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FEATURE ARTICLE: LAND NEW CLIENTS THIS SUMMER
Private duty companies love having stable, long-term clients. And why wouldn’t they? Clients like that are generally easy to manage and provide a large chunk of your monthly revenue. Plus, once you’ve initiated the case and assigned a caregiver(s) to them they are often relatively trouble free and manage themselves. We like to refer to these cases as the “big fish” that everyone wants to catch. But sometimes we can get so focused on trying to catch the big fish that we fail to see all the “small fish” that are swimming right beneath our very own nose. Or, we disdainfully turn down opportunities to catch the small fry, feeling it’s too much effort and not enough reward to justify pursuing them.
If that’s how you think then perhaps we can get you to reconsider because this summer (and during the Fall/Winter holiday season as well) you could have the opportunity to cast your line to some smaller fish who, if managed correctly, could grow up to become the lunker bass (bass fishing terminology for really, really large fish) you were hoping to catch in the first place.
Here’s the opportunity: It’s summertime and millions of people will be going on vacations of one kind or another, whether it be flying to Hawaii, taking a cruise, or driving to the nearby beaches for some much needed R&R. A few of them will go away for 2 weeks or more (please take us with you), while the vast majority will make do with a week or even just a four day weekend. But what many of them won’t do is take Mom or Dad or Grandma or Grandpa with them. No, these people aren’t cruel and insensitive, they probably just need a vacation like all normal people and that includes a vacation from their regular caregiving duties. But it won’t be much of a vacation for them if all they think about is whether the loved ones they left behind are ok and if they’re on the phone calling them every day. This is where your Private Duty services can come in handy.
By providing care to their loved ones while they’re away you will give the family peace of mind and ensure that they really do have a great and relaxing vacation, even though you can’t guarantee that the weather will be good. So this summer (and at other appropriate times) set up a multi-pronged marketing plan to target your likely customers.
Here are a few steps to consider as part of your marketing/sales campaign.
1) Do a direct mail campaign or run some ad’s in the local paper
2) Hand out/place informational flyers at all the hot spots in town: the train station, the county fair, places of worship, the country club, etc.
3) Contact “atypical” referral sources who might know people who are going away on vacation. These might include: family doctors, pharmacists, the beauty salon, Mabel at the main diner or bartender Bob at the local watering hole. And don’t forget the local travel agent.
Let everyone that you speak with know exactly what you are offering and why, and explain how you can help their clients relax this summer. If any of their clients meet the right criteria ask them to refer them to your agency.
The services your agency can provide might include one week of full-time care on a live-in basis, or very temporary care like just stopping by once or twice a day for an hour or two to make sure they’re ok, prepare them a hot meal, or supervise them during bathing. Maybe you can provide them with transportation and companionship so they can resume their normal routine. Or perhaps you can charge a retainer fee to be their emergency contact and provide assistance should they have an immediate need, such as help them in case of an approaching storm, flood, fire or other natural/man-made disaster. Offer whatever service you think people will need. This is the time for you to think out of the box, waive your minimum service requirements, and show some flexibility and ingenuity.
If you’re wondering why you should go through all this trouble just to get a handful of cases that might last no more than a week, then consider this: Once your clients get a taste of your fantastic customer service and learn what it feels like to have some time off from their regular caregiving duties, and the seniors you look after fall in love with your extraordinary caregivers, well there just won’t be any looking back for them.
After they have this “first taste” of what you can do for them, you’re agency and services will be top of mind for them the next time they have to fly to Duluth for cousin Joey’s wedding, or drive 400 miles to Alameda for Gina’s Christening, or even for five hours on a Saturday night so they can go out for a quiet dinner and a movie. Pretty soon your caregivers will be a regular fixture in their household. Then, the only thing your clients will be left wondering is why they waited so long to hire you in the first place.
Success Tips:
- Streamline your assessment process.
- Assemble a crack team of experienced caregivers to handle short term cases.
- Find out which of your caregivers would be willing to travel with a client in case they do want to bring Mom or Dad with them on vacation, but want time off from their caregiving duties. Just be sure to check with your insurance provider to see how this might affect your Worker’s Comp coverage.
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