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Home Health Marketing Ideas to Make Your Agency’s Phone Ring Home health marketing has become increasingly challenging over the past several years. As new agencies spring up to serve the Baby Boomer population, competition for this growing market will only continue to rise as well. To emerge as a leading agency, you have to plan and execute a marketing strategy that takes advantage of both inbound and outbound tactics. From traditional marketing methods such as attending networking events to connecting with prospects online, you need to be both creative and active to establish a larger presence in your community. Wordofmouth will always be the best form of marketing your agency, but you simply can’t rely only on referrals to acquire new clients. Let’s take a look at some tried and true home health marketing strategies your agency can start using right away to make your telephone ring. Hold An Open House Community outreach events are very effective marketing tools for home health agencies. They show your involvement in the community and provide excellent opportunities for

Home Health Marketing Ideas to Make Your Agency’s Phone Ring

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Page 1: Home Health Marketing Ideas to Make Your Agency’s Phone Ring

Home  Health  Marketing  Ideas  to  Make  Your  Agency’s  Phone  Ring    

   Home  health  marketing  has  become  increasingly  challenging  over  the  past  several  years.  As  new  agencies  spring  up  to  serve  the  Baby  Boomer  population,  competition  for  this  growing  market  will  only  continue  to  rise  as  well.  To  emerge  as  a  leading  agency,  you  have  to  plan  and  execute  a  marketing  strategy  that  takes  advantage  of  both  inbound  and  outbound  tactics.      From  traditional  marketing  methods  such  as  attending  networking  events  to  connecting  with  prospects  online,  you  need  to  be  both  creative  and  active  to  establish  a  larger  presence  in  your  community.  Word-­‐of-­‐mouth  will  always  be  the  best  form  of  marketing  your  agency,  but  you  simply  can’t  rely  only  on  referrals  to  acquire  new  clients.  Let’s  take  a  look  at  some  tried  and  true  home  health  marketing  strategies  your  agency  can  start  using  right  away  to  make  your  telephone  ring.    Hold  An  Open  House  Community  outreach  events  are  very  effective  marketing  tools  for  home  health  agencies.  They  show  your  involvement  in  the  community  and  provide  excellent  opportunities  for  

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networking.  Organize  an  open  house  at  your  facility  once  a  month  or,  if  your  space  won’t  accommodate  it,  reach  out  to  a  local  organization—such  as  a  senior  center—to  host  the  event.  Make  sure  all  attendees  include  their  email  address  when  they  sign  your  guest  book.  You  can  use  this  contact  information  to  stay  in  touch  with  targeted  communications  to  keep  your  agency  top-­‐of-­‐mind.    Specialize  and  Advertise  We  recommend  that  all  agencies  differentiate  themselves  by  focusing  on  a  niche  market.  These  can  include  everything  from  childcare  to  home  modifications  to  day  surgery  support.  If  you  specialize  in  a  particular  service,  gear  your  home  health  marketing  towards  promoting  the  value  of  the  service.  For  example,  an  agency  with  a  childcare  specialty  could  reach  out  to  a  pediatrician’s  office  and  ask  if  it  can  advertise  with  brochures  in  the  waiting  room.      Educate  With  Your  Blog  If  you  haven’t  started  a  blog  on  your  home  health  agency’s  website,  you’re  missing  out  on  one  of  the  most  easy  and  effective  ways  to  market  your  business  online.  Most  prospective  clients  research  agencies’  sites  before  making  contact,  and  a  blog  with  educational  content  almost  always  separates  one  agency  from  another.  Use  your  blog  to  provide  useful  information  for  your  target  audience,  such  as  tips  for  better  elderly  nutrition  or  how  seniors  with  limited  mobility  can  get  more  exercise.  Get  to  know  the  needs  and  concerns  of  your  prospects,  and  then  write  and  post  helpful  articles  on  a  regular  basis.    Get  Social  Treat  your  home  health  marketing  activities  online  much  like  your  in-­‐person  networking  events.  Focus  on  having  conversations  and  getting  to  know  your  prospects  rather  than  try  to  sell  to  them.  Ask  questions,  share  valuable  information  (including  your  blog  posts),  and  show  that  you’re  interested  in  helping  them  solve  problems.  Social  media  is  all  about  building  trust  with  your  target  audience,  so  stay  engaged  on  the  social  sites  where  your  prospects  spend  most  of  their  time  online.      Speak  and  Write    Speak  about  health  care  issues  at  local  groups,  such  as  Rotary,  Elks,  and  senior  centers.  Become  known  as  the  local  health  expert  by  appearing  on  local  talk  shows  to  discuss  ongoing  challenges  in  the  industry.  If  your  local  newspaper  has  a  health  column,  pitch  and  write  regular  guest  articles.  If  it  doesn’t  have  one,  see  if  the  editor  would  be  willing  to  add  a  

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"Health  Corner"  column  for  you  to  contribute  weekly  or  monthly  articles  on  some  issue  in  health  care.    Use  Your  News  There’s  a  time  and  a  place  to  be  self-­‐promotional  online,  too.  Write  and  distribute  press  releases  announcing  new  products,  services,  or  team  members.  In  addition  to  press  releases,  consider  starting  a  weekly  or  monthly  newsletter  to  stay  in  touch  with  prospects  and  clients  (including  the  contacts  you’ve  made  at  your  open  houses).  Don’t  think  you  have  anything  new  to  announce  each  week?  As  long  as  you’re  consistently  publishing  blog  posts,  you  always  have  news  to  share  with  everyone  on  your  email  list.      Take  advantage  of  these  home  health  marketing  ideas  to  start  improving  lead  generation  today.  Between  using  more  traditional  methods  like  in-­‐person  networking  to  leveraging  inbound  strategies  such  as  social  media,  there  are  many  opportunities  to  get  the  word  out  about  your  business.  If  you  need  assistance  with  your  home  health  marketing  plan,  Kenyon  HomeCare  Consulting  can  help.  Schedule  an  appointment  with  one  of  our  consultants  at  www.KenyonHCC.com  to  discuss  strategies  for  attracting  more  clients  in  your  specific  market.      Don’t  forget  to  subscribe  to  Kenyon  Connects,  our  weekly  newsletter  that  provides  helpful  tips  for  growing  your  home  health  agency.