It can be difficult to think like your customer.
Are you guilty of using technical jargon and industry buzz words in your marketing content that makes little or no sense to your customers? Do you brag about the features you are proud of on your home care website without considering why your customer would care, or if they would even understand what you are talking about? It’s ok, we’ve all done it!
We buy products and services every day and we like to think of ourselves as educated, savvy consumers. But as soon as we try to sell to our services it seems we stop thinking like smart customers and start sounding like we are speaking another language!
A fundamental fact about your marketing:
Your perspective may be skewed if you make assumptions about customers based on your own behavior, rather than that of the people you want to reach. If you are operating with a different thought process than your customers, your marketing will not resonate with your intended audience.
Ask yourself some questions about home care.
If you were looking for home care services for a loved one, what kinds of things would you look for? How would you conduct your search? How would you make your final decision? These are the kind of questions you can ponder to help you create an effective home care website, and a valuable home care marketing campaign. The great news for you, the home care business owner or marketer, is that you have a ready made marketing checklist and you may not even realize it!
When a prospective home care client begins to show signs of needing help, they don’t immediately buy senior care services. Instead, their family or close friends or even the prospective clients themselves search for helpful information and direction. In addition, the friends and professionals who advise them point them toward helpful information. There are tons of online blogs, guides and resources for families and individuals that may be in need of in-home care. For example, a person may search “How to select a home care provider”. The first organic (non-paid) search result on Google might be for the National Association for Home Care & Hospice’s article “How Do I Select the Right Home Care Provider?” The questions posed in the article can read like a ready made marketing guide for your home care website.
Let’s look at the first 3 bullet points in that article:
- How long has this provider been serving the community? This is a great question and you can answer it on your home care website. But don’t just stop at “we’ve been in business since…” Take the opportunity to talk about what role you play in the community, what organizations you support or actively participate in. Include testimonials from satisfied clients and their family members.
- Does this provider supply literature explaining its services, eligibility requirements, fees, and funding sources? Do you cover this information on your website? Do you have brochures that explain your specialties, who benefit from your services and how you charge your clients that can be easily downloaded as PDFs ?
- How does this provider select and train its employees? Take this opportunity to talk about your employees, your hiring and training standards. Include pictures and bios on some of your key staff. Ask for a testimonial from one of your caregivers and have them explain why they like working for your company.
You can use this line of thinking to help you design content on your website, it can guide your home care blogging content plans, and it can even help you lay out your social media strategy. You get the picture. Think like a customer and you will attract more of them!
If you need help with finding the right website solution for your home care agency, or you would like a website makeover, contact Home Care Marketing Pros and we’ll work together to find the right solution to help make 2017 your best year yet.
