What is Bark?

Bark is an online platform where people go to find a range of local service providers — including home care. A person in your community might visit Bark and fill out a short form looking for help for their aging parent: maybe they need support with bathing, companionship, dementia care, or meal preparation. That request is then sent to home care providers who match the service and location.

By default, Bark is a pay-per-lead platform — you review incoming leads and choose whether to unlock the contact details using credits. You only pay when you choose to connect with a potential client.

But here’s the challenge: every minute counts. Bark leads are not exclusive, and each new request is made available to any provider who matches the criteria — but only the first five to purchase it will receive the lead. After that, it’s no longer available.

If you wait to log in and manually review the lead — even by an hour — it may already be gone. And even if it’s still available, the family may have already spoken with other providers and made a decision.

That’s why we’ve built a better system.

Through Qualicare Home Office, you can set up Auto-Purchase, which means you won’t miss qualified leads while you’re busy running your business. Instead, your preferences are set up in advance, and matching leads are automatically purchased and sent straight to your Zoho CRM — where a fast, professional email reply is instantly sent to the lead, no matter what time of day the request comes in. You’ll learn more about how to set this up later in this playbook. 

To get the most out of Bark, speed matters. That’s why Auto-Purchase is our standard approach for all franchisees using this lead aggregator platform.

Why Bark Is a Valuable Lead Source

While we've seen particularly strong results in Canada, Bark is available in both Canada and the U.S., and can be a valuable tool for franchisees in either region.

Here’s why Bark plays a key role in your lead gen and marketing ecosystem: 

1. Fast, low-barrier entry. There are no contracts or ongoing fees — just pay-per-lead when a match is found.
2. Auto-Purchase gives you a first-mover advantage. Leads are often contacted by multiple providers. The faster you respond, the more likely you are to convert
3. Your profile builds trust. With a strong description, helpful Q&A answers, and integrated Google reviews, families are more likely to engage with you.
4. You control your targeting. Set your service radius, preferred lead types, and operating hours. You can update this anytime.
5. It’s flexible. You can pause, adjust, or scale based on your needs, team availability, or lead flow.
   

Franchisees who consistently use Auto-Purchase and follow strong and consistent lead follow-up practices have seen meaningful results. One location using Bark, for example, generated over 700 leads, converted 30+ clients, and brought in an estimated $70K+ in new revenue in just eight months — all from Bark. Their spend over that period was just over $7,000, resulting in a cost of sale of approximately 10%.

These results highlight what’s possible with consistent execution — and the value Bark can bring when treated as part of your broader lead generation strategy.

IMPORTANT: All franchisees using Bark should have Auto-Purchase turned on. It ensures you can respond to leads the moment they come in — giving you the best chance of connecting before competitors do.

Learn how to activate Auto-Purchase and get set up through the step-by-step instructions in this playbook. 

How Bark Works

Once your account is set up and Auto-Purchase is activated, Bark becomes a powerful engine for delivering real-time leads straight into your business. Here's what that looks like in action:

1. A potential client submits a request on Bark. They specify their location, care needs, and ideal start date
   
2. Bark matches the request to your location and service preferences. Using the radius, service types/keywords you’ve selected, Bark identifies whether the request fits your criteria.
   
3. If it’s a match, our auto-purchase automation purchases the lead using your available credits. You don’t have to log in or review manually. It happens instantly — giving you a first-mover advantage.
   
4. The lead is sent directly into your Zoho CRM. It arrives tagged as: Lead Source: Lead Aggregator, Lead Source Detail: Bark; A pre-written email is automatically sent to the family; A task is generated for your team to follow up via phone
   
5. You take it from there. Franchisees should ensure strong lead follow-up, using the best practices outlined in the Lead Aggregator Playbook.