!
Don’t rely on luck when growing your business
If you offer private duty services, Karen Carney, editor and publisher of home care marketing newsletter The Home Advantage Newsletter in Andover, MA, has a message:
"Lucky you," she says. "Private duty is going to grow, and grow rapidly particularly with the narrowing of some Medicare coverage. People won’t be able to manage, and they’ll have to pay for it out of pocket."
But to capitalize on this, Carney says you have to market. "I’m always surprised at how little some of these organizations market themselves. Especially with private duty, which has so much potential."
Tim Bosse, director of private duty at Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital in Baltimore, agrees and says he markets aggressively, even making one-on-one sales calls something not typically found in home care. Bosse, however, is starting up a new service Home Care 24, an adult version of the Peds Round the Clock service that Mt. Washington has had in place for nearly four years, and he wants to make sure it gets off to a strong start.
He operates like any outside sales person in another industry: He targets his potential clients, sets up meetings over the phone, brings a clinician with him to answer questions clients may have, and presents his case.
"I tell them whatever makes us good with whatever kind of patient they are interested in, like vent patients," he explains. "I tell them how we are different from the competition and how we are better, and I let them know that I believe 100% in our product."
Aim, then fire
Targeting is key in this kind of selling, he says. "For the adult service, I have gone to every physician who refers to the hospital or whoever has referred someone to the hospital." Bosse will bring lunch in and present his product to the staff of a particular physician.
He also targets entities affiliated with his hospital and health system, such as assisted living facilities and nursing homes. He presents to both residents and medical personnel. "In these environments, there are a lot of private pay regulated health aide services we can sell," Bosse says. "I think this will be a big percentage of our income."
Bosse says anyone considering a strong marketing effort of any sort should also invest in a contact management computer database program. He uses ACT! by Symantec, which costs about $200. There are other contact management systems, such as FileMaker and Gold Mine, which cost about the same.
Carney agrees that a database program is a must. "I’m always surprised when organizations don’t have this. They should be your lifeblood."
She recommends keeping in touch with every contact in your database at least three times a year. "Contact them by mail with a post card advertising respite care during the holidays. People always read postcards. Or send a newsletter, a tip sheet, or invitations to events, like those luncheons you attend." Carney also suggests including adult children of your clients in the database. "They can always let their parents know about events," she explains.
JoAnn Sciacca, community relations coordinator for C.A.R.E. Inc. in Hammond, LA, joined her organization eight months ago with a mandate to market. Her efforts have been varied.
Along with seminars and luncheons, she spends part of her budget on advertisements both in print and on television. (See related story on luncheons, p. 6.) The latter effort which cost $300 for spots that ran on a local cable access channel was not successful. But because those who purchase private duty services tend to be in a higher income bracket, she has found advertising in selected newspapers effective. "You have to gear your advertising toward those who can afford your services."
She also advertises in special advertising sections of newspapers, such as those dealing with senior issues and health care, and runs different ads about different services. For instance, Sciacca ran one ad aimed at family members caring for loved ones. Another was geared towards Medicaid waiver clients.
Finally, she placed an advertisement which was designed to attract the attention of the referral community physicians and social workers.
Have they worked? "The referrals are really coming in," she says. "We have calls coming in from people who have never called us before."
Linda Larremore, RN, BSN, clinical coordinator of St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital Comfort Care in Houston, had less success with newspaper advertising than with running an ad in the Yellow Pages.
"People don’t buy our services like they buy a television. They seek you out when they need you," says Larremore. "One of the first places they look is the Yellow Pages. You have to be where they look."
Larremore says in Texas, it is important for an agency to explain it is licensed and accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. So she notes that in her Yellow Pages ad. "There has been a lot of bad publicity about home health care, and people want the security that an agency is reputable."
Her Yellow Pages ads also note the variety of services Comfort Care offers.
Sciacca goes further with her Yellow Pages ads, putting them in several sections of the phone book, including under assisted living and home health.
Taking a direct approach
Sciacca says she believes in keeping her company’s name in front of the public. She attends health fairs and has a booth well-stocked with giveaway items such as pens, message pads, and refrigerator magnets.
Her next marketing effort is a direct mail campaign. For $71, she bought 1,000 random names from 13 different ZIP codes in three high-income areas. She will be sending out mailers to those random names.
Although Sciacca is not sure whether the effort will succeed, she feels strongly that she must take an active role in marketing C.A.R.E.’s services. "Everyone else is resting on their laurels, plodding along," she says of her competitors. "But our owners feel there is a huge private duty market that is untapped, and I agree. The population is aging, and they don’t want to go into nursing homes. They would rather pay someone to come in and assist them in their own homes."
Not everyone agrees that marketing is necessary. Rankin Whittington, MSW, president of Home Care Management Corporation in Lenoir, NC, says he has done little marketing. "We do the Yellow Pages," he says. "But no one has ever called and said they got our name from there."
Whittington says that even if he had an unlimited budget, he is unsure whether he would spend money on marketing. "I’d rather let the clients seek us out. I’d rather spend the money training our staff."
Indeed, Whittington says that the best marketing he can do is to have a highly reputable service. "We respond quickly to requests for service, and we have a great reputation among case managers. We have always developed our market share that way and want to continue to do so."
The Visiting Nurse Association Support Services Inc. in Claremont, CA, offers patients, including those in hospice, the option of less expensive services. The new service, called Caregiver 2, is part of an overall package of caregiver services. Patients may select any of these options, or mix and match. Here’s what the agency offers:
r Caregiver 1.
The basic rate is $8.50 per hour for a minimum of two hours including:
• Basic meal preparation
• Laundry
• Light housekeeping
• Errands
r Caregiver 2.
The basic rate is $10 per hour for a minimum of two hours including:
• Light housekeeping
• Meal preparation and assistance with feeding
• Laundry
• Companion services
• Assistance with ambulation and/or transfers
• Dressing
• Grooming (no bathing)
• Reminders to take medication
r Caregiver 3.
The basic rate is $17 per hour for two-to-three hours, or $15 per hour for four-plus hours including:
• Light housekeeping
• Meal preparation and assistance with feeding
• Laundry
• Companion services
• Assistance with ambulation and/or transfers
• Dressing
• Grooming
• Bathing
• Reminders to take medication
• Assistance with prescribed exercises and rehabilitation activities
• Catheter and ostomy care
• Help with leg braces or specialized assistive devices
• Nonsterile dressing changes
r Sleep-overs and 24-hour care.
The basic rate is $8 per hour, but it varies. Sleep-overs are for 8-10 hours or 24-hour care.
r Skilled care programs.
The basic rates are $34 per hour for licensed vocational nursing care or $44 per hour for registered nursing care.
r Mother’s helper.
The basic rate is $15 per hour for a minimum of 2 hours. The mother’s helpers are Caregivers Level 3 with specialized training in the care of infants, children, and in postpartum care. The services include:
• All services provided under Caregiver 3
• Postpartum care
• Assistance with nursing
• Assistance with newborn care and safety
• Assistance with sibling care and understanding
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