To market, to market: Pedaling private duty
Innovative ideas get results
Have you considered using flyers to market your private duty services? Renee Morrissette-Thomas, executive director of Hyde Park, IL-based Ma’ Dear Home Services, swears by them. She says that’s how she gets most of her business: "No one believes me, but it works."
Ma’ Dear advertises its homemaker, housekeeper, sitter, and companion services on 8.5 by 5.5-inch flyers placed on car windshields at grocery stores and other high-traffic areas. Morrissette-Thomas combines catchy, to-the-point phrases with the condensed size for revenue-generating attention. The unorthodox marketing ploy works, she says, because it only takes seconds to read and it’s easy to pocket and retrieve when needed.
The flyers went into the hands of churchgoers after Morrissette-Thomas spoke to a local congregation. With prior approval of the pastor, she addressed the group during the after-sermon announcement period.
Morrissette-Thomas has also found a business development friend in radio. She runs Ma’ Dear spots on weekends during Saturday evening oldies shows and Sunday morning gospel programs. The $600 to $700 per weekend cost is well worth it, she claims. "It takes four to six weeks to get results, but it works."
In addition to placing ads, Morrissette-Thomas has been a guest on the Saturday evening oldies show, which targets baby-boomers. She and the disc jockey had an ongoing discussion during the course of one program about the issues adult children face in caring for their elderly parents. "We talked about what’s affecting the middle class and the down-to-earth decisions people have to make," she says.
In June, Morrissette-Thomas expects to make a repeat appearance, taking listeners’ calls during the program.
Churches are not the only public forum Morrissette-Thomas has addressed. She has also spoken to members of retirement communities, bank-sponsored senior citizen groups, and neighborhood volunteer patrol groups. The latter have been particularly helpful in generating business because they know all of their neighbors and can identify the ones who may need supportive care, she says.
Morrissette-Thomas discusses such topics as Medicare changes, Illinois state senior programs, and of course, the services Ma’ Dear offers.
Morrissette-Thomas also participates in various community events to give general visibility to Ma’ Dear. For example, she is a CPR and first aid instructor with the American Red Cross. That community service actually led to her first radio appearance. The marketing manager for the radio station met her at one of the events and invited her to come on the air.
While some of Ma’ Dear’s marketing efforts have been sterling successes, others have produced little payback. For example, ads placed in neighborhood Chicago-area newspapers had no discernible impact, she reports.
Newspaper ads also did little for the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) of Tulsa, OK, according to Elizabeth Browne, BSN, RN, administrator. Instead, the agency benefits from word-of mouth referrals and a large community presence. It also subtly parlays its indigent care program into more lucrative business. For example, thank-you letters to those who refer patients to the indigent care program include an invitation to call the agency "if you have the need for our other services," Brown explains.
Creating community awareness
Wellness projects, such as flu shot clinics, cholesterol screenings and health fairs help create a Tulsa-wide awareness of the VNA. Not uncommonly, she reports that potential customers call in with the question, "You were at my company. Do you provide such-and-such a service?"
Those who phone the VNA first hear a human voice. But if they happen to be put on hold, a continuously running message informs them of company services and upcoming community activities such as health fairs. The mechanism is part of the company’s phone and voice mail system, and is updated by a staff member several times a year.
Like Morrissette-Thomas, Browne speaks before various community groups, including disease-specific support groups like Mended Hearts, Parkinson’s and Lou Gehrig’s disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), local chapters of sororities, and the American Association of Retired Persons. She talks about various programs available for the elderly (not only those of the VNA), and educates people about making good care choices for their parents and other elderly loved ones.
The VNA does not have an official marketing representative. The administrative and clinical staff all lend a hand in varying degrees. Field staff, in particular, can learn about possible new business from existing patients, who sometimes tell them about neighbors in need of assistance, Brown explains. They may directly contact the potential client. If appropriate, the agency will then arrange an assessment visit.
On Call Plus, a private duty agency in Dallas, also does not have a marketing representative. But that has not always been the case, according to Lee Turicchi, RN, administrator. The company had a marketer, but eliminated the position because it could not correlate new business to the individual’s efforts, including meetings with hospital and insurance case managers. Likewise, ads in local newspapers have not produced tangible results.
However, Turicchi does plan to submit copy for a quarterly health supplement of one of the major local papers. On Call will pay for the informational article just as it would an ad, but Turicchi believes the potential impact will be far greater.
Despite some marketing missteps, On Call’s business has increased 50% over last year, through word-of-mouth referrals and repeat business from existing clients, Turicchi reports. Thanks to that growth, the company is now performing the familiar marketing-staff recruitment dance to match new business with its service capabilities.
Heavy investment in training and benefits helps Tucson, AZ-based Catalina In-Home Services simultaneously expand business and staff, Judith Clinco, RN, BSN, CHHCE, president and chief executive officer reports. (See Guest column, Private Duty Homecare, May 1999, p. 55.) Doing so is critical given the company’s many ongoing marketing initiatives.
Clinco constantly works at maintaining and expanding Catalina’s presence in the community. She speaks before numerous Tucson area groups, including the Business Women, Soroptimists, Rotary, Kiwanis, the Chamber of Commerce, or "any organization whose members may have care needs either for themselves or their parents," she says.
She addresses topics such as what’s available in home care and how to arrange it, Medicare and managed care changes, and financial and legal aspects of care such as arranging durable power of attorney and advance directives. The presentations may not produce immediate results, but they have downstream payoffs. When asked how they heard about Catalina, new customers sometimes say they heard the owner speak several years previously, Clinco reports.
She also writes op-ed pieces for Tucson-area newspapers. Recent articles advised readers to buy long-term care insurance now, updated them about Medicare changes, described home care staffing challenges, and stressed the importance of paying living wages to lower-skilled employees.
Clinco also spreads Catalina’s community presence by serving on the boards of Tucson-based organizations, appearing on radio and television talk shows and serving as the community-based care expert for local newspaper reporters. The company uses a public relations agency to highlight notable achievements, such as being awarded the Arizona Nurse’s Association’s Employer of the Year in 1996.
In addition to Clinco’s efforts, Catalina’s marketing representative meets individually with bank trust officers, insurance agents, and other home care companies. She also speaks to church congregations, mans community health events, and coordinates open houses for Catalina’s referral sources.
Ask me about home care’
Like Browne, Clinco has found caregivers to be excellent business builders. If they refer new clients, they receive 2% of revenue off that case for as long as the client is on service and the employee remains continuously employed. The company couples the financial reward with training and sales tools. For example, caregivers wear Ask me about home care’ buttons, distribute flyers in the community that encourage potential clients to mention their name if they call about home care, and receive training on how to speak about home care services.
Satisfied customers may be the best business development vehicle of all. Catalina sends existing clients cards on their birthdays and flowers when a loved one dies. When cases end, clients also receive a gift certificate for four hours of care that they can use for themselves or give to a friend. From time to time the company also holds focus groups with clients, inviting them into the office and serving coffee and pastries while soliciting their comments and recommendations.
Not all of Catalina’s efforts have been successful. The company used to produce a newsletter for clients, but found it too resource-intensive. Likewise, television ads proved too costly with no direct benefit.
Like Morrissette-Thomas, Mary Baker, MSN, MHS, RN, CS, FNP, president and chief executive officer for Sacramento, CA-based Chicken Soup, Plus. raves about radio. Employee recruitment spots that emphasized the need for quality staff not only brought in applicants but increased business by 10% a week after they ran. The additional revenue easily covered the approximate $2,500 cost for 30- and 60-second spots. The station also occasionally has sales on air time, making the investment even more worthwhile.
Baker chose a station that airs a nationally syndicated talk show. "You should think intuitively about, What’s the audience I want to reach?’ Sometimes the alternate radio stations have better recognition [for the listeners you’re interested in] than a main station," she advises. In addition to running ads, Baker has also appeared on radio and television programs, including those on National Public Radio and CNN.
Like other private duty owners, Baker gets a lot of play out of public speaking. She addresses both service organizations (the Rotary Club and Soroptimists) and business groups (the Bar Association and Certified Financial Planners) on such topics as the changing face of Medicare, and how to make long-term care plans for your client.
Don’t forget the men
The many women owners of home care companies may overlook the traditional — and heavily male — business networking process, but it is fertile business development ground. For instance, the Sacramento Rotary has about 500 members, but only 10% or so are women, according to Baker. "You have to create a presence in the business community and give colleagues and business associates a point of reference," she advises.
Newspaper ads generally fizzle rather than sizzle, Baker reports. One that ran in a California business journal "was worthless. I couldn’t tie one referral to it. But it did help create an underlying presence in the business community," she says.
Every business owner has different marketing ideas and approaches, but the most unusual ones are the most successful, according to Morrissette-Thomas. "Everyone thinks of the normal, but it’s the abnormal that generates the revenue."
Even one’s choice of company name can attract business, she contends. "Ma’ dear" is how she referred to her grandmother, and she uses it, along with the tag line "Home care with a mother’s touch" to create a lasting first impression of the company. "A lot of people get official sounding names, but [they] can blow you away. It sounds like some state agency. But some people prefer a small agency and homey name," she explains.
Baker too, finds her company’s name a business booster. "Chicken soup crosses all ethnic and cultural barriers. Everyone has a version of it to aid the sick. And I remember when the first heart transplant was performed. They said the patient was doing fine on a chemical version of "chicken soup," which, in fact, was normal saline. I thought at the time despite all the high-tech interventions, the thing that makes a difference in one’s feeling of I’m going to make it’ is tender loving care. That’s what Chicken Soup is about; that’s what the Plus.’ connotes. People sometimes call two or three years after they’ve first heard the name, but if they can remember chicken soup, they can find us!"
[Editor’s note: We welcome readers’ new program and service ideas. If you would like to share your experiences for future business development articles, please contact us at (301) 589-1974.]
Sources
• Mary Baker, MSN, MHS, RN, CS, FNP, President and Chief Executive Officer, Chicken Soup, Plus., 1125 I St., Sacramento, CA 95814. Telephone: (916) 554-2444.
• Elizabeth Browne, BSN, RN, Administrator, Visiting Nurse Association of Tulsa, 2754 E. Skelly Drive, Suite 114, Tulsa, OK 74105-6209. Telephone: (918) 743-9810.
• Judith Clinco, RN, BSN, CHHCE, President and Chief Executive Officer, Catalina In-Home Services, 3148 N. Cherry St., Tucson, AZ 85719. Telephone: (520) 327-6351.
• Renee Morrissette-Thomas, Executive Director, Ma’ Dear Home Services Inc., 1525 E. 53rd St., Suite 1006, Hyde Park, IL 60615. Telephone: (773) 667-4663.
• Lee Turicchi, RN, Administrator, On Call Plus, 1440 W. Mockingbird Lane, Suite 309, Dallas, TX 75247. Telephone: (214) 951-0698.
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content