Home Care Marketing for $999

With the availability of so many marketing tools and strategies, it’s easy to go down a rabbit hole as you develop a marketing plan for how to grow your home care business. 

 

One great strategy leads to another and you’ll be tempted to try them all. Before you know it, your marketing budget for obtaining home health care leads has gotten way out of control. The challenge in marketing in relation to how to sell home care services lies in starting with a few proven strategies and building on them. 

 

Some strategies may take longer to get results than other strategies. For example, a strong Google Ads campaign will get results quickly, while an organic SEO strategy will take longer to get results. Either way, your business needs to have an online presence to get home health care leads in droves and a trickling of referrals to follow them. 

 

Running the day-to-day operations of your home care agency is a top priority, and it’s where you have the most expertise. Marketing may not be as familiar to you, yet it’s important to learn the basics. The good news is you don’t need to know everything about how to grow your home care business using digital marketing. You can do it with just a little help, and you can do it for under $1000. 

 

Starting a Home Care Agency

In the beginning, there are many tasks to complete to open up a home care agency. You need to set up a legal company, arrange for office space, recruit and hire staff, and get your certification. You then need to start working on your marketing plan for how to sell home care services.  If you want to learn more about how to start a Home Care Agency check our blog

HOW TO START A PRIVATE HOME CARE BUSINESS

 

Home Care Marketing Starter Kit

 

Every business needs marketing if it wants to succeed. Home care agencies have relied on traditional marketing for so long, but today you also need to implement digital marketing in order to build a senior care business.

 

To start running a home care agency, you need some basic marketing assets. We understand that you are just starting and money is tight. Therefore, we have created a Starter Home Care Marketing Package that includes:

 

If you buy this package, you have the opportunity to earn a list of 200 referral sources (names and emails) so you can start promoting your home care agency. (restrictions apply)

A Professional Website Design

5 Page WordPress Website

Logo

Calls to Action

Mobile Responsive Theme

Managed Hosting *

SSL Certificate *

Content Creation or Transfer content from your current site 

2 Rounds of Reviews

Contact Forms (Jobs and Leads)

Chat

8 Social Media posts 

We provide the design only. You have to send the file to a printing company.

We create branded social media posts and send them to you to be posted on your social media pages. It is important that you have some social media activity because people will search for your agency on Facebook. 

A Business Card

A Flyer About

**Restrictions apply**

We provide 200 referral source contacts for your area such as hospitals, assisted living, and nursing homes. This applies only if you enroll in our SEO or PPC program.

How to Promote Your Home Care Business Online

There are lots of online channels you can use to promote your home care agency online to get home care leads rolling in. Obviously, before you go to the next level you need to start with the basics (Home Care Started Kit)

  • SEO Marketing

To be clear, SEO stands for search engine optimization. It’s great to have a website, but potential clients won’t be able to find it unless you take steps to make sure it’s visible when someone types “home care agency” into an internet search box. 

The benefit of SEO marketing is it’s cost-effective. The more visible your website is online, the less you will need to spend on advertising for home health care leads.    

Think about the types of keywords someone would type into the search box if they wanted to find your agency such as home care agency in Manhattan, New York, caregiver services for seniors, home care help at home, etc. Then, use those words in your content, and your website will become a 24/7 lead-making machine.

SEO marketing takes more time to build results than other marketing strategies, but the results are lasting and highly effective. 

  • Local SEO Marketing

Home care agencies are unique in that your target market is local. People from 100 miles away will have little or no interest in your services. With local SEO marketing, your website only shows for people who are within a certain distance from your agency. Google Maps will display your business in the top 3 results when someone is searching for a home care agency near where they live. This is important because you will be getting leads from people that need your services within a few days, if not sooner. Google Maps is a local SEO marketing strategy that gets results!

  • Managing Your Reputation 

Consider that you are not only marketing your home care agency, but you are also trying to fight your territory from the competition. Once your agency is more visible online, you need to find a way to differentiate your agency from the competition so it stands out among the crowd. 

The best way to do that is through social proof which is another way of saying customers give you reviews online. Social proof tells prospects that your business is legitimate and other customers recommend your agency. 

The following statistics demonstrate the importance of acquiring good reviews:

  • The average customer reads 10 reviews before deciding to trust a business. 
  • 89% of customers in the healthcare industry read consumer reviews. 
  • 87% of healthcare customers believe online reviews are important. 
  • 79% of consumers equate online reviews with personal recommendations from family members and friends. 
  • PPC Google Ads

Running PPC Google Ads will boost your website to the top of the search results. Search engine users will find your website, discover your contact form, and the leads will start pouring in. You can expect messages in your email inbox and phone calls with inquiries. 

Google Ads costs a bit more than some other marketing strategies, but it’s the fastest way to generate home health care leads. If you’re serious about growing your home care agency, it’s the way to go. It will eventually pay for itself.    

  •  Email Marketing

An email marketing strategy is a great supplement to other marketing strategies and it will likely increase client acquisitions. Using email marketing templates, you can contact referral sources and potential clients and use automation to follow up with them. 

Email marketing strategies can also be used to contact social workers from assisted living facilities, local hospitals, nursing homes, and other community resources to bring in a steady stream of referrals. 

Email marketing is a good way to get the word out about an event your agency is hosting or sponsoring. It’s also a good way to promote a speaker meeting or networking event to connect with others in the community who may need to refer families seeking care to your agency. 

The marketing strategies you choose largely depend on your budget. If you have a minimal budget, the tips we’ve provided here will help you get started. For a little more money, you can get your home care agency marketing plan off to a great start. 

Businesses require an investment not only of your time but also of your money. Our senior care marketing starter kit is only $1000. This small investment in marketing will give you the basics of a solid marketing plan that you can build on as you get results. With our starter kit, you will be able to grow your business faster and with less effort. 

Other Ways to Market Your Home Care Business 

There is no shortage of ways to market your home care business. In addition to getting a senior care marketing starter kit, here are some other effective ways to market your home care business. 

Speak at Community Events

Set up talks at local community events where you can inform members of the community about the good services your agency provides. Being a public speaker will give your agency visibility, establish your authority in the senior care industry, and connect you with other professionals within the community. 

Where do you set up speaker events? 

  • Senior centers
  • Assisted living facilities
  • Nursing facilities
  • Retirement communities
  • Senior housing facilities
  • Rehab centers

Some of the topics that will interest your audiences are nutrition, sexuality, memory enhancement, fall prevention, and exercise. 

Partner With Local Healthcare Professionals

Take the time to make a list of all the local healthcare professionals that you can connect with to promote your agency. The following list will help you find them:

  • Physicians and house call physicians
  • Occupational therapists
  • Social workers
  • Nursing home
  • Hospital discharge planners
  • Rehabilitation centers
  • Adult daycare centers
  • Hospices
  • Assisted living facilities
  • Skilled nursing facilities
  • Medicare-certified home health agencies
  • Social service agencies
  • Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC)
  • Veterans Administrations Programs
  • Disease-specific associations such as ALS or MS

Ask for Referrals

According to the Private Duty Benchmarking Study (5th edition), the top sources of new referrals are current and past clients.

By forming positive relationships with current and past clients, they will be inclined to refer other people they know to your agency. 

An excellent way to motivate clients to offer referrals is to incentivize them by giving them discounts on services.  

Partner With Complementary Businesses

Lastly, keep in touch with complementary businesses such as rehab centers, hospice agencies, and skilled home health agencies. There is often a gap in their services that your agency can help fill. 

Regardless of the marketing strategies you choose to implement, you will still need to put an email strategy to work so you can continue nurturing relationships with your clients and keep your brand in front of them. By asking clients to leave online reviews, it helps to establish credibility for your agency. 

Without a doubt, digital marketing is a must in the home care agency industry, and the senior care marketing kit is a must to help build your brand. 

If you’re ready to start your senior care business at the affordable cost of just $1000, contact Senior Care Clicks today at 954-401-9058 and we will get your business online and visible to your community. Contact us today! 

how to start your private home care agency

The number of senior citizens who are over age 65 increases every year. The increase is directly attributable to the baby boomer generation entering the retirement phase of life. As people age, they naturally need more personal and medical care and assistance. Home care has never been more in demand. If you’re doing your research on how to start a private home care business, we’ll help you understand what it entails, outline how to come up with a business plan, and provide some tips on marketing a private home care business.

Why Starting a Home Care Business Is a Good Idea

The baby boomer generation is the second-largest population which is only surpassed by the millennials. While baby boomers take better care of their health than previous generations, they are at the age where they are starting to seek out assistance at home for medical needs or to help them personally. According to the World Health Organization, life expectancy increased by six years from 2000-2019. 

 

With so many people needing help at home, the home care industry is now in its prime, and starting a home care business is a lucrative opportunity. Today’s seniors increasingly choose to remain at home. It’s common for seniors to hire an in-home caregiver to fill the gaps in what they cannot do for themselves. 

 

There’s no reason to be hesitant about starting a home care business. We’ll review everything you need to know to get your agency up and running successfully. 

Statistics That Demonstrate the Need for More Home Care Agencies

If you need more convincing, the following statistics will demonstrate why now is the best time for starting a home care business:

 

  • Around 12 million people currently receive home care services (NAHC)
  •  Revenue in the home health care industry was slightly over $94 million in 2022 (Fortune Business Insights)
  • About 77% of seniors prefer to remain in their homes as they age (AARP)
  • Over 10,000 baby boomers reach age 65 every day (U.S. Census Bureau)
  • By 2030, 61 million baby boomers will be between the ages of 66-84 (U.S. Census Bureau)

 

In starting a home care business now, you will be ahead of the curve in providing meaningful home care services as seniors enter the retirement phase of life. Your agency has an opportunity to bring seniors services that are personalized, compassionate, and affordable so they can achieve their dream of living at home. 

What Is a Private Home Care Business? 

Before taking the next steps in starting a home care business, you will need to make a decision about which type of home care business you want to establish. There are two types of home care businesses to consider:

 

  • Medical home health providers. These agencies provide licensed caregivers offering nursing and rehabilitation services. They fulfill physicians’ orders and follow strict guidelines in providing care. 


  • Non-medical home care services. These agencies provide caregivers who assist with preparing meals, running errands, and assisting with personal care needs. Caregivers typically help with activities of daily living such as bathing, housekeeping, and providing transportation. 

Starting Up a Home Care Business

The following information gives you a step-by-step plan for starting a private home care business.   

Create a Business Plan for Your Own Home Care Agency

Every successful business begins with a business plan. A business plan outlines your goals and describes a plan for achieving them. It’s common for entrepreneurs to skip this step, but you’ll have better and earlier success if you take the time to do it. 

 

With your business plan in hand, you will be able to stay focused as you build your home care agency. Your business plan will also help you identify any gaps or problems in your business model. Investors or funders usually ask to see your business plan before they decide to invest in your business. 

 

Here’s what to include in your business plan when starting a home care business:

 

  • An executive summary which is a high-level description of your home care agency. 
  • A description of your company where you state your mission, vision, and values. 
  • A description of the services your home care agency’s provides.
  • A marketing plan that describes your strategy for building your brand. 
  • The management structure of your business including owners, members, and shareholders. 
  • An operational plan that outlines your staffing needs and supplies. 
  • Business procedures and policies including your policies for hiring caregivers, onboarding them, hiring practices, and a copy of the clients’ rights and responsibilities. 
  • A financial plan that encompasses your cash flow projections, a balance sheet, and a break-even analysis. 

Form Your Home Care Business

 

Put the legal wheels in motion to form your home care business. To begin with, choose a legal name for your home care agency. 

 

Once you have a name, decide which business structure to operate under and pay your taxes. You may consider choosing a sole proprietorship, a limited liability company (LLC), or one of several forms of a corporation. A popular business structure for home care agencies is an LLC. This is because it limits the liability you have as the owner of the business and it gives you certain tax advantages. 

 

It’s wise to consult with a business attorney before making your final decision about the structure of your private home care business. 

 

The following checklist will serve as your guide in starting a home care business:

 

  • Select a business structure
  • Acquire an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS
  • Register your business in the state where the home care agency is located. In most states, you will register with the Secretary of State. 
  • Acquire any business permits or licenses that your state requires to operate a home care agency in the state. 

Obtain Certificates

It can take some time to get accredited with Medicare and Medicaid plans, so if your agency will be operating as a medical home health provider, you should start the accreditation process early. It may take up to a year to complete the process. 

 

Accreditation will allow your agency to provide services such as nursing care, physical therapy, and other services that are covered by the federal government. Find out more at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Hire Staff for Your Private Pay Home Care Business 

You will need to decide if you will hire employees directly or use independent contractors. You will also need to interview caregiver candidates carefully and obtain background checks. 

 

You may want to start with one employee until you can refine your hiring process to ensure the safety of your clients. 

How Much Can You Charge for Home Care Services?

The biggest factor in how much you can charge for your services correlates to your geographical area. Rates for home care services start at around $18 per hour in small towns and rural areas. If you are operating your home care agency in a large city, you may be able to charge as much as $40 per hour. The average rate of pay for a non-medical caregiver is $24 per hour. 

Recommended Skills and Training

As an owner of a private home care business, you do not need formal education or any medical training. What you do need is compassion for your clientele, honesty and integrity, organizational skills, and a good dose of common sense. Earning the trust of your valued clients is the best way to build a reputable brand. 

Income Potential

If you consider the national rate of $24 per hour, your home care agency could net $900-$1000 per week which equates to about $45,000-$50,000 in a year. As you add employees or additional services, your revenue will increase accordingly.  

Marketing: Acquire Home Care Clients

 

home care marketing started kit (1)

Visit our Page to Get Started with  THE HOME CARE STARTER KIT 

 

Once you have taken care of all the administrative issues, you will need to get started on your marketing plan to bring in clients. The need is there, you just need to start building your client base. 

 

Senior centers, churches, gyms, doctor’s offices, and rehabilitation centers are good places to drop off flyers and brochures. 

 

Don’t overlook the necessity of creating a website. Much of your business will come from online searchers. A professional website is attractive, informational, and has a clear call to action. 

 

With Senior Care Clicks you get a home Care Marketing Starter Kit for $999 which comes with the following:

 

  • A professional website (content, images, hosting)
  • A professional business card
  • A flyer to hand out to promote your services

 

Our package includes everything you need to establish a reputable brand from the first day in business. Ready to start your home care agency? Contact Senior Care Clicks at 954-401-9058 today! 

 

 

Senior Living and Senior Care Marketing Stats

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. 

 

It’s hard to imagine that with the valuable work that caregivers do everyday, the average caregiver salary is only around $23,000 a year. That’s according to the most recent update in Glassdoor as of September 2020. It’s not surprising that with such a low salary, jobseekers might prefer to take a job at Walmart. 

You might also be surprised to learn that more than 1 in 6 Americans who are working full-time or part-time report that they’re also assisting with the care of an elderly or disabled family member. It’s a harsh reality that makes the caregiver job even more difficult. 

Caregiving has been labeled a national health crisis by the National Alliance for Caregiving. 

A recent study conducted by MyCna jobs showed that 57% of home care agencies struggled with recruiting caregivers in 2020. 71% of home care agencies turned down a case because they didn’t have caregivers available.

According to the same study, COVID has also had a major impact on caregiver recruitment. In fact, 72% of the respondents said that the pandemic has made caregiver retention more difficult, and 87% said COVID made caregiver recruitment more challenging.

Listen to “1/27/21: Karina Tama-Rutigliano from Senior Care Clicks | THE CHALLENGE OF RECRUITING CAREGIVERS | Aging in Portland with Mark Turnbull from” on Spreaker.

What are the challenges that senior care businesses face when recruiting caregivers?

There are many challenges that senior care businesses such as home care agencies face. 

The most common ones are:

It’s tough to find qualified candidates:

Every individual that applies won’t necessarily be qualified to be a caregiver. Either they don’t have the appropriate experience or they’re not licensed in the state they want to work in.  

Finding local caregivers:

Chances are good that caregivers live in your community, but the challenge is finding them. The method of recruiting caregivers has changed in recent years. You’re not likely to get a good response from newspaper ads or forums like Craigslist. Caregiver recruiting today requires home care agency owners to be more active and involved in the process.  

To be effective, they need to create strategies that will help them to locate and retain the best workers. For example, it helps to develop a profile of the best caregivers.

What qualities do your best caregivers have? Look for similarities as you search for new caregivers.

 List the qualities of your best workers and look for similarities in their characteristics.

 Note how they became acquainted with your agency. Ask them what motivates them to continue working for you. 

Once you have a profile of the ideal caregiver, it should be fairly easy to create a recruiting strategy that attracts caregivers that match your ideal caregiver profile.  

Retention:

Turnover is a big issue for home care agencies. Once you have a solid team of quality caregivers, you want to incentivize them to stay on long term. Caregivers may have many options of other places to work in your community and it’s important to motivate your top caregivers to remain in your employment. 

Quality caregivers enjoy their work, so money will only motivate them so much. 

Actually, Here’s what the Home Care Pulse Benchmarking Survey had to say about the top reasons caregivers chose to work for an agency:

  • Good working environment and benefits
  • A work schedule that meets their lifestyle
  • A company that has a good reputation
  • A company that someone else recommended to them 

What steps can home care agencies take to resolve the problem?

As we know, the challenges that home care agencies face to recruit and retain caregivers are pretty steep, but they’re not too difficult to overcome. 

Based on my experience, I suggest tackling the problem by using the internet to reach more potential caregiver applicants.

There are many strategies and channels that work really well to recruit caregivers. 

Facebook and Google ads. Why? Because they deliver fast results. Facebook has 190 millions users in the US and it offers a huge demographic to target your ads for recruiting caregivers. 

Email and Text Message marketing – They’re both great because they allow you to follow up with every applicant. Let’s say you run ads, and in one month, you received 100 applicants. From these 100 leads, 50 were qualified. From these 50, you were able to hire 30 new caregivers and put them to work on your caseload right away. 

I also suggest engaging with the other 20 qualified caregivers via email and text messaging so that you have applicants in the pipeline for when you need additional caregivers to take on new cases. In this way, you’re not wasting any of the resources that you already paid for. 

I’ve seen that many home care agencies don’t use email or text messages to engage with caregivers at all. In my experience, they can be very effective.

Referral Program: I love referral programs because they’re a great and affordable way to get more caregiver applicants. I’ve done many referral programs for clients and they have really worked. The key is to define how much it costs to hire a new caregiver, and that can vary depending on the location.

Inclusive workplace policy: Do you know that 9% of caregivers self-identify as LGBTQ? It doesn’t sound like much but in an industry where there’s such a huge shortage of caregivers, it counts for a lot.

Therefore, it’s important  to have an inclusive workplace policy and promote these values.

Education: Many caregivers want to learn more about caregiving in order to get better pay. Here are some ways to attract caregivers looking to improve their craft. 

Create educational programs: Whether you’re deciding how much of your budget to allocate to caregiver training programs or trying to convince your boss to allocate more budget to caregiver training programs, here are a few things to keep in mind:

  1. Providing options for online caregiver training allows caregivers to learn at their own pace, which makes a world of difference in keeping them engaged and helping them retain what they learn.
  2. Good caregiver training programs boost recruitment. They help you build a career ladder that can be a major draw for good caregivers in the area, if you use them properly.
  3. Providing paths for caregivers to upskill helps them to stay engaged in their work and they’re likely to see a long-term future within your agency.

Well-trained caregivers provide better care to clients, who in turn become more likely to stay with your agency longer, and they’ll probably refer their friends to your agency as well. 

Honor your best caregivers: Create a caregiver of the month recognition program and honor the best caregivers by giving them something special.  It could be a gift card or something similar. Or, you could offer a certificate and take a photo of the honoree that you can post on your blog and social media platforms.

You’ll find that your best care workers are motivated by recognition, rather than money.

How can digital marketing help to recruit caregivers?

Digital marketing is a key component for hiring caregivers because it offers the benefit of greater visibility through implementing different channels and strategies to reach new applicants, engage with previous ones, and ask for referrals.

Benefits of Digital Marketing: It’s low cost, gives measurable results, offers a global reach, and helps you keep up with the competition.

Another benefit of digital marketing is that it can be measured in real-time and it can be optimized accordingly. Let’s say a home care agency is running Facebook and Google ads to recruit caregivers. After a week, the data shows that Facebook is delivering more caregivers at a lower cost. The agency could then decide to pause the Google ads or increase the budget for Facebook ads.

Can you provide examples of successful recruitment campaigns?

Of course, I have many. I’d like to focus on a few that yielded great results.

We offer Facebook ads and advertisements on job boards where we know that caregivers are looking for jobs. Everyone is looking for jobs! So, the conversion rate for jobs is good–at right about 30% from job ads.

One client that invested $3000 a month in Facebook ads to recruit caregivers got around 4500 unique clicks to online job applications. Around 1350 caregivers applied for the job. 

Let’s assume that 30% of this number are qualified caregivers, which would give you around 400 new caregivers. I dont have the exact number of how many caregivers my client hired but 30% is a decent assumption.

Another of my clients that has a lower budget invested $20 a day in advertising in a job board and obtained about 50 applicants. About half of the 50 applicants were qualified caregivers. They hired 25 of the applicants after spending only $550 which amounts to about $22 per new employee. 

As another example, one of my clients has a home care agency in a small county in California where recruiting is really tough. They invested about $500 in advertising and in an email marketing referral program. They acquired about 20 applicants and 8 of them were qualified. They also got 8 more caregiver leads through referrals from the same campaign. The cost per new hire was about $31.

As you can see, the cost of acquiring caregivers varies a bit depending on the location. Digital marketing makes recruiting more affordable regardless of your location.

Why might a senior care business consider outsourcing the recruitment process?

Recruiting caregivers can be very expensive.

MyCNa jobs reports that the cost of recruiting a caregiver in 2017 was $469 per hire.

To get the best results, it’s best to assign one or more people that are dedicated solely to the task of recruitment. Agencies also need the appropriate software to be able to advertise job positions. 

Outsourcing this task to a digital marketing agency can lower costs. Digital marketing can deliver caregiver applicants directly to your inbox by using strategies and channels that demonstrate proven results.

Sources:

https://bit.ly/3bdx7N4

https://arrow-solutions.com/top-caregiver-recruiting-challenges-home-care-agencies/

https://www.caregiver.org/pilotIntegration/indexPersistent.html?uri=%2Fcaregiver-statistics-work-and-caregiving

https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/caregiver-salary-SRCH_KO0,9.htm

home care industry

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. 
  1. 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. 
  1. 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.  
  1. 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. 
  1. 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

ideas-for-senior-care-blog

Surely, you understand the importance of posting content regularly on your home care blog. That’s easier said than done when you know you need to post content and you’re drawing a complete blank over ideas for senior care blog content. 

Read on to learn 15 engaging ideas for home care blog content to help you post a new blog today and every week. 

How Important Are Home Care Blogs?

Senior blogging is one of the most effective marketing tools in the senior care industry. Why? Because it boosts your agency’s search engine results and improves your search ranking. Ultimately, a senior blog will help you attract new customers to your agency and enhance your branding. Considering these things, the time you invest in creating interesting, engaging home care blogs is definitely worthwhile. 

Where to Find Marketing Blog Ideas in the Senior Care Space

If you do a quick Google search for senior care or senior living, you’re sure to find a wealth of blog articles on these topics. You’ll probably find some of your competitors among the listings. That’s an important consideration because whatever is working for them will work for you as well. Take some inspiration from the listings you find and develop your own original senior blog content using the main ideas. 

15 Engaging Ideas for Senior Care Blog Content

When you’re fresh out of home care blog ideas, pick one of these 15 engaging ideas and start writing. 

  1. Take a cue from current events. Is the media reporting a significant event or advancement in the senior care industry? It’s a perfect opportunity to capitalize on it by writing a blog that demonstrates your authority and expertise on the issue. This approach establishes your agency as a thought leader in the senior care industry. 
  1. Share the strategies behind your success. Take a moment to consider what separates your agency from the competition. What are the strategies behind your success? What can you tell your site visitors that isn’t readily apparent? A blog that tells the story of your success may just be the story that converts a reader into a customer. 
  1. Blog about your mission. Your mission tells people why you started your business and what you’re all about. Create a heartwarming, engaging story about why your agency’s founders decided to start a home care services business. Be sure to highlight the problems they saw within the senior care industry and the vision they had for solving them. 
  1. Write senior blogs that describe your uniqueness. To get people’s attention you have to tell them what makes your services the best in the industry. The caregivers you employ, the people you serve, and the services you provide all offer ways to describe what makes you different from every other agency. 
  1. Post some tutorials. As people enter the senior season of life, they encounter lots of new things they don’t know. Use tutorials to inform and enlighten your prospects about the types of services you offer, what it’s like to live in an assisted care setting, or what’s involved in getting senior care services started. Almost any question that your customers have makes great senior blogging content for a tutorial. 
  1. Use storytelling to share client experiences. Photos and images only tell part of the story of your senior care agency. One of the best marketing blog ideas is to tell the story of one of your past or current clients. Use the problem and solution approach to explain the situation that brought them to your agency and how your caring professionals helped solve it. 
  1. Offer a step-by-step description of how you provide services. When you create a home care blog that describes the step-by-step process of how you developed various services, it instills trust in your readers. This type of content allows them to take a vicarious walk through your services and gain the confidence they need to move forward. 
  1. Share the creativity behind some of your best projects and programs. Did one of your caregivers come up with a great idea for a new program?  Did a community need spark your interest in creating a new project that was well-received? The stories behind your programs make great material to share on home care blogs. 
  1. Lend insight into your other administrative or business processes. The people working behind the scenes are often the steam that keeps your agency going. They’re the unsung heroes that hire special caregivers, give tours of your agency, and keep your agency financially strong. A senior blog about these special people gives your prospects an inside view of what makes your agency so special. 
  1. Shoot a video for your senior blog. A video tells a story of its own accord, but imagine how much more empowering it can be when you accompany that video with a short caption and an engaging story that provides a little more context to your video. 87% of video marketers report getting a greater ROI when using videos on blogs (Hubspot, 2021).
  1. Engage your target audience with trivia. Nothing sparks someone’s attention like a little trivia. Most people tend to find random facts intriguing. As you encounter interesting statistics and facts about senior care services, be sure to share them on your senior blog. 
  1. Answer frequently asked questions on your home care blog. If one person has a question about home care services, chances are good that other people are asking the same question. Rather than answering hundreds of emails answering the same questions, your home care blog can be a form of self-service. 
  1. Announce an event. Are you sponsoring or participating in a community trade fair? Are you having an open house so visitors can tour your facilities? Use your senior blog to educate others about what inspired you to take part in these events.
  1. Post an interview with an expert. Schedule an interview with someone in the senior care industry that has informative information to share with people looking for senior care services.
  1. Blog using concrete examples. Hypothetical stories are great, but nothing beats a real-world example of what senior care services look like in practice. 

At SeniorCareClicks, we understand how challenging it can be to come up with fresh new content week after week. Contact us today and let us take care of tackling writer’s block and develop a blogging strategy that takes creativity and engagement to the next level.

how to write a press release

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!

Best Practices for Website Maintenance for Home Care Agencies

With tasks piling up on your to-do list, website maintenance is something that continually falls to the bottom of the list. Do you remember the last time you did a review of the pages on your website and checked all the links to ensure they work?

Try to think about website maintenance in the same way that you think about home maintenance. If you don’t check the batteries in your fire alarms, you run the risk of not being alerted in the event of a fire. By not changing your furnace filters, you run the risk of running your heat inefficiently. In much the same way, you need to give your website regular reviews to ensure that everything is working properly. And that’s something that should be at the top of your to-do list.

Here’s a rundown of some of the things that could go wrong if you’re not maintaining your home care agency website properly:

·   Security vulnerabilities

·   Broken links

·   Viruses

·   Malware

You’ll save yourself a lot of time and money by making a commitment to regular website maintenance. If you encounter a major problem, you may have to hire a developer to help out, which could make a significant dent in your marketing budget.

Maintenance of Website: Do These Excuses Sound Familiar?

In my work with home care agency clients, I hear a lot of excuses about why home care agency marketers never seem to get around to the website maintenance.

Do any of these excuses sound familiar to you?

1. I’ve noticed my website runs slowly. I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. The reality is that website load speed is a huge factor in SEO, as well as the user experience. If you don’t get to the root of the problem quickly, your pages will take a longer time to load. You’ll surely see the effects of that in higher bounce rates and lower average time spent on your pages.

2. Hackers aren’t interested in attacking homecare websites. Be careful not to fall for this misconception. Hackers consider small businesses in every industry low-hanging fruit. They operate under the assumption that you don’t have the funds or resources to keep your site secure. Regular site maintenance ensures that your security protocols are always up to date and that you’re protected against viruses and malware.

3. I’ll deal with the problem of viruses or malware when I have it. If you find yourself making this excuse, see what see CNBC cited from an Accenture study about the risk of website attacks on small businesses:

·   43% of cyberattacks occur at small businesses.

·   Only 14% of small businesses are prepared to defend themselves.

·   Cybersecurity risks cost businesses of every size an average of $200,000 annually.

·   Over half of small businesses suffered a breach in 2018.

By regularly checking your website load speed, you’ll be alerted to potential threats early and that could save you a lot of time and money from having to clean up infections that significantly impact your marketing efforts.

Website Load Speed: Is It Really That Important?

In a word, yes. You can run into lots of trouble if your site is running too slowly.

For example:

·   A slow load speed leads to loss of traffic and lower lead generation.

·   Your rate of conversions will drop.

·   Your site visit visitors won’t wait for pages to load.

·   It has a negative effect on SEO marketing.

·   You run the risk of Google blacklisting your site.

Research varies a bit on the best page loading speeds, but in general, you should aim for around 2 seconds for your pages to load.

Website Load Speed: Think Like a Consumer

If you’re tempted to put website maintenance on the back burner, put yourself in your customer’s shoes. If you were ordering a pizza or buying electronic equipment online, you wouldn’t be impressed if the pages took too long to load. In fact, you’d probably just try a different site.

A fast loading speed tells your site visitors that you run a professional business and that you care about your brand. You have to think about your website in the same way that you would think about a retail storefront. If it captures your attention right away, people will want to enter.

How to Speed Up Web Page Loading

The task of maintenance of your website doesn’t have to take a long time.

These are some tools that can give you a breakdown of what needs attention:

·   Google PageSpeed Insights

·   Pingdom

·   GTmetrix

Read on to learn more about 7 ways for how to speed up web page loading.

1. Compress text and images.

To speed up website loading, a good place to start is to take a look at your images and video files. Decrease or convert your image scales and sizing to significantly speed up your pages. Also, get rid of any video content that isn’t essential to your page content. Another strategy you can use is to implement “lazy loading”, which refers to images that become visible as site visitors scroll down the page. Refresh your pages after you make these changes to see how much better the user experience will be for your families that are looking for your home care services.

2. Optimize for mobile.

According to Pew Research, 96% of people now use mobile phones. That’s a high percentage that should tell you much about the importance of optimizing your website for mobile devices. To be successful in home care agency marketing, you have to be accessible on the devices that your customers are using. Be sure your website is designed to be responsive to various mobile devices and screen sizes.

3. Check your hosting provider.

You might find that slow website speeds are connected to your server. It pays to shop around for a good web host that offers strong customer support. When hosting companies take on too many customers, it overloads their servers causing slow page speeds. We suggest using dedicated hosting. Better yet, host it with SeniorCareClicks where we specialize only in senior care websites. Why is this so important? Shared hosting can put your website in jeopardy. Imagine if you were server shared your site on a server that also hosts gaming websites and adult-only websites.

4. Cache up.

The term caching refers to the process of storing data on someone’s device so that it can load faster. It’s an easy method for increasing load speeds for people that regularly return to your site. Your software may be able to store a static version of your website which can be the initial load to your browser.

5. Reduce CSS and JavaScript.

Another way to decrease the initial load time for your users is to move code from the top of the website into the footer. The top code gets loaded first, so your site visitors will see the top of your website normally while the browser finishes loading the code near the footer. Take caution as you take these steps. If you make a mistake, parts of your website will not load or function correctly. Another alternative is to insert a plug in to minimize JavaScript code to eliminate “code bloat.” 

6. Delete unused plugins.

WordPress has lots of plugins available. Be aware that too many backend installations will slow down website load speed. This can be a problem when you’re installing plugins overtime to integrate new features. An overabundance of plugins will overload your site’s memory. Review your plugins and delete or deactivate any plugins that are no longer relevant.

7. Host your content on external sites.

Large video files take up a lot of space. Rather than embed large video files on your site using your site-builder, consider putting them on YouTube or Vimeo. You’ll find that your pages load faster and cut down on lag when your videos are uploaded to external platforms. This strategy also gives you the benefit of creating new sources of traffic to your website. YouTube channels are popular places for consumers to check out home care agencies. If creating a YouTube channel is more involved than you have time for, SeniorCareClicks can create one for your home care agency.

In summary, just as it takes time to keep your home in good working order, it takes a bit of time and effort to develop a website maintenance plan to keep your home care agency website running optimally and securely. You’ve already put in the time to create a beautiful website and you want to maintain it so that it optimizes SEO, ranks high in search engines, and creates a good user experience.If you need assistance with website maintenance services and ensure that your site is continually safe and secure, contact the web maintenance experts at SeniorCareClicks. Our web maintenance services team has the latest updates about WordPress security, and we can help you keep your site secure and functioning well.

respond to senior care reviews

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.

senior friendly websites

If you’re like a lot of people, you’re more inclined to equate technology with millennials or the Gen X, Y, or Z set. The reality is that the internet has become a central force in the lives of every generation, including seniors.

You read that right! Seniors are getting better acquainted with internet technology because it’s an easy way to shop, get information, and connect with family members and friends. In fact, a study by the Pew Research Institute in 2019 showed that 73% of people over the age of 65 are using the internet.

Here’s another fun fact—many site-owners don’t create senior-friendly websites. The Nielsen Norman Group did a usability study and found that the success rate of navigating websites for people over the age of 65 was 55.3% as opposed to 74.5% of younger people. What that means for your business is that you can expect 35% more revenue from the senior crowd by creating a website that focuses on senior accessibility.

Here are 10 best practices for the most effective web layout considerations to accommodate seniors’ design preferences:

1. Increase the Font Size for a Senior Friendly Website

The Nielsen Norman Group study showed that 18% of people over 65 struggled to read content with smaller fonts. Vision deteriorates in many people later in life. Use at least 12-point font and offer the option to enlarge it for readability. The best seniors’ designs make it possible to resize links, commands, and logos to increase your chance of getting clicks.

2. A Senior Friendly Website Is Easy to Navigate

Use more white space and break down large blocks of content into shorter sections. Use headings and subheadings for easy navigation. Use white space to segregate content blocks. Greater navigation means better readability, and it avoids accidental clicks on the wrong content.

3. A Good Senior’s Design Has Bullets and Numbered Steps

Don’t use language that’s flowery or overly wordy. Be concise and direct. Use bullets or a numbered list wherever it makes sense. It’s easier to read down a column than to follow a list that’s separated by commas. Use active verbs in sentences rather than passive verbs as in the following examples:

Active:  Seniors enjoy visitors.

Passive: Visits are enjoyable for seniors.

4. Avoid Tech Terms and Jargon for Better Senior Accessibility

Seniors are apt to get frustrated with technical terms or jargon they don’t understand. If you have to use a term that seniors might not be familiar with, give it a short definition or explain it by way of example. If space is tight, you can use roll-over bubbles to pop-up an explanation.

5. Set Links for Single Clicks for Senior’s Designs on Websites

Seniors may not be aware that they need to double-click on links to move to another site. Set up your links so visitors can navigate them with one click. Also, set links to change colors once seniors click on them. Seniors that can’t figure out your links will be inclined to give up and look for a more senior friendly website.

6. Senior Friendly Websites Pop with Color

When seniors find your website, you’ll want them to find it again. Vibrant colors and contrasting colors will help them recognize your brand easily. Black and white works well. Stay away from monochromatic themes with layered shades of the same color.

7. Use Speech Functions for Greater Senior Accessibility

Some of your senior visitors will appreciate visiting your site more often if you activate a speech function. That way, if they can’t read, they can still benefit from your content.

8. Your Best Senior’s Design Minimizes Scrolling

Seniors are more likely to read all the content on a page rather than skim over it and move on. Large amounts of content tend to frustrate elderly people. If they have to scroll too much, they may think the content goes on forever. Even younger people get turned off when they have to scroll endlessly. If you consider the importance of needing to use larger fonts, it leaves you less room to post content, but there are workarounds for that. Break up blocks of content into sections and use forward links at the end of each section. The best layout for senior’s design is to place content so it fits vertically and horizontally without scrolling.

9. Senior’s Designs for Websites Make Error Message Bold

No one likes to get an error message. Error messages especially confuse seniors. They don’t understand the terms and may not know what to do when they get one. To prevent problems with error messages with senior website design, clearly spell out what the user needs to do to resolve the error. For example, in addition to stating that there’s an error or the entry is invalid, describe what action they should take such as turning off the caps lock or how to change the format.

10.  Senior Friendly Websites Are Consistent

Google likes to see fresh content and new content will keep seniors returning to your site, as well. Keep your site up to date but avoid rebranding the pages too drastically. Be aware that some seniors jot down notes on how to navigate their favorite sites, and too much change will frustrate them. Worse, they may not recognize your site at all and resort to searching for another site. Keep your site as friendly and familiar as possible.

By following best practices for senior friendly websites, seniors will begin to build trust in your brand. Seniors enjoy browsing websites that are easy to read and navigate. A senior’s design is also user-friendly for all age groups. Family members and friends of seniors may be visiting your site as well.

Obviously, there’s a lot to consider when setting up a senior friendly website design. SeniorCareClicks has the knowledge and expertise in the senior care space to design pages that are optimized for SEO and attractive for senior visitors. Contact us at 954-401-9058 for a quote today!