Everyone is always looking for that silver bullet. That one thing they could do differently, better, faster or cheaper to gain market share. And, sometimes it does appear that the silver bullet has been found, but, more than likely, it is simply the result of some good strategy and following the basic marketing tenets that bring success. Interested? Read more now. »

In home care the word “marketing” often means a person who performs the direct sales for the agency. And being a good sales person, is indeed, an incredible talent. Knowing how to sell, however, is vastly different from creating a strategy from which TO sell.

Marketing strategy starts with some basics, and the most basic is branding. Then messaging. Defining targets that are most receptive to the sale, and then creating a process to inform and communicate to all so the potential to MAKE the sale is spread across a wider and wider (although targeted) audience. Interested? Read more now. »

Twice in the past two weeks I have had home care agency owners say they need a new Web site, but that their cousin/brother, etc. is doing it and they are doing a good job. Twice in the past two weeks I have looked at those familial Web sites and, they do look fine. Should you have any questions as to HOW important having a Web site is to a home care company, take a look at the latest Pew Internet Report on usage among older people.

Then think about the fact that designing a Web site is not like designing a brochure. For a brochure, you are sending it out, or hand delivering it, or folks are picking it out of a rack in a health care facility. So it is the design and message that attracts them. For a Web site, unless the potential customer stumbles upon your site, or can find it via a search engine, they will not find it. So design, although important, is only one factor in what makes a Web site work. Interested? Read more now. »

Yesterday’s Webinar was a successful one, with more than 50% of attendees who signed up actually attending, and, better than that, their attention was captured for the entire Webinar. The only way corecubed “advertised” that Webinar was through Social Media.
So, we can measure by results that our social media ROI was a success for that Webinar.

I suggest that there are several ways to gauge the ROI of social media. The first is to focus on the number of relevant followers not just followers per se. Interested? Read more now. »

The senior care industry is on the rise, as the first wave of Baby Boomers leading the “Silver Tsunami” will hit 65 in 2011. With life expectancies longer than even a generation ago, the number of people in the US aged 65 or older is expected to be 71 million by 2030 – more than twice what is was in 2000. Now is the perfect time to capitalize on this trend by starting or buying a non-medical home care business.

Entrepreneurs interested in claiming a stake in the growing elder care industry will likely have questions: “Where do I start?” “What are the costs associated with starting a business?” “Am I the right person to have a business?” “What tools do I need?” “How do I go about marketing my business?” “What procedures, forms or resources are available for my new business?”

Plan now to attend my FREE Webinar on Monday, February 15, 2010, from 4 to 5 pm EST, and find out the answers to many of the questions you may have about starting and running a successful home care agency. Interested? Read more now. »

“Forget ROI in regards to social media. Look instead at what your company stands to lose by not being there,”  writes Don McCauley in an article for EzineArticles.com.

So how can you measure social media ROI? Understand that some benefits of social media will be intangible. It’s not always easy to put a dollars-and-cents figure on social media returns. Interested? Read more now. »

Growing a home care agency is a busy, challenging task.  Many times agency owners have come from other industries or are simply focused on providing good care.  Marketing in the home care world is different. Period.  If you have questions about what it takes to succeed or are looking for expert marketing tips, I invite you to attend my Marketing 101 webinar in February.  I’m starting a series of webinars, geared to touch on all the hot marketing topics for today’s home care agency. This is the first in the series.  Best of all, its FREE!

Interested? Read more now. »

It’s cliché to say that social media has revolutionized the way agencies reach clients-marketing. It’s more accurate to say that it quietly snuck up behind traditional old school marketers, whopped them in the head, turned their universe inside out and then sent them a tweet about it.

In fact, social media – that is, interactive networking Web sites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Flikr and Linkedin – may someday be seen as one of the most innovative marketing tools ever to come out of the early 21st century. Make no mistake: It’s not an automatic guarantee of marketing success, (and as we learned from the dot com bust of the 1990s, neither is an online presence) but – in moderation and wielded skillfully – it can be a valuable asset. Interested? Read more now. »

If your agency has been hesitant about plunging into the raging ocean that is social media, you’d better take a fresh look at Google.

In the past week, the online behemoth made some radical changes when it began incorporating social media into its search results. Until now, individual posts from sites like MySpace, Twitter and Facebook have been MIA in Google searches. Not anymore. Interested? Read more now. »

They deliver both good news and bad. You see them at murder scenes and crash sites. They stand behind the podium when a company launches a new product or announces a donation to charity. Unlike CEOs and other executives, these folks live for the media spotlight. In fact, they thrive in it, being interviewed by print, television, radio and online media on a host of topics related to a company’s business. They look and perform well in front of the camera. For all intents and purposes, they become the face of the company for anyone out there watching.

There are a number of interchangeable titles commonly used to describe the position: public relations director, public information officer (PIO), media relations director, press secretary and spokesperson are just a few. Even the slang term “talking head” will do is an apropos descriptor for this man or woman who holds press conferences and enjoys bringing the company’s message before the masses.

But what does it take to be a good spokesperson? How do you know if you or another candidate has the “right stuff” to go before the camera lenses and not embarrass the company? Creating a good impression in the minds of viewers is not as difficult as you might think. Interested? Read more now. »