The Dynamics of Selling INTO the Aging Care Market

The dollars spent in the aging care and home care industry should make any remotely related business stand up and take notice. If you have a product or service that sells to those who provide aging care services or home care, using a marketing firm that understands this industry puts you way ahead of the competition.

Let’s look at some statistics. Although five years old now, the latest figures from a 2010 report by the National Association for Home Care & Hospice state, “Approximately 12 million individuals currently receive care from more than 33,000 providers,” and, “In 2009, annual expenditures for home health care were projected to be $72.2 billion.”

Just three years later, those provider numbers nearly doubled, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, “Long-Term Care Services in the United States: 2013 Overview.” From the report’s Executive Summary:

“In 2012, about 58,500 paid, regulated long-term care services providers served about 8 million people in the United States. Long-term care services were provided by 4,800 adult day services centers, 12,200 home health agencies, 3,700 hospices, 15,700 nursing homes, and 22,200 assisted living and similar residential care communities. Each day in 2012, there were 273,200 participants enrolled in adult day services centers, 1,383,700 residents in nursing homes, and 713,300 residents in residential care communities; in 2011, about 4,742,500 patients received services from home health agencies, and 1,244,500 patients received services from hospices.”

Caring for our aging population isn’t one-size fits all, as evidenced by the list of various providers cited in the CDC report. In addition, each of these markets gets paid through various means, from a client’s personal funds, to long-term care insurance, to Medicare and Medicaid.

The CDC report goes into greater detail about the following differences (which you should take the time to read through), differences which corecubed comprehends and navigates on a daily basis when it comes to B2B (and B2C) marketing.

• “Provider sectors differed in ownership, and average size and supply varied by region.”
• “Provider sectors differed in their nursing staffing levels, use of social workers, and variety of services offered.”
• “Rates of use of long-term care services varied by sector and state.”
• “Users of long-term care services varied by sector in their demographic and health characteristics and functional status.”

So whether your business sells software, telehealth products, nutritional therapy, medical equipment, residential services, or any other product or service that makes sense to run a successful business in general, or a home care business in particular, you’ll need a aging care and home care marketing expert on your side to effectively and efficiently tap into this market.

Unlike other industries your business or product may target, selling into the aging care and home care market requires an understanding of the industry, how they buy, what is important to them, and how they receive information. Vendors hoping to sell into this potentially lucrative market oftentimes do not understand the dynamics of the home care market specifically, the stress of the job, and the budgeting woes.

Also, the home care and home health care market is fragmented into further niche markets. So, vendors hoping to sell into this market also need to know the differences between the kinds of care provided, who provides the care, and how those businesses get reimbursed for care, and who makes decisions, or the vendor might miss the entire opportunity.

corecubed works directly with home care agencies, and because of that, our home care marketing experts have a unique and in-depth understanding of how these niche businesses operate. As the go-between agency, corecubed is the logical choice for vendors who want to sell B2B into the home care and the home health care market. Contact us today to find out how we can better help you understand and reach this dynamic and growing market.