Posted by Bobby Robertson on Tue, Dec 15, 2009 @ 12:37 PM
Part Three: Creating differences for your agency will set you apart from competitors
In follow up to a post on marketing success a few weeks ago, I posted a very unique method that one of my customers used to find an incredible marketing rep that produced immediate results and grew an agency substantially in a relatively short amount of time. Per your requests for additional examples, another example of success comes to mind that was facilitated by a good friend, Robin Finkelstein. I asked Robin if she would mind writing about this and she kindly agreed. Here you go:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Great sales people n
eed a message that allows them to communicate to their referral source why they should refer to your agency over another one. All homecare and hospice agencies provide similar services and have "great staff," so why refer to you? Physicians will refer to you because they believe you provide great care with excellent outcomes to their patients. Service and outcomes motivate patients and referral sources and give them a reason to prefer your agency...simple yes, but hard to accomplish.
Take a home health agency in Louisiana who was struggling to grow and give reasons to their referral sources why they should refer to them: Their marketing staff was making frequent sales calls to their referrals sources but was not able to convince the source to refer to them.
Research conducted with competitors and referral sources identified that the agency was not calling on the right target audience and their messages were not motivating to customers. Basically, the agency was perceived to be the same as all the others! A common problem with home health and hospice agencies.
A needs-analysis was conducted with referral sources and the agency's clinical and marketing teams to determine what made them different in the market. A clinical and communications plan was developed that included the following elements:
1. A clinical development plan that included specialized cardiac, pulmonary and low-vision disease management programs
2. New clinical technology was purchased to differentiate their agency with surgeons
3. A psych nurse was hired to develop a dementia program
4. A marketing and communications plan to re-launch their agency
The results were significant: admissions doubled for the agency within a year and the marketing staff was focused on working with the right referral sources, delivering messages that differentiate the agency and motivate them to refer to this agency.
If your agency finds itself in this position it is time to act!
• Review your strengths and weaknesses
• Learn about your competitors and customers
• Develop a plan to improve your services and communicate those differences to your customers
contributor: Robin Finkelstein, Marketing Consultant, Market Insight, Inc robin@marketinsite.org
Read Part One: Howdy Doody Visits
Read Part Two: Finding the Right Home Health Marketer
Posted by Cheri Whalen on Thu, Dec 03, 2009 @ 01:27 PM
Healthcare Reform may be the new word on the streets, but what SHOULD it mean for Home Health and Hospice agencies?
The House and the Senate have passed bills regarding healthcare reform and will be working together to create a unified piece of legislation that will affect providers in the coming months. Ultimately, it still remains there are changes on the horizon that can be viewed as bad and harmful OR can be used to the benefit of the patient and the agency to provide exceptional care. Agencies need to ask themselves: "Do I want to be a healthcare provider that STRIVES for more or one that is merely surviving?"
Changes happening now in the Home Health and Hospice industry are ones many providers embraced before the regulation was provided. Measuring outcomes, comprehensive assessments including fall risk assessments and depression, bereavement services, pain management monitoring ... have long been quantifiable measurements any agency can use to determine the quality of their services and the satisfaction of their patients. Now that these are required to do business with Medicare, some agencies find themselves asking "What do I have to measure?" when the real question should be "What SHOULD I be measuring?".
Looking beyond the le
tter of the regulation will be imperative for agencies who wish to STRIVE for more. Are there areas in your business you feel are lacking? What are you doing to measure the success or failure of those areas? Have you asked those employees responsible for that area what they feel is lacking and provide suggestions for improvement? Is that improvement measurable? Don't just wait for the new Home Health Compare, CAHPS survey, or Hospice Patient Satisfaction scores to tell you where your business needs work.
The software used in your agency today may provide reports you can use to help get started. There might not be one single report that encompasses all your needs, but you may have multiple reports that can be used in conjunction with each other to give a fuller picture. I encourage you to review each of the reports you have available and determine how they can help you measure the success of your efforts!
Posted by Bobby Robertson on Fri, Nov 13, 2009 @ 10:12 AM
Part Two: Finding the Right Home Health Marketer
I had several requests for more information on examples of what other agencies have done to successfully increase referrals. The logical first step on the road to increased referrals is finding the right person to lead the effort. So, I've got a great example of an approach one small start up agency took.
This particular agency became certified seven or eight years ago and spent the first year of their existence making sure everything operationally, and organizationally, was in order. They scored perfectly on their first state survey, which occurred approximately one year after their initial certification. Up to this point, they were content with their very small, and very manageable, agency. Now they had the confidence to grow.
The owners of this agency developed a very nice brochure, bought some logo pens, and decided upon an appropriate salary of $35K/year for their "community liaison". They then put the word out that they were looking for a marketing rep and the resumes' came in promptly. After visiting with several candidates, the co-owners of the agency (both clinicians) mutually agreed upon "Stacy" (this is a fictitious name, in order to protect the identity of this very nice lady).
Stacy was extremely nice and outgoing and everyone in town liked her. Over the course of the next six months, Stacy handed out more brochures and pens than anyone imagined a human could possibly do. Although the activity was there, the referrals didn't come. The owners knew they should fire her, but didn't because they knew Stacy was staying very busy......and she was
really nice. Three months and no increase in referrals later, they let Stacy go.
I called the owners on an unrelated matter shortly after they let Stacy go and asked them if they were growing like they had hoped. I was given the story I just shared with you and recommended them to a marketing friend. He helped them grow their small patient census by a multiple of 5X in less than a year's time.....by simply helping them find a qualified marketing professional.
Here is his suggestion to them:
1. Create a list of the top referral sources in the area (physicians, social workers at hospitals, etc)
2. Create a contest to award the top healthcare sales professional in the area with recognition and a prize (free trip to Mexico..or something similar)
3. Call around to each of the top referral sources to inform them of the award and tell them they've been chosen to nominate three individuals in order of which ones they worked with the most frequently.
4. Put together a compensation package that would attract real healthcare marketing professionals ($35K base won't do it in this case)
5. Call the reps that were mentioned by multiple referral sources and invite them to interview for an opportunity marketing for your agency.
6. Make a hire.
7. Educate them on health care referral laws (anti-kickback, etc.) and turn them loose.
I know this is sneaky but following these steps, they found the most successful healthcare marketing professional in their area. I love this story!!
See Part one: Howdy Doody visits