Archive for the ‘Public Relations’ Category

Small Business Blogging & Social Media Marketing

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

Your home care agency’s blog is more important than your Facebook page

You want to take advantage of the latest in social media, but aren’t sure how to prioritize.  Here are reasons why including a blog should take precedence over starting a Facebook page:

Branding: Facebook doesn’t allow you to brand the entire Fan Page experience to the extent that you can and should brand your agency’s blog. While you can customize up to 10 Facebook tabs (using the Static FBML application), that doesn’t compare to the unlimited branding options on your own blog using company colors, messaging, logos, and more.

Blog entries are better than Facebook Notes: Blogs allow you to categorize posts, thread comments, optimize content for search engine optimization, and so much more. Facebook Notes, aside from barely being read, fail to stack up against even your run-of-the-mill blog post from the most basic of blogging platforms.

You can run third-party analytic tools on your blog: You need to know what’s working and what’s not, where website visitors are coming from, what they view, how long they stay, and why some wander off. You need to know which campaigns are driving the most traffic to your content and how effective you are in converting that traffic into targeted behaviors. Facebook offers you only limited visibility into these and other key areas, whereas the vast array of web analytics software and services available for your blog provide a deep view into the types of metrics that actually matter to you and your homecare agency.

Here are some other things to consider:

  • Business-to-business decision makers (i.e. referral sources) aren’t likely to look for and connect with your business on Facebook.
  • While Facebook Fan Pages are available to the public, registration is required to fully participate. (You can make registration optional on your own agency blog).
  • On your agency blog, you can turn commenting on or off or have comments moderated on a post-by-post basis. Not so on Facebook.
  • Your blog is far less distracting than Facebook, which means no one else’s advertisements, applications, pages, notes, videos, photos, etc. can pull focus away from your content.
  • Plug-ins and widgets allow you to scale your blog based on your business goals. Facebook doesn’t offer the same type of scalability.

Submitted by: David Goodman, President Companion Connection Senior Care, the leading “no royalty” membership organization serving the non medical home care & licensed home health business communities. The need for home based senior care is soaring! We will help you start your own highly successful Home Care Agency business. Earn an excellent income while helping others with their activities of daily living. Contact us today for your FREE Business Info Kit… 1-800-270-6949

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Posted in Business Opportunity, Computer & Internet Technology, Free Advertising & Marketing, Home Care Agency Marketing & Promotion, Home Care Business Tips, Public Relations, Senior Business, Social Media Marketing | 1 Comment »

Promote Your Home Care Agency with Social Events

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

The party approach to promoting your home care business

It’s that time of year where your home care agency may be throwing an employee holiday party.  However, have you considered having a customers party?

Here are some events that your home care business can put together to bring in customers, community members and prospects throughout the year:

Customer Appreciation Night

Put a fresh spin on year-end sales or promotions by hosting a special “VIP Night” for your family caregivers or referral sources. Your event could be a discussion of new services. You may want to include a discount offering on services.

Special Guest/Entertainment/Demonstration

Entice customers to come by bringing in a special guest, entertainer or expert. It could be an author, an entertainer or an expert on senior services. Just look for someone that complements your business and engages customers.

Joint Event with Other Local Businesses

Invite all the merchants on your street to host an event with you. You should consider joining a related business willing to host a get-together for all of your joint customers. Chambers of Commerce are especially good at bringing businesses and community together.

Posted by: David Goodman, President of Companion Connection Senior Care, the premier No Royalty Membership Organization serving the non medical home care and licensed home health business communities. Demand for home based elder care is soaring! CCSC will help you start your own highly successful Home Care Agency business. Contact us today for a FREE Business Info Kit… 1-800-270-6949

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Posted in Free Advertising & Marketing, Home Care Agency Marketing & Promotion, Home Care Business Planning, Home Care Business Tips, Non Medical Home Care Business, Public Relations, Senior Business, Start Up Business, home health care business | No Comments »

Home Care Business Branding – 5 Tips

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

Home Care Agency Business Tips

You’ve started a home care business, but how do you brand it properly?  Here are some things to consider:

  • The design of your logo really doesn’t matter. Having a nice professional logo is great, but it very rarely increases sales. You don’t need to spend a fortune on it. It’s more important to have a consistent look and include it on every piece of communication. Put it on business cards, letterhead, envelopes, invoices, yellow page ads, building signage, newsletters, etc…
  • Have a professional website. It’s not just good enough to have a website, it must reflect your brand image. If you are known as a top notch photographer, the last thing you want is a website that looks like it was designed 10 years ago. That won’t reflect well on you. Everyone uses the web today to check references. If someone recommends your homecare agency, you can almost guarantee that they will go online to look for you. Your website design should be updated at least every two years to stay current.
  • Blogs help your business on multiple levels. Valuable content on a consistent basis will make you look like an expert, which is what consumers want. The software that powers blogs has multiple advantages. It’s very easy to publish. It’s a database-driven environment where style is separate from content so you will not need to go back to your web design agency for every little change. And use of tags and sitemaps make basic search engine optimization easy. But the real reason blogs are great is that they enable conversation. Two-way dialog is much more valuable than a company that just dumps messaging and collateral on their customers.
  • A blog should not be your sole marketing strategy. You should have a comprehensive multi-touch marketing plan to get your value proposition in front of your target audience. You can launch a direct mail campaign, email campaign, host a webinar, sponsor a local event, attend a trade show, attend networking events, cold call prospects, win awards, etc. There are a thousand different ways for you to be noticed.
  • Participate in local business events. Just showing up at events is great, but you are just a face in the crowd. Ask to be on one of the committees. Believe it or not, it’s as simple as just asking most of time. Groups are looking for volunteer help and it’s a great way to elevate your status and visibility among the entire organization.

Posted by: David Goodman, President of Companion Connection Senior Care, the premier No Royalty Membership Organization serving the non medical home care and licensed home health business communities. Demand for home based elder care is soaring! CCSC will help you start your own highly successful Home Care Agency business. Contact us today for a FREE Business Info Kit… 1-800-270-6949

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Posted in Computer & Internet Technology, Home Care Agency Marketing & Promotion, Home Care Business Planning, Home Care Business Tips, Public Relations, Senior Business, Start Up Business | No Comments »

7 Home Care Business Marketing Tips

Saturday, November 21st, 2009

Home Care Agency Marketing & Promotion

Here are several tips to help market your home care agency:

Don’t Advertise Like a Big Business
Big businesses advertise to create name recognition and future sales. As a small business, your home care agency can’t afford to do that. Instead, design your advertising to produce sales…now. One way to accomplish this is to always include an offer in your advertising – and an easy way for prospective customers to respond to it.

Offer a More Affordable Version
Some prospective customers may not be willing to pay the asking price for your home care services. Others are more interested in paying a low price than in getting the best quality. You can avoid losing sales to your competitors by offering a smaller or stripped down version of the services your agency offers at a lower price.

Offer a Premium Version
Not all home care customers are looking for a cheap price. Many are willing to pay a higher price to get a premium service. You can boost your average size sale and your total revenue by offering a more comprehensive service…or by combining several services in a special premium package offer for a higher price.

Try Some Unusual Marketing Methods
Look for some unconventional marketing methods your competitors are overlooking. You may discover some highly profitable ways to generate sales and avoid competition. For example, print your best small ad on a postcard and mail it to prospects in your targeted market. A small ad on a postcard can drive a high volume of traffic to your website or generate a flood of sales leads for a very small cost.

Trim Your Ads
Reduce the size of your ads so you can run more ads for the same cost. You may even be surprised to find that greater frequency and smaller ads generate a better response.

Set up Joint Promotions with Other Small Businesses
Contact some non-competing small businesses serving customers in your market. Offer to publicize their products or services to your customers in exchange for their publicizing your services to their customers. This can range from hair salons to restaurants to hardware stores.

Maximize Your Customers

Convert your customers into publicity agents for your homecare business. Develop an incentive for them to tell associates and friends about the value of your services. An endorsement from them is more effective than any amount of advertising – and far more affordable.

Posted by: David Goodman, President of Companion Connection Senior Care, the premier No Royalty Membership Organization serving the non medical home care and licensed home health business communities. Demand for home based elder care is soaring! CCSC will help you start your own highly successful Home Care Agency business. Contact us today for a FREE Business Info Kit… 1-800-270-6949

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Posted in Free Advertising & Marketing, Home Care Agency Marketing & Promotion, Home Care Business Planning, Home Care Business Tips, Non Medical Home Care Business, Public Relations, Senior Business, Start Up Business, home health care business | No Comments »

4 Critical Rules For Advertising Your Home Care Agency

Sunday, November 15th, 2009

Home Care Agency Marketing Tips

Leads are more important than branding. No matter what the media or ad agency experts tell you, generating leads for a home care business is more important than building a brand at this point, especially if you recently opened your homecare business.

A strong identity can help, and a simple logo can accomplish that less expensively than ever before. But don’t waste your dollars buying weeks of ads.  Building your brand starts at delivering outstanding services under your home care agency’s name to happy customers.

So it’s important that your ads generate a response by including a call to action. Prospects should feel compelled to do something, be it calling in on an offer or visiting a website. This will enable you to track the effectiveness of your ads. Remember the formula: target, offer, copy.

The most critical component of your campaign will be drilling down to find media that deliver your message to people actively looking to buy your product or service, as well as those looking for a new, lower-cost or better service provider. To truly build your brand, you need to be that provider.

Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate. Since it is a buyer’s market right now, you’re in a good position to push for as much value as possible. In TV, this may mean additional mentions into or out of commercial breaks. For radio, it may mean more frequency or co-sponsorship of a local promotion or event. And for print, it may mean a bigger ad or additional placements, or even space for an advertorial.

You won’t get what you don’t ask for, so, consider any packages you are presented and see how you can leverage that package to get as many leads as possible.

Remember PR. Use your own story to your advantage by incorporating it into your pitch to local business publications or TV/radio morning shows. You will have a better chance of being mentioned if you make your home care business sound unique.  Make sure your press releases are not overly self serving, or the media outlet won’t run it.

E-mail is a necessity, but don’t forget direct mail. E-mail marketing has taken off in the past few years, but there are limitations. Double opt-ins – where people have to confirm twice that they want to receive your email – are the norm these days. Even so, click-through rates average less than half of 1 percent.

That means there is opportunity to leverage your budget the old-fashioned way: through direct mail. You may consider this counterintuitive, but there are some definite advantages to a highly targeted direct-mail program right now: Due to higher paper and postage rates, a good deal of direct-mail competition has fallen by the wayside. That means a compelling letter or postcard has a better chance than ever of getting your prospect’s attention.

Direct mail can also yield one of the best returns on investment if you have a great offer and a good list, the latter being most important. That said, take care in building your list. If done correctly, over time your list/database will be your homecare business’s most valuable asset.

Posted by: David Goodman, President of Companion Connection Senior Care, the premier No Royalty Membership Organization serving the non medical home care and licensed home health business communities. Demand for home based elder care is soaring! CCSC will help you start your own highly successful Home Care Agency business. Contact us today for a FREE Business Info Kit… 1-800-270-6949

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Posted in Computer & Internet Technology, Free Advertising & Marketing, Home Care Agency Marketing & Promotion, Home Care Business Planning, Home Care Business Tips, Non Medical Home Care Business, Public Relations, Radio Advertising, Senior Business, Start Up Business, home health care business | No Comments »

Advertising Your Home Care Business For Free

Monday, October 26th, 2009

Home Care Business Tips

How can you maximize your exposure while limiting your cost?  Here are several things to consider:

Become the expert
Submit articles pertaining to the home care industry to the local paper, small business publications, periodicals and newsletters.   Choose a topic that reflects your expertise on the subject and briefly mention your home care business. You might also find a website that may be interested in letting you host a guest column. Whenever you get published, make copies and send them to all your current and potential customers.

Be a public speaker
Professional meeting planners are always looking for presenters and workshop leaders for conferences. Research contact names in the Directory of Meeting Planners or start with your local Chamber of Commerce or Rotary Club. If you don’t like making presentations,  join your local Toastmasters [http://www.toastmasters.org/] club, which is another way to meet potential customers. When you do get the opportunity to make a presentation, be sure to collect business cards from the attendees.

Teach an adult education course
This works especially well for service-oriented businesses, such as the homecare industry. Call your local community college or community center where adult education courses are offered. Since you are advertising your expertise in the homecare industry, your seminars should be free-of-charge.

Reward referrals
One of the best ways to get new customers is to enlist the help of your current ones. Offer a discount on services for any lead that turns into new business. When you get a new customer from a referral, be sure to send the source a personalized thank you note along with their discount.

Send out a newsletter
It’s crucial to keep in touch with your current customers as well as potential ones, and a monthly newsletter helps you do just that. After you obtain permission from the recipients, you can offer new services, offer discounts on existing ones, profile an employees or customer, include your own advice column, etc. Keep it simple with pure text or include photos and other graphics.

Give back
Any time you do anything for a charity such as sponsoring an event or donating free materials or services, make sure the press knows about it ahead of time. They might send a reporter to cover the occasion, but if not, send them photos to publish afterwards.

Start a blog or contribute to a forum
Consider what you are reading right now and create one for your home care business. There are several free blogging sites including Blogger, WordPress and Tumblr.  Post any type of news, promotional messages or information related to your homecare business. Another way to get your name out there is to contribute to online discussion groups (without making it obvious you are advertising). Look for forums related to the home care industry and senior citizen care by typing in keywords at the top online group websites, including Google, Yahoo and MSN.

Posted by: David Goodman, President of Companion Connection Senior Care, the premier No Royalty Membership Organization serving the non medical home care and licensed home health business communities. Demand for home based elder care is soaring! CCSC will help you start your own highly successful Home Care Agency business. Contact us today for a FREE Business Info Kit… 1-800-270-6949

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Posted in Free Advertising & Marketing, Home Care Agency Marketing & Promotion, Home Care Business Tips, Public Relations | No Comments »

Use Technology to Grow Your Home Care Business

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

Five opportunities for the home care  entrepreneur to grow  business in the technology age

Conducting business is different in today’s technology age, and entrepreneurs have to be able to explore those opportunities that exist during a time when an ad in the Yellow Pages or direct mail may not be the best way to reach their prospects.

Here are some things to consider:

Business cards: While exchanging business cards remains fairly common, more professionals are choosing to use Web-based card exchange services and digital business cards. Companies like BusinessCard2, DubMeNow, CloudContacts, TwtBizCard, Bump, BeamMe, SnapDat, Retaggr, and Poken offer digital business card options. Do you still use the traditional business card or have you transitioned some or all of your homecare agency’s card exchanges to the digital format?

Reputation: Do you actively monitor your home care agency’s reputation online? If so, what tools do you use to stay on top of what customers and potential customers are saying about you and your homecare business?  Can you create an opportunity for positive testimonials to appear and can you reduce the damage any negative feedback might create?

Search Optimization: For generations, getting good placement in the Yellow Pages was key to exposing one’s company to the public.  Today, that’s changed as more people shop for home care services online.  So, how can you maximize your exposure to online shoppers?  Find out about search optimization tools and how you can improve your placement and reach shoppers when they are in the market for your services.

Social Media: Let’s face it – this is not even your “father’s Internet” any more.  If Facebook members were residents of a country, it would be the fourth largest in the world.  The reality is that more and more companies are getting their messages out by taking advantage of such social media sites as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Flickr.  Learn how they can support your business.

Website Retention: When people come to your website, how can you get them coming back?  To accomplish this, you may want to consider running news, weather or sports; health care information; blogs; or even contests that keep people coming back.

Posted by: David Goodman, President of Companion Connection Senior Care, the premier No Royalty Membership Organization serving the non medical home care and licensed home health business communities. Demand for home based elder care is soaring! CCSC will help you start your own highly successful Home Care Agency business. Contact us today for a FREE Business Info Kit… 1-800-270-6949

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Posted in Business Opportunity, Computer & Internet Technology, Home Care Agency Marketing & Promotion, Home Care Business Planning, Home Care Business Tips, Non Medical Home Care Business, Public Relations, Senior Business, Start Up Business, home health care business | No Comments »

Home Care Agency Marketing Tips

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

Home Care Business

Set Your Organization Apart
Chances are that there is stiff competition for the home care dollar in your community.  In fact, virtually anywhere in America you’ll find home care agencies fighting for the consumer’s dwindling dollar.  So, how do you set yourself apart from the rest?   Here are some things to consider:

Put Finding Prospects First
How do your best prospects find what they are shopping for? Chances are they begin by using a search tool. They go to a site such as Google, Yahoo or AOL and type “home care agency + city and state.” Having a strong presence in the online search engines or directories is a must, and you can also purchase links in the resource sections of third-party websites your prospects frequent. Traditional search tools, including the print Yellow Pages, industrial directories and newspapers, have moved online as well and offer increasingly affordable solutions. Magazines with “shopper” sections also represent smart search corridor options for advertisers.

Don’t Drop Out Of Sight
It’s a mistake to stop communicating with customers. The recession may have shrunk your marketing budget, but it’s essential to find a good mix of methods you can use over the long haul to reach out and touch your clients. Create a database of prospects and customers, then retain and up-sell them through ongoing communication via email and direct mail.

Identify a unique value proposition
Today’s big motivators to buy include low prices and savings. Green practices or aligning with a charitable cause can also help positively separate your homecare business from the competition.  By focusing on your caregivers, you may also be able to set your agency apart. You can’t always show a difference based on what you sell; but how you sell, who you are and what you do can make all the difference to prospects.

Invest in Relationships
In uncertain times, consumers want to buy from companies they trust and believe in. That makes one-to-one customer relationships important. Increase in-person selling of your services, networking in business and professional groups, and online social networking. Use experiential marketing, such as events that bring you into direct contact with customers in small groups. Create letters that can be customized to follow up each interpersonal contact and send handwritten thank you notes.

Get People Talking
Recommendations and positive word-of-mouth are important. A public relations campaign that includes good article placements reflecting your expertise or service reviews can help your homecare agency stand apart. Another strategy for building word-of-mouth is to create an advisory group of clients who are the first to receive updated information about your agency. If they like what they see, they’ll pass the word along.

Expand Your Website
Your website has to immediately grab and hold potential clients with information they want. Highlight special pricing, offers and incentives at the top of your homepage. Include background information about your homecare agency, yourself, media coverage and charitable giving. Create a space for customers to share their experiences through a message board, or post their stories and testimonials.

Posted by: David Goodman, President of Companion Connection Senior Care, the premier No Royalty Membership Organization serving the non medical home care and licensed home health business communities. Demand for home based elder care is soaring! CCSC will help you start your own highly successful Home Care Agency business. Contact us today for a FREE Business Info Kit… 1-800-270-6949

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Posted in Home Care Agency Marketing & Promotion, Home Care Agency Operations, Home Care Business Tips, Non Medical Home Care Business, Public Relations, Senior Business, Start Up Business, home health care business | No Comments »

Home Care Business – Traits for Success

Saturday, August 15th, 2009

Small Business Opportunities

Be a Big Fish in a Small Pond

As a home care business owner, you are what is considered to be a small business owner in every sense of the word.  You most likely employ 25 people or less; you most likely have only one office; you probably only have clients in the state you are in and you aren’t likely to form a multinational conglomerate (of home care businesses) anytime soon.

You should reflect these small business traits in the way you run your home care business. Below are four of those traits you should consider:

  • Be visible in the community. Attend local fairs, public meetings (for the town council, board of education), business and civic organizations, etc.  Arrange speaking engagements to promote your homecare business.
  • Be pro-active. Always follow-up on any leads you get and don’t be afraid to make cold calls and emails.  Do your research and consider buying appropriate address/phone number lists to send mailers.
  • Tap into the power of the Internet. The professional website that Companion Connection Senior Care provides will help you introduce your business to both referral sources, seniors and their adult children.  Since many people do their shopping online these days, you need to look upon your website as your most important listing.
  • Choose your partners carefully. Whether you are looking into sharing ownership of your homecare business with a partner, or looking to hire vendors, work with a local bank or financial advisor, or form an alliance with various referral sources, do the necessary due diligence.

Posted by: David Goodman, President of Companion Connection Senior Care, the premier No Royalty Membership Organization serving the non medical home care and licensed home health business communities. Demand for home based senior care is soaring. CCSC will help you start your own highly successful Home Care Agency business.  Call for a Free, No-Risk Information Kit:  (800) 270- 6949

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Posted in Business Opportunity, Home Care Agency Marketing & Promotion, Home Care Business Tips, Non Medical Home Care Business, Public Relations, Senior Business, home health care business | No Comments »

Home Care Business – Getting Positive Publicity for Your Agency

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

Business Opportunities

Getting Positive Publicity for your Home Care Business

Owning a home care business means you have positive information to share with the community (as your business is helping the frail and the elderly live a better life amid the convenience and familiarity of their homes).  The media always enjoys reporting on a warm news story, so why not share what your home care business is doing with the local media.  Below are some suggestions on just how to go about doing that.

  • Know your market. Identify all local media including television, print and radio.  Look for special segments (examples: people in our community who make a difference; successful, small, local businesses; and segments on the elderly.)

  • Establish your product as unique. Is your homecare business the only one in town?  What are the services you offer that benefit senior citizens that may not be offered elsewhere?  Do you or any of your employees have special training pertaining to the care of senior citizens?  Do your caregivers or clients have interesting stories to tell about there own backgrounds?  Can you educate readers on things they should know that will support their (or their loved one’s) health and safety?
  • Prepare your press release to be printed as is or hook a reporter in covering it. Start your release with a great headline (example: Helping the Elderly is in This Caregiver’s Blood) and make sure it reads well without sounding like an advertisement for your business. Hook the editor with the lead – they spend an average of seven seconds “speed reading” the many news releases they receive daily, so if they don’t like what they read quickly, it won’t run.
  • Sell your story. Make follow-up calls to these media contacts. Let them know you have a story that may interest them and their readers. Give them the headline and the first paragraph. Earn the right to follow up by asking if you can call back the next day or at some other specific time, depending on publication dates.  Don’t be pushy. If the story is of value, it will sell itself.
  • Use a photograph. A photograph draws a reader’s attention. A photo of one of your employees helping a client is who smiling or you standing in your lobby with the company sign in the background are good suggestions.  Remember to get permission from those in the photo.

Posted by: David Goodman, President of Companion Connection Senior Care, the premier No Royalty Membership Organization serving the non medical home care and licensed home health business communities. Demand for home based senior care is soaring. CCSC will help you start your own highly successful Home Care Agency business.  Call for a Free, No-Risk Info Kit…  (800) 270- 6949

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Posted in Business Opportunity, Home Care Agency Marketing & Promotion, Non Medical Home Care Business, Public Relations, Senior Business, Start Up Business, home health care business | No Comments »