Literally billions of people are searching for services online in 2021, and the internet is generally the first place consumers who need senior living and senior care services look for information and care.

The internet is a good starting point, but the reality is consumers also want to speak with a representative on the phone before making an appointment for a consultation or tour due to the personal nature of caregiving. 

A data-driven approach is the best way for marketers to understand the customer journey and modify their sales funnel to align with sales call conversions.  

To that end, we’ve got the top home care marketing statistics and assisted living marketing statistics in 2021 to keep you on-trend and in the know. 

COVID-19 Decreases the Demand for Senior Living Services

No one could have foreseen the global pandemic or the effects it would have on the senior care services industry. Just like the pandemic itself, changes in the senior care industry were swift and pervasive.

Here’s how the statistics shake out:

• COVID-19 prompted seniors and their loved ones to give safety a high priority when seeking senior care services. As a result, senior living service sales declined by 41% after the onset of the pandemic. 
• Initial in-person tours for senior living facilities declined by 27%, signaling the need for senior care providers to create and offer virtual tours. 
• The move-in rate for senior living providers decreased by 22% after COVID-19 began to spread. 

With the demand for senior living services on the decline, marketers need to tap into the potential of every possible conversion. 

Phone calls are still a key element in the senior care services journey, and it’s wise to consider how to best incorporate them into your marketing plan.

Senior Care and Senior Living Marketers Need to Align with Post-COVID Trends

• The lockdowns due to the pandemic drove consumers and businesses to increase digital technology. Online activity increased at 5-10 times the projected rate. The momentum is likely to continue into 2021 and perhaps beyond, as communities continue to battle the first strain of coronavirus and the new Delta variant. 
• A strong focus on the customer experience was important before the pandemic, and it’s even more so now. Adobe says, “Empathy is the future of experience.” Senior living providers that can show they understand their customers and their needs will differentiate themselves from other brands. 
• The need for hiring caregivers is and will continue to be on the upswing. 
• Turnover rates are increasingly high. In some cases, they’re exceeding 70% in skilled nursing facilities. 1 of 5 skilled nursing facilities reported having severe worker shortages. 
• Caregivers are struggling to manage their home and work lives as demanding schedules make it difficult for them to care for homebound children, educate them, and keep health and safety measures in place. 
• To meet the needs of hiring caregivers, senior care providers will need to boost their marketing efforts to ensure they have the staff to meet hiring needs now and in the future. 
• Baby boomers continue to enter the senior phase of life. This is creating the largest demand for in-home care services, assisted living care, and nursing home care. Forbes research says 67 million people over the age of 60 will soon need senior care on some level. 
• Over the next 20 years, 65 million more Americans will enter the retirement phase, and the number of seniors needing long-term care could increase to 15 million by 2050. This means marketers need to be futuristic in their thinking to be successful. 
• Data-driven marketing efforts will help to improve the quality of life for employees and seniors. 

Information Gathering for Consumers of Senior Living and Senior Care Services Switch to Online Sources

As in nearly every other industry, consumers in the senior care industry are increasingly turning to online sources of information.

Senior Living and Senior Care Marketing Stats:

• Only a small percentage of senior living consumers take a non-internet approach to research senior care services. 75% of this population starts their quest for information online.  
• Searches for keywords like “senior living” increased by 15% over the last year. As younger, digitally nuanced adults get older, this percentage is sure to increase. 
• Every hour, the internet gets 6,000 online searches in relation to senior care in the U.S. as of 2017, and the numbers are likely much higher now. Marketers that are experts in SEO strategies have the edge over novice marketers.  
• 68% of marketers in the senior living space said they get the best results from their website. They find that consumers perform an initial search query and then start shopping around on other websites to get more detailed information. Consumers have the best chance of finding your company when you optimize your website to improve leads and conversions. 
• The average cost per lead in the senior living industry in 2018 pales in comparison to other major industries at approximately $431 per lead. For the record, the industry standards are $229 for business services, $106 for software, $235 for manufacturing, and $85 for home improvement. 
• In the senior living industry, the average rate per conversion is 30%. At over $400 per lead, it’s a big investment considering the majority of leads won’t convert. 

The Senior Living and Senior Care Consumer Journey Is Changing Shape

After doing careful research, consumers in the senior care sect are increasingly placing a higher level of priority on in-home care services vs. assisted living care services as the following statistics indicate:

• For independent living consumers, the average sales cycle is 120 days. By comparison, the cycle for assisted living consumers is only 70 days. A good inbound marketing strategy can help shorten the sales cycle. 
• There are 6 important stages in the senior care living customer journey including awareness, research, consideration, evaluation, selection, and narrowing down the final choice. 
• Mapping the customer journey is essential for helping align your processes, data, and systems to yield the best possible results. 
• 64% of senior care providers use a customer journey map to represent the customer experience. 
• Mapping the customer journey is essential for helping align your processes, data, and systems to yield the best possible results. 
• Only 26% of senior care providers are forward-thinking in mapping out the customer journey. 
• 19% of buyers want to speak to a salesperson during the research stage of the buying process.
• 60% of consumers want to speak to a salesperson during the consideration stage after they’ve established a shortlist of providers. 
• 20% of buyers want to speak to a salesperson when they’re ready to make a decision. 

Increasing Conversions for Senior Living and Senior Care Marketers Requires Focusing on Inbound Phone Calls 

• Customers expect more personalized experiences with senior living brands. 73% of B2B executives agree that customers are looking for a consistent omnichannel experience including inbound calling. That was in 2017, and the quest for a consistent omnichannel brand experience continues to elevate. 
• Senior care providers are lacking in the area of phone call professionalism. 19% of incoming calls to senior housing communities never get picked up according to a 2018 report. That doesn’t even include the vast amount of calls that get sent to voicemail. 
• Senior care and senior living providers get 60% of the leads for tours of their facilities from inbound phone calls. 
• 39% of people moved into a senior living facility as a result of an initial inbound phone call. 
• Over 92% of the interactions with customers happen over the phone according to Salesforce.
• 41% of salespeople believe that the phone is their most effective sales tool.
• More than half of web traffic comes from mobile devices. 
• Marketers are investing more of their marketing dollars in targeting their audiences through smartphones and other mobile devices, and conversions result when consumers call in. 

Tips for Senior Living and Care Marketers to Drive High-Quality Calls

To round things out, we’ve got some great tips to help senior care and senior living marketers to drive calls that convert. 

• Use call extensions on Google Ads, add “call now” CTA buttons to your website, and add a call option to your web contact forms. The idea here is to make it easy for consumers to contact you. 
• Identify the source of phone calls from the marketing source to the final sale to help you understand the entire customer journey. Make changes to shorten your sales funnel and enhance the customer experience along the way. 
• Integrate call data with your marketing tools to get accurate data on the entire customer journey. 
• Pursue past callers and lookalike callers by creating the right ads and using the right tools. Use call data to identify these leads. 
• Analyze calls to evaluate your unanswered call rate, long hold times, abandoned calls, locations, etc. Share the data with your call agents and coach them based on your results.

Finally, and we can’t emphasize this enough – optimize your campaigns, analyze the results, and repeat these steps over and over again. It’s the best way to scale your process and work out the bugs that are impacting your ROI. 

At SeniorCareClicks.com we want you to have the most current information on senior care marketing trends so your marketing efforts are successful. Want to know more? Contact us at 954-401-9058 for a FREE consultation. 

admin

Karina has spent most of her career working in the senior care industry, mostly as a digital marketing manager for home care and nursing home facilities. With 8+ years of hands-on experience in digital marketing to her credit, Karina also worked as a consultant for senior care businesses. As someone who cares deeply for seniors and has expert skills in digital marketing, Karina founded SeniorCareClicks to fulfill her passion for her permanent career.

Karina and SeniorCareClicks have been featured in Home Health Care News, HomeCare Magazine, Forbes, The Nursing Home Podcast, and other media. Karina is “the premier expert in senior care marketing”!

Perhaps one of the most challenging issues in the home care industry is finding strategies to ensure a steady stream of new prospects. With the baby boomer generation aging, home care agencies have never been busier. 

Sales tact, sales skills, and experience are no longer enough for home care agencies to be competitive against other agencies that are leveraging data in their marketing strategies. With the baby boomer generation aging, home care agencies have never been busier. 

Between the growing need for home care and strong competition, customer acquisition is a growing priority for home care agencies. To effectively keep up with the evolution in the home care industry and the challenges that come along with it, data-driven strategies are the way to go.

Challenges Associated with Senior Care Marketing

The first step in combating the challenges that home care agencies are facing is to identify them. Here are 5 key challenges that should be getting your attention:

1. Lean marketing budgets. As the saying goes, it takes money to make money. Advertising budgets for home care agencies vary significantly based on the company’s size and phase of business development. If you’re not getting the results you’re after, a boost in your advertising budget could give you more avenues for home care marketing. 

2. Increasing the flow of qualified incoming leads. Word of mouth and random referrals are always good, but it’s more effective to set up machine learning marketing to generate strong results from online paid ads. Email marketing also leverages automation to increase the flow of qualified leads. 

3. Aligning your sales and marketing efforts. When you’ve clearly defined your audience, your marketers will target the right leads and you can set up a workflow that leads prospects flawlessly through your sales funnel.  

4. Timely follow-up. When prospects are making inquiries about home care, they’re ready to buy. Inefficient processes could mean that salespeople are wasting time following up on cold or old leads. The right marketing strategies will position your home care agency to follow up on leads within an hour of the first contact. 

5. Effectively using CRM, sales software, and machine learning marketing strategies. CRMs and marketing outreach software are big time-savers. They can help your home care agency to gather and record new data with every customer contact. Automation effectively engages prospects and customers and promotes brand loyalty.

How to Get Senior Care Leads with Digital Marketing

AI and machine learning in the field of digital marketing are core technologies that have the potential to give your home care marketing initiatives a massive boost. Machine learning gives you a distinct advantage over your competitors because it’s able to mine and organize huge amounts of data. Machine learning is a great tool for executing simple, routine tasks. It helps you to spot trends and optimize your results. It’s worthwhile to invest a portion of your budget in digital advertising. 

Here are three reasons why digital marketing is gaining in popularity:

1. It’s cost-effective.
2. It gives you an easy way to measure your results. 
3. It’s easy to figure your ROI.

Obviously, you want to know that the investment you make in marketing is paying off. That concept leads to the importance of running paid search ads as part of an effective home care marketing plan. Pay-per-click (PPC) ads are a valuable way to reach your target audience. What’s so awesome about PPC ads? You only have to pay when prospects click on your ads. As a result, you’ll naturally get a higher ROI. 

In the home care industry, you’ll want most of your leads to come from within a reasonable geographic range from your facilities. The right digital marketing activities will help you to focus heavily on local searches which will lower your cost per lead. 

Another benefit of machine learning marketing is that you can leverage lookalike audiences once you’ve built a solid customer base. AI and machine learning technologies put data together to create the right target audiences which point in the direction of qualified leads. Machine learning collects data pertaining to location, demographics, and other information so you can target PPC ads to audiences matching those characteristics. Just imagine how painstaking it would be to try to sort out all that data manually! AI and machine learning save you hours and hours of time. 

Think of mining data as giving you a foundation to make good decisions about advertising. The more that you can learn about the types of people that will be searching around online for home care services, the better you can use it to establish accurate customer profiles. AI and machine learning combine data from your current target audience with interest groups and keywords to fine-tune your outreach. The algorithms automatically find new groups to display your ads. 

How to Achieve Results Faster

Due to digital transformation, the marketplace is becoming increasingly specialized. While it long made sense to manage advertising needs in-house, it often makes better sense now to partner with a marketing agency that has experience with home care agencies.  

An independent marketing agency has the expertise to bring in qualified leads and help you identify quality caregivers in efficient, cost-effective ways. An expert marketer will be able to look at your goals and objectives and develop a few strategies to help you meet them. It’s expertise that’s simply hard to match in-house. 

There is also value in working with a digital marketer like SeniorCareClicks that’s well acquainted with the home care industry. Our marketers that understand the joys and challenges of providing senior care have a good familiarity with the types of keywords and strategies that produce results and lead to conversions. Our senior care marketers have experience in setting up a well-rounded marketing process where they utilize the right personas and understand this market’s buyer journey. 

These are some of the ways we accomplish that:

• We use current client data to feed AI and machine learning.
• We create different audiences and run ads on different platforms.
• We collect leads and guide them into inbound call centers.
• Call center agents nurture leads and guide them through the sales funnel. 
• As calls ring in real-time, call center agents can respond quickly and transfer the call to your home care agency, so you never miss a lead.
• The call center then sends an automated email to the home care agency with all the customer details. 
• Customers get a follow-up email a few days after the first interaction. 

Our marketing agency leads the way and keeps prospects engaged from the first contact to the conversion with a comprehensive marketing plan that sets your home care agency on the path to growth.  

Remember the Importance of Timely Calls

Inbound call centers are designed to handle large amounts of incoming calls. Our marketing agency takes a holistic approach to marketing and it has the expertise to drive lots of calls into the call center where call center agents can help prospects get answers about home care services fast when they’re ready to make a decision.

As expert marketers in the home care industry, we do much more than provide your agency with massive numbers of leads. Call center agents are trained on how to personalize calls which begins the process of building trust with customers which is so important in the decision-making process. They’re well-trained in the art of active listening, and they know how to respond in ways that assure customers they’re being understood. 

Wondering how it works in a practical sense? Let’s say that a prospect calls in and the call center agent discovers that the caller mistakenly believes they’ve called one of your competitors. Rather than correct the caller right off the bat, the call center agent will ask what they can do for the customer and guide them to the answers to their questions. The initial calls offer a good opportunity to engage customers in conversation. At the proper moment, the call center agent will clarify that the caller has actually called your agency and they’re happy to help them on the spot. 

The senior care industry is learning what other types of businesses have already discovered. Digital marketing works! Pay-per-click ads are highly effective as an inbound marketing strategy. The right strategies help you to develop detailed profiles of your target audiences and display attractive ads in online locations where home care consumers are most likely to see them and act on them in real-time. 
The best news is that you don’t have to spend hours and hours studying analytics and doing ad testing to see which strategies are the most effective. Leave your marketing needs to a digital marketing agency that understands the specific challenges connected with home care agency marketing. Call SeniorCareClicks today to learn how we use AI and machine learning marketing strategies by leveraging data from your current clients to get leads into your sales funnel and convert them expediently. 954-401-9058

admin

Karina has spent most of her career working in the senior care industry, mostly as a digital marketing manager for home care and nursing home facilities. With 8+ years of hands-on experience in digital marketing to her credit, Karina also worked as a consultant for senior care businesses. As someone who cares deeply for seniors and has expert skills in digital marketing, Karina founded SeniorCareClicks to fulfill her passion for her permanent career.

Karina and SeniorCareClicks have been featured in Home Health Care News, HomeCare Magazine, Forbes, The Nursing Home Podcast, and other media. Karina is “the premier expert in senior care marketing”!

Public relations plays an important role within your marketing strategy. When you want to share events or exciting news about your home care agency publicly, a press release gets the job done. It’s not one of those tools in your marketing toolkit that you use every day, but when the right circumstances come along, you need to know how to write a press release correctly.

If writing a press release for your home care agency feels foreign to you, here’s a guide to understanding the correct format for a press release, how to write a good press release, how to submit one, and where to send it to.

How to Write a Good Press Release that Gets Attention

Before we get started, it’s helpful to understand the purpose of writing a press release. Public relations is important to your agency because it helps to inform key audiences, keep them engaged, and build trust. By definition, a press release is a media communication that mutually benefits the relationship between an organization and the public.

The right media attention highlights your home care agency’s accomplishments and gives your brand credibility.

Let’s get started with three steps to attracting media attention for your home care agency:

1. Map out your story.

Make a list of your home care agency’s achievements including awards, certifications, innovative services, and notable events. Write your story using a professional and enthusiastic tone.

2. Position yourself it has the primary expert in home care services.

Press releases offer good opportunities to announce events for home care professionals like workshops and seminars. You could even offer CEUs for professional attendance. Choose topics that are currently trending in the area of home care services.

3. Develop a sales workflow.

Press releases offer you new opportunities to sell your services. Be prepared for an influx of phone calls and emails. Train you are employees that answer phone calls and emails and how they can turn inquiries into sales.

How to Format a Press Release So It Gets Printed

Media publications get requests for press releases on a regular basis. Editors and news directors get to choose the ones they print and the ones they don’t. Media outlets are keenly aware of the correct format for a press release. If yours doesn’t meet the proper standards, they’re bound to just toss it, and your efforts will be wasted.

Here are five steps for how to format a press release:

1. Create a general template for your press releases.

2. Put the words “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” at the top of the page. Bold it and center it.

3. Start the first paragraph with either a dateline or the city and state where your home care agency is located.

4. Add your contact information either at the top or the bottom of the page. It should include the name of your agency, your email address, and the title of the media contact.

5. Add three number symbols (###-for a little trivia, the official term for this symbol is an octothorpe) and center them at the bottom of the page. This signals the end of your press release.

How to Write a Good Press Release: What to Include

Editors will be looking for certain characteristics in a good press release. Here are some tips for how to capture their attention:

·   Craft a title that’s simple yet engaging. Make sure it’s on topic and keep it under 10 words.

·   Use the first paragraph to summarize the content and include the most important details. Editors and reporters often stop reading after the first paragraph.

·   Wright your content in a pyramid style in the same way that journalists do. Use third-person voice and write the most important information first. Engage them with something interesting such as a photo, video, or a relevant quote.

·   Personalize your press release and either send them individually or use blind carbon copy (BCC) so they can’t see the other publications that you’re sending it to. Remember that they’re looking for news that’s current and unique.

·   Follow up with the recipients by contacting them personally just before and after you send your press release. You’ll have a better chance that they’ll look for it and decide that it’s newsworthy.

Where Do You Send a Press Release for a Home Care Agency?

As you write more press releases, you’ll have a better idea about which of them are the most viable. I’ve developed a list of some of the most common places to send a press release for home care agencies that get good results.

1. Daily newspapers. Your daily newspaper accepts online and print press releases. Start with the editor or an editor that’s known for publishing articles on home care topics.

2. Weekly newspapers. These publications may be offered in print or online, as well. Again, editors are the best contacts.

3. Magazines. Press releases for magazines are the same as for other publications. Once again, the editor is your point of contact.

4. Radio and television stations. Address your press release to the news director.

5. Bloggers and social media influencers. Use online directories and search engines to locate the email addresses of bloggers and social media influencers in the senior care space.

6. Paid distribution services. The small fee you pay for greater exposure could pay off in big results.

As another little tip, you’ll have a better chance of getting your press release printed if you send it early in the day or early in the week. The exception is if you are planning around a certain event. As for how to submit a press release, you can fax, email, or mail it in.

Press releases are a simple and professional way to get the word out about your senior care agency. If you’re still lacking confidence in how to write an effective press release, you’ll find plenty of examples online, or call on us for help.

Contact SeniorCareClicks for help on how to market your home care services and bolster your public relations efforts. Call us at 954-401-9058 to find out how we can make your agency shine!

admin

Karina has spent most of her career working in the senior care industry, mostly as a digital marketing manager for home care and nursing home facilities. With 8+ years of hands-on experience in digital marketing to her credit, Karina also worked as a consultant for senior care businesses. As someone who cares deeply for seniors and has expert skills in digital marketing, Karina founded SeniorCareClicks to fulfill her passion for her permanent career.

Karina and SeniorCareClicks have been featured in Home Health Care News, HomeCare Magazine, Forbes, The Nursing Home Podcast, and other media. Karina is “the premier expert in senior care marketing”!

You take pride in your senior care agency, just as you should. Great reviews are sure to bring a smile to your face. On the other hand, it’s surprising when someone leaves a bad review, especially if they never told you they were unhappy in the first place. Either way, it’s appropriate to respond to reviews.

What are review writers and readers looking for in a review response? Reviewers have two motives for writing reviews. They want others to be aware of their experience, and they’re looking for your agency to take some type of accountability for whatever caused the bad review.

First, respond to all reviews whether they’re positive or negative. It’s important to show visitors that you read your reviews and you care about your agency’s reputation. The right approach for how to respond to reviews will boost your reputation and let readers know you’ve addressed any problems that are reflected in your reviews.

Responding to Bad Reviews with Star or Number Ratings Only

Be aware that not all review sites allow comments. A star or number rating may be all that you get. With no information to go on, it’s challenging to know how to respond. A good rule of thumb is to keep your response short. It’s appropriate to ask the reviewer to contact you privately about the rating and offer a phone number or email address where they can contact you privately. Since there are no details on either the rating or the response, most readers won’t consider it a bad reflection of your services.

Negative Feedback Can Be a Good Thing

As tough as it is to read, negative feedback has a positive side. The comments that your former clients leave come from the heart. Negative comments aren’t usually intended to hurt anyone, so try not to take them personally.  

Bad reviews give you opportunities to learn where to make improvements. Often, the feedback you receive tells you that your caregivers need more training in a particular area. Without negative reviews, you could be left in the dark, and that could lead to even more negative reviews. Look for feedback that’s specific and objective. Take what you learn, and make some appropriate changes.

Prospects are apt to check out your reviews before deciding to do business with your agency. That said, negative feedback won’t necessarily send them running in the other direction. Most people understand that it’s nearly impossible for a business to have perfect feedback every time.

All positive reviews make some people skeptical. What they’re looking for is how you responded to negative reviewers. They’re also looking for what steps you plan to take to address the negative comments. Always be courteous and professional as you manage reviews.

7 STEPS TO CRAFTING THE RIGHT REVIEW RESPONSE: NEGATIVE REVIEWS

1. Personalize Your Response

Online and offline, people like it when you use their name. If you don’t know their name, do a little digging on Facebook or other social media sites to find it. Use a salutation with their name such as, “Dear Susan”.  If you can’t find their name, it’s okay to use “Dear client”.

2. Courteousness Counts

Saying please and thank you is just as appropriate in writing a review response as it is in person, so be sure to use your manners. Think about your response before you begin writing. Do your best to craft a response that’s genuine and courteous.

Here’s an example of a response you could use:

“Dear Jane, Thank you for taking the time to write a review. We value your feedback and welcome your comments. I’m happy to discuss your concerns personally. Please contact me at this number so that we can address the issues you raised.”

After speaking with the client, consider the steps you can take to prevent similar negative feedback, and improve your services.  

3. Be Sympathetic and Offer an Apology

Try to imagine the emotions a review writer is going through as they wrote the bad review. There are many factors in senior caregiving that could contribute to negative comments or a pessimistic tone.

Be sympathetic and determine whether an apology is in order. By stepping into the writer’s shoes, it gives you a different perspective. It should help you respond in a kind, professional way.

Be aware of any restrictions on what you’re allowed to say. It’s okay to used scripted wording as long as you make it sound natural and genuine.

4. Be Accountable

Oftentimes, a person that leaves a negative review just wants someone to be accountable. It’s best not to offer up weak excuses. Lots of things can go wrong in senior caregiving. Some situations are isolated and never happen again. On occasion, accidents happen, and no one is to blame. Regardless of the issue, be sure to take responsibility, and point out your commitment to quality caregiving.

5. Describe How Their Feedback Helped Make Your Agency Better

A review response is a good place to demonstrate your willingness to make things right. Give a brief description of the changes you made as a result of their feedback. They’ll appreciate a specific response, when you can. It’s not always possible to change their experience, but they’ll be glad they responded if it prevents a similar situation from happening again.

6. Redirect the Discussion Away from the Internet

While it’s always appropriate to respond to negative comments online, customers usually appreciate it when a representative of the agency also takes the time to call them personally. Direct communication often diminishes strong emotions after a difficult issue. A personal phone call or email to someone tells them that you’re taking their concerns seriously.

If you’re able to smooth things over, you may be able to leave a more specific response describing that you touched bases since the review. It’s a win/win situation for your former client, future clients, and your agency.

7. Strive to Keep the Relationship Open

When you become aware that a client isn’t happy, it doesn’t mean that you have to close the door on the relationship. Don’t assume that they’re not open to giving your senior caregiving services another chance. It’s totally appropriate to invite them back. Don’t be surprised if they take you up on it. If they do, welcome them back, and commit to doing better. Then, make sure you follow through on your promise.

Share negative feedback with your caregivers and with your other employees. As they learn of negative reviews, your employees will be more conscious of their duties and how their role impacts your clients. Share positive feedback as well. Emphasize that quality caregiving is part of your mission and culture.

Responding to Positive Reviews to Enhance Your Brand

Don’t make the mistake of overlooking positive reviews. If your clients are taking their time to give your agency a compliment, they deserve a kind response. Think of it this way—if they paid you a compliment in person, you’d be sure to say thank you, so why not do the same in an online review?

Responding to positive reviews gives you a chance to express your gratitude for their business. It’s also a way to show your passion and enthusiasm for senior caregiving. As you respond to positive reviews, you’re making it clear that the customer experience is very important to your business. That will speak volumes to anyone reading your reviews.

5 WAYS TO CRAFT THE RIGHT REVIEW RESPONSE: POSITIVE REVIEWS

Positive Responses Demand Thanks Too

People are very busy. If they’re taking the time to give your caregiver agency a positive review, it should have special meaning for you. They may not be expecting you to thank them, but they’ll appreciate it if you take the time to do it anyway. Positive reviews and strong ratings will attract new clients to your agency. That alone is worth taking the time to say thank you.

Reiterate Their Comments in Responding to Positive Reviews

Don’t be surprised if customers describe their positive experiences with lots of specific details. That gives you a chance to repeat those comments, and in so doing, you get the chance to boost your marketing efforts over specific services.

For example, you can mention that their caregiver is also a favorite of many other of your clients.

Share Positive Comments with Caregivers

Your caregivers work hard to give quality care to your clients. Caregivers are sure to appreciate knowing their services helped a client in need and that a client appreciated the help enough to write an online review. Mention that you shared their comments with the caregiver in your response. For example, “Dear John, We were happy to learn that Mary exceeded your expectations. We’ll be sure to pass along your kind words.”

Extend an Invitation to Positive Reviewers to Call Again

If they were happy once, they’ll be happy again. A personal invitation in your response will inspire them to use your caregiving services again and refer others, as well. Those that read your reviews will learn that your clients are loyal to your service, and it’s a good start to building trust.

Give a Mention to Additional Services

In your response to a positive review, it might be an opportune time to highlight other services that you provide. For example, you might respond with something like, “We also offer companionship and transportation services if you ever have the need.” Just be careful not to be overly promotional or self-serving.

Responding to Neutral Reviews Is Also Important

Reviews aren’t always positive or negative. Once in a while, you might get a 3-star, middle-of-the-road review. What do you do with that?

Neutral reviews might contain a few negative comments along with something positive. You might also get neutral reviews that don’t say much at all. The reality is that something prompted them to leave a review, and for that reason, they deserve a response.

CRAFTING THE RIGHT REVIEW RESPONSE: NEUTRAL REVIEWS

Always Thank Neutral Reviewers

Start every neutral review with a thank you, just as you would for a positive or negative review. Remember, they took the time to write something up, and they deserve to be thanked for taking their time to do it.

Focus on the Positive When You Manage Reviews

Build on any positive feedback that the reviewer mentioned. Repeat it in your response even if the reviewer also included negative feedback. Readers generally give the most weight to your initial comments, so focus on positive comments before addressing other feedback.

Don’t Overlook Negative Comments in Your Review Response

Respond to negative comments in neutral reviews much the same as you would a wholly negative review. Thank them for their input, be accountable, issue a brief apology, and commit to making it right. Offer an opportunity to speak with someone at your agency and give contact information.

Address Specific Issues Offline

You wouldn’t address problems in your agency in front of others, so avoid airing your dirty laundry online. Ask them to provide details via phone or email.

Your branding and reputation are on the line when clients review your services. They have multiple online sources where they can give you star ratings and comments. It’s not only what you say in your responses to them that counts. It’s whether you choose to respond and the impression they get from your response. You have little control over positive, negative, and neutral reviews. The right responses enhance your brand greatly and improve your bottom line.

There’s a little skill involved in crafting the most appropriate responses. The suggestions listed here will help. Bear in mind that posting responses takes time, effort, and thought to get it right and keep track of all the review sites. Professional marketers at SeniorCareClicks are familiar with the sources where senior caregiving clients leave reviews. You can take the hassle out of review responses when you leave them in the hands of experienced digital marketers. Call us at 954-401-9058 today to get started.

admin

Karina has spent most of her career working in the senior care industry, mostly as a digital marketing manager for home care and nursing home facilities. With 8+ years of hands-on experience in digital marketing to her credit, Karina also worked as a consultant for senior care businesses. As someone who cares deeply for seniors and has expert skills in digital marketing, Karina founded SeniorCareClicks to fulfill her passion for her permanent career.

Karina and SeniorCareClicks have been featured in Home Health Care News, HomeCare Magazine, Forbes, The Nursing Home Podcast, and other media. Karina is “the premier expert in senior care marketing”!