1. Digital agency - Working directly with a digital marketing agency with experience in PPC (pay per click) within the home care industry is key to your success in this area.
   
2. Budget – In order to see effective results from PPC, you will need to be prepared to spend at least $1000 per month.
   

Developing a digital and online strategy may not be something you are familiar with or have experience in doing. Work with your business coach to help develop a strong strategy and to understand the key performance metrics. Your business coach can also help to analyze the results and help make decisions on what may need to change based on the results.

Local Community Marketing

While a strong digital marketing plan is key to attracting your target audience in the online space, it is still of utmost importance that you focus intentional time and energy on the local community marketing. Many of the seniors in your target audience (and their family members) look to local professionals and resources to help them navigate the challenges of receiving financial assistance in the home care space. Building relationships with those professional services and establishing yourself as a local resource will help you win more clients at the local level.

Before understanding how to build relationships with specific professionals within the senior community, it is important to understand where/who your target audience may interact with on a daily basis and how they may find out about long term care insurance opportunities.

Potential clients can learn about long term care insurance and home care through various channels. Here are some common ways they might learn about the program: 

Healthcare Providers: Doctors, nurses, social workers, and other healthcare professionals may inform patients and their families about long term care insurance, particularly if they believe the individual would benefit from the comprehensive services the program offers.

Senior Centers and Community Organizations: These organizations often have information about resources available to older adults, including long term care insurance. They may have brochures or other informational materials, and they might also hold informational sessions or workshops.

Hospitals and Clinics: Some hospitals and clinics, especially those with geriatric departments, may provide information about long term care insurance to patients and their families.

Word of Mouth: Some people might learn about long term care insurance from friends, neighbors, or relatives who have either participated in the program themselves or know someone who has.

Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs): These centers, found in many states, are designed to be a single point of entry for older adults and individuals with disabilities seeking long-term services and supports. They often provide information about long term care insurance.

Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs): AAAs are local agencies tasked with helping older residents and their families access services and supports, including long term care insurance.

By connecting with these community groups and organizations, you will be able to develop partnerships that help you to get directly in front of the veterans in need of assistance. And, if you establish yourself as a trusted authority in the industry, these organizations and groups will tell veterans to directly contact you when they are in need of home care assistance.

Professional Referral Process

As described in the previous section, there are a variety of community resources and

professionals you can target to reach your ideal client and their family members. In this section, we will discuss the overall process to identify potential referral partners, prepare to market to these partners and establish strong relationships that result in referrals to your agency,

Building Professional Referral Relationships

1. Identify Key Referral Sources - Begin by identifying professionals who are most likely to refer patients for home care services. These might include general practitioners, geriatricians, neurologists, social workers, hospital discharge planners, professionals at senior living communities, or any of the options in the previous section. Create a database of these key sources with contact information of people you want to speak directly with.
2. Create Informative Materials – Collect any brochures, case studies, and one-pagers that clearly outline your services and their benefits, particularly with regard to PACE services. These materials can be distributed to potential referral sources.
3. Understand their Needs - Understand what your partners need and how you can help meet those needs. For example, they may need a reliable home care service to refer their patients to, or they may need educational resources about home care for their patients and families.
4. Communicate Your Value – When talking with potential referral partners, clearly communicate the unique value of your home care services and how they can benefit the partner's clients. Highlight specific services that meet the unique needs of their clients and the quality of care that you and your caregivers provide.
5. Establish and Grow Relationships – Having strong relationships with referral partners is not done in just one interaction. Continue to follow up with referral partners and find out how you can help them. It is meant to be a reciprocal relationship, not one built on a transaction.
6. Networking events - Networking is crucial in establishing professional referrals. Attend local medical conferences, healthcare events, and seminars to meet potential referrers. Regularly visit clinics, hospitals, and senior living communities to build relationships with the staff. Attend specific senior events and expos where you can even set up a booth to showcase your home care services and engage with seniors directly.
7. Education Sessions - Provide educational sessions or workshops on home care options for seniors. Partner with local senior centers, retirement communities and other community organizations to host these events. Provide educational materials that explain the benefits of home care assistance for seniors and how to access long term care insurance opportunities.
8. Regular Communication - Keep your referral sources updated with changes or advancements in your services. Regular email updates, newsletters, or personal meetings can be effective for this purpose. You can also include them in any drip campaigns to referral partners that can highlight client stories, new service offerings, caregiver recognition, and company updates.
9. Client Success Stories - Sharing successful case studies or client stories can build confidence among potential referrers. It helps them understand the effectiveness of your service and its positive impact on the clients’ lives.
10. Provide Exceptional Service - Providing top-notch care will naturally encourage professionals to refer their clients to your service.
11. Follow-Up and Appreciation - After receiving a referral, follow up with the referrer to thank them and provide feedback on the client’s progress. This helps to build a solid and trustworthy relationship with your referrers.
    

Building strong relationships with professional referrals requires consistency, tenacity and patience. Over time, as you continue to meet with professional referrals and provide them with value, you will become a trusted partner and receive consistent referrals, helping you to grow your business and help many of these clients. If you are unsure of how to approach your potential referral partners, work with your business coach to develop a community marketing plan.

Pricing Your Service

As an independent home care agency, you can set their own rates for the services you provide, based on factors such as operating costs, local market rates, level of service, and more. However, when it comes to getting reimbursed from insurance companies, including long-term care insurance providers, the amount you can charge may be influenced by the terms and conditions of the client's insurance policy.

Long-term care insurance policies often have maximum daily or monthly benefit amounts that they will pay for care. These caps could influence how much an agency can effectively charge for their services if they are seeking full reimbursement from the insurance company. Some insurance policies may also have contracted rates with certain care providers, which could further affect the amount you will be able to charge.

If your rates are higher than the maximum benefit amounts of a client's insurance policy, the client may be responsible for paying the difference out of pocket, unless other payment arrangements have been made.