Here in Louisville it will soon be time for a beloved annual tradition. The 138th Kentucky Derby is just two weeks away. It’s thrilling to see all the elaborate spring hats, taste mint juleps, spot celebrities, attend Derby parties, and to hear the sound of one lone trumpet play the tune of “My Old Kentucky Home.”

But above all this, Derby-goers get most excited about a bang, the sight of the gates opening and an announcer screaming, “And they’re off!”  Many horses will gallop, but there will only be one winner.

The business world is a lot like the Kentucky Derby. Competition is fierce and the stakes are high–and only companies with well thought-out strategies succeed and mature. Mature businesses, home care or not, are companies that have a strong base of clients and are well known within their industry or region. Plus, they’ve done a good job of branding—their name, logo and products or services are easily recognizable.

So how can you draft a marketing strategy that fits your unique stage of business life? The following marketing tips can help start the process:

TIP #1: Don’t get complacent.

Complacency is dangerous. A well-established customer base can deliver a decent influx of cash for a business, but it can also bring a false sense of security. Far too many agency owners fall into the trap of thinking that name recognition means they can fudge on their marketing plan, or not pay attention to their customers.

TIP #2: Use a strategy that fits the times.

Well-established companies often make the mistake of getting stuck in a rut when it comes to their marketing strategies. It’s not surprising–after all, if a marketing strategy got you this far, why abandon it? The answer to that question is that customers change and marketing strategies and tactics change with technology and competition.

TIP #3: Don’t stray from your core message.

It’s important that your company continues to develop new ways to market your products or services—but be certain that changing strategies doesn’t result in wasted time focusing on issues other than marketing. If you’ve got a good product that works, don’t change it unless a changing customer base demands revision. Change the marketing strategy – not the product.

My expert team at corecubed provides integrated marketing communications services using a strategic approach to help clients create high-impact campaigns to launch or rebrand products or companies. Contact us today!

So, how do you get people to call? You give them a reason, based on their need for information. You stay in front of them on a regular basis so they remember your agency name. Unfortunately, the needs for home care often come at unexpected times, and what home care means may not be totally understood. Be the local, approachable resource for information and be a comfort during a time of tough decisions for your audience.

As a former home care agency owner myself and a marketing expert with today’s technology, I know from working experience that growing an agency means:

• Having the right information available in a variety of online ways;
• Interacting and responding appropriately, online and directly;
• Integrating all outreach, communication efforts with online inbound efforts.

My next post will explore finding your target audience and referral sources. In the meantime, check out MOST^SM, our coveted monthly turnkey marketing communications program designed for home care agencies—so you can put my strategic marketing practices into play immediately.

When designing a website to be a successful marketing tool, be mindful of search engine optimization (SEO)—key words written into your messaging that will help your company to be found during online searches (think Google, bing, etc.).  And, use your new site to build a referral base and contact list. Many agency sites use a “Contact Us” form for online visitors to fill out for referral tracking and future outreach.

A contact management process allows companies to remain in regular communication with people and helps keep the agency top of mind with emails or newsletters. However, going beyond basic contact information and asking more questions can mean the difference between just another email address and a potential referral source. When implementing a “Contact Us” page, ask referral sources for additional information such as:

• Is there a specialty service you provide that our patients might want to use?
• Do you have educational needs that one of our home care experts could fulfill?
• Is there a particular type of patient that you work with best?
• What is the most important item you look for when making a referral?

Also, create a separate section within the online contact form for direct inquiries from potential patients or family members and ask:

• Are there any physical limitations which require special assistance?
• Are there special dietary needs or restrictions?
• What is the current level of physical activity?
• Are there any special medical conditions?

And for each and every inquiry, ask:

•  How did you hear about us?

Collecting answers to these simple questions will help the intake process run smoothly. Just remember to keep it brief! Check back next week for tips you won’t want to miss about marketing messaging that engages and connects with your target audience.

In the meantime, if you have questions about marketing your home care agency, I would love the opportunity to strategize to help you meet your marketing needs. Or, book me to speak at your next home care or marketing event.

So what does a “Marketer” for home care services need to do to generate business?

First, they need to treat any potential clients or referral sources as if they are the most valuable person in the world. Secondly, they need a plan and a system for success with goals they can reach and  some measurement so they will know when they reached those goals.

• A plan includes setting goals and objectives, and targeting those with the best chance of buying, or being interested in an ongoing relationship

• Focus on the more high-potential opportunities, which can be high potential for revenue like 24 hour cases, or high potential for ongoing referrals, like a hospital discharge planner or a rehab facility, or an assisted living facility that does not provide home care

• Follow up consistently. Plan on at least three to five meetings to get noticed and to be recognized

• Listen more than they talk  to learn what the client or referral source needs and wants

• Ask for the business when appropriate .

Some people are natural  “rainmakers”.  However, it is like luck and chance, those who succeed may be lucky and take advantage of chance, but usually they are where they are for a reason. Rainmakers  start with a plan, take advantage of opportunities, set goals, and persist.

Make certain that all  activities, advances, time spent on developing business is measured and evaluate, over time,  whether your approach is working . Change things that are not.

Value innovation occurs when a company implements a strategy that decreases costs, eliminates competing factors and offers something new the market has never seen. This strategy from Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne results in what the authors call a “blue ocean.”  Those who operate traditionally, fighting and drawing blood by competing on cost and factors that already exist, are in a “red ocean.” These competitors are required to totally rework their thinking just to keep up with the innovator. The concept of creating products using the blue ocean strategy changed the way I conduct my business, and I believe it will change yours.

Read the complete article here.

Focus is what won that race. Alright, he is talented, skilled, experienced as well, but it is the focus that separated him from the others who did not win on Saturday. And it is focus along with persistence and determination that makes businesses succeed. Take a look at your agency’s or business’ marketing efforts, and ask yourself if you are approaching a) the right targets with b) the right message and c) the right way so they will respond as you are desiring.

Take a look at Responsive Home Health’s new Web site and notice the focus on the right target with words, photos, and interactivity. Then take a look at the content. Resource rich, helpful, targeted. Then add on the well designed and realize also that you are looking around because it interests you, it invites you in, and it fills a need when you are there.

Think of a Web site as your office. People who come to you need  to get what they want, find it easily, complete their business and move on to the next step of doing business with you. corecubed has added to its bench strength in our Web design department, and the results are powerful.

Example 1 is the client who bought lots of new domain names (URLs) and wanted to “trick” the search engines by creating lots of mini sites that all drive traffic to the main Web site. A dangerous strategy if Google perceives that it is trying to be tricked, and a waste of effort and money. The better strategy? Get great back links by doing something worthy of being posted on some dynamite site. Write a relevant article and submit it to a national publication. Create a blog and build interest by offering something of worth on that blog. Use short video that addresses issues that the prospective client might find interesting, or that answer questions usually asked and hard to answer. The best strategy is to have a current Web site, well designed and maintained and optimized for search engines.

Relevancy is the key to getting ranked well, and there is an art to keeping that ranking by making the site work for you. Blogs, videos and changing content will help as well. But the key to ranking is relevancy and the key to getting and keeping interest is to be interesting (and relevant).

Example 2 is the client who wants a dynamite Web site so there is measurable ROI. Yes, corecubed can build a dynamite Web site that will be relevant, designed for search engines, and we use SEO in creating content and naming pages and photos. But how do you measure ROI from a Web site? Inquiries? Traffic to the site? Downloads? All of these are definitely measurable events, but the REAL ROI for any business is growing revenues and increasing profits. And the Web site is just one component of good marketing.

The start of good marketing strategy is starting with the basics. Who is the target customer? What messages resonate with them? What visuals will attract them that also marry with the message? THEN you build a dynamite Web site that is interesting, attractive, organically optimized for the search engines and one that does attract your target customers. So, no silver bullet unless you create it the way it is intended to be created with no shortcuts!