Most home care business owners and franchisers miss an essential part of their business – home care client retention.
Many such business owners spin their wheels with various online and offline methods to promote your home care business. The next shiny object attracts them. But why not focus on your existing clients? It’s the answer to a successful home care business that many entrepreneurs miss!
You might answer, “My senior care clients are happy with my service.” But how many are not?
Do you sometimes get that sinking feeling that some of your clients fall into the latter category? Do you wonder whether they or their adult sons or daughters are now re-evaluating your service, and scouting around to see what your competition has to offer?
Businesses lose clients every year
Businesses typically lose 15% of customers each year, according to U.S. News & World Report. And eighty-two percent of those go to another provider because of a customer service issue! Are home care companies any different?
Probably not.
It pays to keep your current customers happy, and find out what they’re feeling.
You might be familiar with the following statistic – it costs companies six to seven times more to acquire a new customer than keep a current one. (The Loyalty Effect, by Frederick F. Reichheld)
And what about offering other services to your home care client? It’s all a part of home care client retention.
In fact, the marketing world is screaming with this talk:
- According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Small Business Administration, the likelihood of selling to an existing customer is 60-70%, whereas it’s just 5-20% for a new customer.
- Entrepreneur magazine once asked 15 experts for their best tips for improving customer loyalty. Seven of the 15 gave specific examples of a closer personal connection. One marketing CEO, DJ Waldow, said, “Too often we are sold one thing and then, after the honeymoon period is over, it’s back to business as usual (bad customer service)”.
- In a recent article in Inc. magazine, business coach Leo Dirr teaches leaders to use “social media support, award entries and handwritten thank-you letters and notes in addition to traditional gifts.” See “Science-Based Proof that Giving is Good for Your Business.”
What better way to strengthen these connections than with a printed newsletter mailed to your clients’ mailboxes each month?
Reach your senior client with print
Imagine that your own company had a printed newsletter, and each newsletter had an article about 1) a personal experience of yours, and 2) an interesting story about your company. Plus fun and informative snippets. This approach would bond your readers like glue to you. And what about getting feedback from a survey that readers can take online?
Now, are you wondering, “Kevin, you have focused much of your career on digital marketing – designing stunning websites, writing winning emails, and running pay-per-click ads. Why are you talking about print?”
The answer – what I’ve re-discovered recently: Print still pulls.
Print and online marketing are necessary for your home care business – like two oars in a boat.
Furthermore, our services here at Savvy Senior Marketing are designed for home care agencies who service a local market – like yours. Print is good for that – especially when its content is localized. Your business is in a given area, and our marketing material can be centered on your state. This is unique among newsletter services. And it’s a killer advantage for you.
Why waste your money on big-company marketing techniques that lose the local and personal touch? Honestly, working the local angle is a big secret in the marketing world. Everyone of us identifies with where we live.
Client retention expert
Direct marketing expert Dan Kennedy has written an entire book on the subject that relates directly to home care client retention. Read large portions of it on Google Books at, No B.S. Guide to Maximum Referrals & Customer Retention.
Want a sample of our printed newsletter? Just contact us and provide your street address.
Read our related article, “Don’t make this home care mailing mistake.”
