By Stephen Tweed
There are over 17,500 private duty home care companies in America. They are not all in your town. It just seems that way.
Private duty home care is more competitive than ever before, and those companies who will grow and prosper in the future will be those that can clearly differentiate themselves from their competitors. It’s what we call, “Creating Unfair Competitive Advantage”.
If you have heard me speak at state or national home care association meetings or a corporate conference, you’ve probably heard me talk about the Seven Sources of Competitive Advantage. To be successful, I believe you need to focus on one, two, or three of these seven to create a truly unique company that is different from your local competition.
Compete with Caregiver Quality
Our research has shown that you can really create competitive advantage in your local marketplace by focusing on the quality of your caregivers, and using the resulting examples to tell your story in unique and different ways.
Here are seven steps you can use to gain unfair advantage over your local competition:
1. Hire Higher Quality Caregivers
We created the Caregiver Quality Assurance™ program six years ago to help home care companies find and keep the caregivers you need to grow your business. The process begins by implementing CQA, and using the Nine Step process for selecting only the best caregivers.
We have seen clear evidence that when you hire only the best caregivers, three good things happen:
· Caregiver turnover goes down
· Caregiver reliability goes up
· Client satisfaction sours
2. Track the Results
Keep good records to show the results of hiring higher quality caregivers, including turnover, no-show-no calls, client complaints, client satisfaction. Use this data to craft your story about how higher quality caregivers gets better results for your clients and their families
3. Tell Your Story
Effective sales and marketing in home care is all about telling your story in a persuasive way. If you are focusing on Caregiver Quality, you need to craft a compelling story about how this focus helps get better outcomes for clients and their families. Remember that the key decision maker is most often the oldest daughter.
What is the oldest daughter looking for? Peace of mind for herself, and quality of life and independence at home for mom or dad.
Crafting a compelling story that shows how hiring high quality caregivers who are dependable means more continuity of care, less risk of falls, and peach of mind for the daughter. Using case studies and testimonials really makes the story more compelling.
4. Use the CQA Seal on your web site
Family decision makers are seeking confidence that the home care company they are hiring is the right choice for Mom or Dad. Displaying the CQA seal on your web site is a way to publicly proclaim that you and your company are part of an elite community of home care companies that rise above the rest.
5. Use the CQA Seal on your marketing materials
While brochures and flyers won’t sell your company by themselves, your marketing materials help to create positive brand awareness in the minds of family decision makers. Displaying the CQA seal and telling the CQA story on your marketing materials builds your case for uniqueness in your local market place. It separates you from the pack.
6. Use Video to tell the story
More and more home care companies are using video to tell the story of their competitive advantage. When you have a story to tell that makes your company truly unique, using television advertising or talk show footage can be powerful. Broadcast and cable TV makes your company look bigger than it is.
Video posted on You Tube and linked to your web site provides an ongoing message to family decision makers who are looking for a home care company in which they can have confidence.
7. Gather testimonials
There is nothing more powerful than word of mouth marketing … enthusiastic customers telling their friends and business associations about the exceptional experience they are having using your home care company. Take ever opportunity to collect notes and personal testimonials from clients and family. Get permission to use quotes from these notes and personal comments. When a client names a caregiver specifically, use that specific example and build a case study to show how your company is different because of caregiver quality.
While the Caregiver Quality program was created to help you find and keep the caregivers you need, it’s really all about helping you grow your business and get ready for the future. Use CQA to create competitive advantage in your market and take your business to the next level.
(Legal Notice: Only active members of the Caregiver Quality Assurance™ program may use the CQA seal or the Caregiver Quality Assurance™ trade mark in any advertising or promotions. Companies that may for some reason discontinue their membership in CQA are required to remove the seal from their web site and all marketing materials.)
