HHT #157 - Spring is the Time for Growth in Home Health Care

HHT Banner 1

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spring is the Time for Growth in Home Health Care

What are you doing to get more referrals that turn into admissions?

April 1, 2009

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In this issue...

-- Spring is the Time for Growth

-- Sales & Marketing Planning

-- What Makes Your Agency Different?

-- Private Duty Business Builders Strategy Retreat

-- Recent Postings to our Home Health Care Leadership Minute BLOG

-- About the Author

-- Permission to Reproduce

It's April 1st,

. . . but we're not fooling around. Now is the time to launch new strategies to grow your home health agency or hospice. Welcome to the April Fools Day issue of Home Health Care Today, the leading electronic newsletter for home care executives who want to grow their business and get ready for the future.

For ideas to grow your Private Duty Home Care business, subscribe to Private Duty Today, the bi-weekly newsletter for non-medical home care CEOs. Your complimentary subscription is available at www.privatedutytoday.com.


Spring is the Time for Growth

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the last issue, I wrote to you about pruning the roses in spring. We talked about cutting away the dead wood to make room for new growth.

Well this weekend, I noticed that my rose bushes have new reddish shoots one to two inches long, and they are about ready to break out in new green leaves. They are getting ready for a time of rapid growth.

The same thing is happening in home health care. We are getting ready for a time of growth. As I have talked with many health care executives around the country, I'm hearing that hospital census has been down. The flu season was relatively mild in many areas of the country, and people are putting off elective procedures because of their concern about money.

When hospital census is down, home health agencies feel the decline in referrals. Some of the agency executives I have talked with have experienced a leveling off of referrals, and in some cases saw a dip in January.

While some agencies are feeling the pinch, others I'm talking with are focusing their business development strategies and are seeing positive results. Yet others have felt no decline at all.

Now is the time to take a look at your agency's business growth strategies, and decide the actions you will take to grow your business and get ready for the future.


Sales & Marketing Planning

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last Tuesday I was in New York state working with a new client on Sales & Marketing Planning. This is in preparation for bringing our Certified Home Care Sales ProfessionalTM training program into their agency. In our planning process, we focused on several key elements of an effective sales & marketing plan.

The Home Health Care Sales & Marketing Plan elements include:

  • Assessing our current reality
  • Assessing the competitive situation
  • Reviewing our sources of competitive advantage
  • Defining our primary and secondary marketing strategies
  • Defining our C-1, C-2, and C-3 customers
  • Identifying our P-1 prospects
  • Developing action plans to implement our sales and marketing strategies
  • Setting up a sales & marketing scorecard to measure results
  • Setting specific goals for referrals that turn into admissions
  • Tracking results and adjusting the plan to improve performance

We'll follow this up with 15 hours of in-depth training for sales professionals to give them the knowledge and skills they need to hit their business growth goals.

What have you done to review and revise your sales and marketing plan for 2009? Spring is a great time to update your plan and get ready for new growth.


What Makes Your Agency Different?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An important part of your sales & marketing plan is to define your competitive advantage. What makes your agency different from your competitors?

Home Health Care has not been more competitive than it is today, since 1997. Back in 1997, just before the Balanced Budget Act and IPS, there were over 10,400 home health agencies in America. Today, there are over 9,500. That's a lot of competitors.

When you are having meaningful conversations with your referral sources, how do you define your competitive advantage? What message do you communicate to let them know how you are different? Why should they refer to you instead of all of the other choices in town?

As you may recall, we focus on seven sources of competitive advantage for businesses in general, and then narrow them down to more specifics for home health care. The seven sources of competitive advantage are:

  • Product Differentiation
  • Service Differentiation
  • Narrow Market Focus
  • Relationships
  • Exceptional Customer Experiences
  • Common Values
  • Price

Since price is not an issue in home health, we're down to six, and we can divide each one into more specific strategies. For example, under product differentiation, we have:

  • High quality patient outcomes
  • Innovative specialty programs
  • Program packaging and promotion
  • One Stop Shopping or range of services

Under service differentiation, we explore these possible ways to set your agency apart from competitors:

  • Speed and responsiveness
  • Ease of access
  • Clinical Liaisons in hospitals
  • Using technology to improve service

What are you doing to get out the message about what makes you different? How's it working for you? Are you getting MORE than your fair share of referrals?

For assistance in Sales & Marketing Planning, click here!


Private Duty Business Builders Strategy Retreat

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Many of you who are executives in Medicare Certified Home Health agencies also have a private duty home care business. If you're like most home health agencies, you struggle with making your private duty business profitable.

If you and your private duty director would like to come together with other successful private duty companies for a one-day executive strategy retreat, here's an exciting opportunity.

Join me in Columbia, Maryland - right near BWI airport - for a one day focused strategy session designed to help you develop a business growth plan for your company. We'll look at the 27 elements of a successful private duty business, and give you an opportunity to focus on those elements that are most important to you.

We'll share with you the best practices and proven techniques to grow your private pay business. We'll show you how to recruit and select the caregivers you need to take on more clients. And we will give you specific tips to increase the profitability of your business.

Join the folks from the Maryland National Capital Home Care Association on June 3, 2009 for the Private Duty Business Builders Strategy Retreat. See you there!

Register today!


Recent Postings to our Home Health Care Leadership Minute BLOG

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Visit our BLOG, Home Health Care Leadership Minute for Stephen Tweed's observations on the latest happenings in home health care around the world. The latest BLOG postings include:

  • Hospitals losing money. What will be the impact on Home Health Care?
  • Ohio Home Health Agency Issues Press Release about Muffins for Doctors
  • Obama Budget Proposal Cuts Money from Home Health Care
  • Do Female Executives Lack Vision?
  • Home Health Nurse Writes Editor about Information Technology
  • Gentiva Refocuses on Home Health Care for the Elderly
  • Amedisys reports growth in Home Health Earnings
  • Celebrating 100 Years of Home Health Care

Visit Stephen Tweed's Home Health Care Leadership Minute


About the Author

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stephen Tweed, CSP, is Chairman and CEO of Leading Home Care ... a Tweed Jeffries company. For over 25 years he has been a recognized leader in strategy and leadership development for home health care companies and associations. He is the author or co-author of seven books, five of which were written specifically for the home care industry. He has served on the boards of directors of three not-for-profit home care agencies, and has served as interim President & CEO of a $25 million home care company.

Stephen is a past-President of the National Speakers Association, a 3500 member international society of experts who speak professionally. He is also the father of a 38 year-old son who is physically disabled and uses the services of home care on a daily basis.

Meet the entire Leading Home Care Team


Permission to Reproduce

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Permission is granted to healthcare publications, associations and companies to reproduce this article in your publication, or to distribute copies to your leaders, on the condition that you reproduce the credits and contact information as follows: "Reprinted with permission from Home Health Care Today. Copyright 2009 Stephen C. Tweed. To receive a FREE subscription to this newsletter, log on to www.leadinghomecare.com."



Contact Leading Home Care

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

phone: 1-866-209-5101

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~