Coach's Blog » Ten Simple Components of a One-Page Home Care Marketing Plan

Ten Simple Components of a One-Page Home Care Marketing Plan

Happy New Year Everyone!

Now is the time to do the right thing for your agencies. Develop a Marketing Plan on Paper! - “Action without planning is the cause for every failure.”

Less than 1% of all home care companies have a marketing plan and that is why so many have failed during the last couple of years.

Having a well-developed, written marketing plan for your agency is almost like having a road map to help you get to your intended destination. Without it you and your marketing team will have no clear direction, focus or benchmark to compare results and will eventually get off course. A marketing plan will ensure your agency a higher rate of return on your marketing efforts and help you accomplish five to ten times more in less time. The components of a successful marketing plan contains Short- and Long-Term Sales Goals, Marketing Strategies, Competitive Analysis, S.W.O.T. Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunity and Threats), Target Market, Menu of Services, Company’s Purpose, USP (Unique Selling Proposition), Measurement and Evaluation Strategies and a Financial Budget. Once you have developed your marketing plan you must be sure to review it weekly, monthly or quarterly and make the necessary revisions to keep it congruent to your agency goals. Remember, your marketing plan is only as effective as the information it contains.

Ten Simple Components of a One-Page Home Care Marketing Plan:

1) Current Market Situation - should include the following:

i) Market Demographic Data

ii) Market Share Data

iii) Referrals by discipline from local hospitals

iv) Discharge by DRG from major referral sources

2) SWOT, Competitive & Market Analysis - could include data on:

i) Ranking of competitors by census

ii) Competitors’ current specialty programs

iii) Areas in market showing the most growth by referral diagnosis

iv) Competitors’ reported outcomes

3) USP “Unique Selling Proposition” - examples could include:

i) “We are the largest home care provider in the state/county/region”

ii) “The best clinical outcomes in the following areas……..in our market”

iii) “The only home care agency also offering Hospice and Private Duty services”

iv) “The only agency with a Five Star Referral Guarantee “

4) Service Offering and Niches Market Opportunities - examples could include:

i) “Minute Clinic” Nurse Practitioners

ii) Disability Residential Care Homes

iii) Private Insurance Patient Assessments

iv) House Call/Boutique Physician Intake Programs

5) Target Markets – five top sectors are:

i) Hospital D/C Planners

ii) Specialty Clinics such as Orthopedics

iii) General Practice Physicians/Personal Care Physicians

iv) Residential Communities

v) General Community Groups

6) Objectives/Goals - examples could include:

i) Increase referrals from “A” accounts by 10% in 2010

ii) Begin private duty specialty nursing services

iii) Host an all day Senior Seminar incorporating other senior service providers

7) Strategies – examples could include:

i) Teach health and safety classes to reach community senior groups in support groups and ALFs

ii) Use disease-specific, self-reported data/household income criteria to send out direct mail postcard mailers

iii) Organize/Join local home care network support group

8) Tactics – examples could include:

i) Educate “B” account physicians on CPO in Q1 (Home Health)

ii) Brand a 4-hour private duty service for same day surgical centers (Private Duty)

iii) Publish disease-specific informational brochures (All D/C Planners)

9) Marketing Budget

i) Percent of revenue (3% is national average)

ii) Percent of projected profit

iii) The Absolute Best Budget is always based on Return on Investment

10) Summary Sheet – should include all the above and the following:

i) Implementation

ii) Measurement Criteria

iii) Timeline

iv) Review Sequences

I hope this is a helpful tool to give you and your agency focus on your 2010 marketing efforts. If your agency needs a proven and innovative product sample package, click here. If you would like more information on this and other proven and innovative strategies, visit my online coaching site at www.MyHomeCareSalesCoach.com or click here to sign up for a free 30-minute live call with a TAG Home Care Coach.

Please visit my blog each month for tons of great home care marketing ideas and strategies.

Working to grow your referrals,

Adam
a.k.a. - Home Care Referral-Man

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