New York -- February 26, 2024
Home care is becoming increasingly popular, as aging boomers are trending towards personalized care at home rather than moving into an independent or assisted living community. The baby boomer generation will also outnumber children under the age of 19 within the next decade. People are living longer than ever before. But with that means an increasing demand for home care and as such an increasing number of home care agencies. With a competitive market like this, it is important for both new and established agencies to determine the best way to increase their revenue streams and how they can stand out among their competitors.
One option for increasing revenue is to diversify the business in key areas, such as care offerings, paying structures, and specializations and certifications. Through these methods, you can increase your potential clientele, attract a growing number of caregivers, and realize your potential to grow as an agency. Not all of these ideas will make sense for every agency, and it is important to ascertain which is right for your agency through careful research, financial analysis, and listening to your staff, mentors, clients, and peers. Once you determine the best course of action, you can begin to implement the strategy and test it out.
Medical vs. Non-Medical Care
It might be easier and less costly to add non-medical services to a medical care agency. You can ask your caregivers what additional non-medical services, like transportation, prescription reminders, meal preparation, for example they are comfortable offering. Or you can recruit medical caregivers to a non-medical agency and research the requirements for offering these new nursing and care services in your local area. By diversifying the services you offer, you can help to retain customers as their needs change or who rely on other providers for specific services. For example, if a client suddenly needs meal preparation support, you can offer that at an additional cost which saves your client from having to find another provider.
Expand your cultural reach
We are truly living in a multicultural world, with people of all backgrounds and experiences requiring care and support. This includes people who are non-English speakers, LGBTQ individuals, and people with disabilities. With the proper training, you can expand your client reach by marketing towards these people and make them feel catered to. You can stand out to these communities by putting your agency out as one that offer specialized care to marginalized and vulnerable populations with respect, awareness, and dignity. It is important that your agency has as iwide a client reach as possible, so that you are not missing out on potential clients, and by making sure your caregivers have the proper training or by hiring clients from that background or who speak other languages besides English, you can expand your client base and increase your revenue streams.
Payment structures
In general, most home care agencies are paid for by the government through Medicare and Medicaid systems or through insurance or managed care. However, by offering private pay, you can offer a wide range of services without being concerned about the limits and restrictions for reimbursements that can come with insurance or the government. Paying out of pocket can empower your clients to request or inquire about services that are more specialized to their needs, rather than restricted by what their Medicare/Medicaid provide for or what their insurance allows for. This can also help you to expand your client base for those people who do not have, do not qualify for, or do not prefer to utilize those assistance options. There is also the opportunity to offer tiered payment plans for clients who cannot afford your full care plans or only need help with certain things. This can look however you want it to look, but it is something that can feel more customized for your clients or potential clients.
Listen to your caregivers
High turnover rate can be a big drain on your business, and may indeed hurt your revenue streams. It takes time and money to retrain staff constantly. Inconsistent caregivers might discourage or turn off clients. Top talent will notice the high turnover rate and stay away. These are just a few of the pitfalls for a high turnover rate. In order to avoid that and in turn increase your revenue. You must listen to your caregivers and staff and at least try to meet their needs. This might mean further training and career development, addressing HR concerns timely and effectively, proper recognition of achievements, or developing growth and management opportunities for high performers. By delivering on ways in which you can keep your staff happy, you are showing them that they matter and that you are investing in their future and continued employment with you.
Community outreach
While there are several ways in which you can market your agency online (see below), it is important to think of more organic and indirect strategies for client acquisition. This could be researching relevant community events you can attend or speaking engagements on your expertise and experiences within this industry. You can develop relationships with referring physicians and other healthcare professionals in your community to offer your services. This accomplishes two things. For one thing, you are seeking out a market that might not be online as much or who might trust someone they saw in-person instead of ads they might have scrolled past. The second thing is that your agency can become a voice in the community, a reliable expert, and a physical presence. This will increase trust your existing clients have in you as well as win over potential clients who might not have even heard of your agency before.
Online marketing
Of course reaching an online audience is very important and cannot be ignored. Using tools like Google Ads and social media apps are both great ways to reach a digital audience and increase your search engine optimization. Content forms like Podcasts and Webinars are becoming more popular, and audiences are even turning to TikTok for recommendations and helpful information. You can utilize these content streams for your agency, and to show that you are a part of the modern channels. You can also use LinkedIn, Facebook,.Instagram for imparting tidbits of information and highlighting company news. By increasing your online presence and branding efforts, you can make your agency more visible and reach a wider audience.
How Carecenta can help
All of these options take time to research and implement. But how can you take the time to grow your agency if you are worried about HR, payroll, and scheduling concerns? With Carecenta, you have a fully integrated cloud-based workflow management system that can provide simple but effective solutions for the day to day management of your home care agency, which can then save time and money,. Every minute of your day counts when you are running your own agency, and so to spend some time resolving a scheduling error or payroll issue is to lose time in bringing in revenue or marketing to new clients.
With these ideas in mind, look at your home care agency and see where diversification can benefit you. These methods are just a starting point as you brainstorm and strategize what works for you. You might have to do some experimenting and improvising but even so you will be working towards a bigger picture and maximizing your revenue for the long term.