Over the years of being a strategic consultant for senior care, home care, hospice, and other healthcare entities, Sixth Sense Solutions has met with and listened to countless interactions between families and health service providers. These frequent conversations have provided our organization a deeper level of understanding the family’s evaluation process when determining which care options are the right choice for their loved one.
Keeping in mind that each market is different in terms of which evaluation is the highest priority; we find that there is one critical evaluation that is universally winning over customers.
Evaluating How Much Your Organization Cares
The industry is extremely competitive, so price, location, staff, and amenities are all important considerations. However, the top evaluation of a family is how much we care. Every moment, starting with the first call to the day they get signed in, are all moments to determine if this place cares for their loved ones.
3 Tips to Demonstrate Care
1. The First Call is Crucial
Most companies care oriented companies don’t really do a consistent job with handling the first call. Some even choose to outsource their initial calls to service providers or call centers. This is done for several reasons which can vary from cost efficiencies to the belief that the first call is all about collecting the customer’s data and routing them to the right department. However, for the family, this is their first impression of your organization.
Tip: Set your care organization apart by investing the resources to take initial calls in-house. Train your salespeople (that is anyone answering the call) to ask personal questions and be engaged when talking to your potential customers. Your team should be consistent in their warmth and make every caller feel like they are in the right place. The first impression is always the most important!
2. Have All the Answers to Their Questions
While your salespeople are primarily engaging with the potential customer and their family, it is immensely valuable if everyone in your organization is able to be personable and help answer questions. If they do not know the answers, they should know where to find the answers and be able to direct the potential customer to the right person without sounding dismissive.
Tip: Consider setting up a company-wide training and weekly communication to get everyone educated on your unique selling points and everything that you offer. We have found that these types of programs help keep your staff engaged and provide a more consistent experience for your customers.
3. Never Leave Them in the Dark and follow up and follow through
Similar to educating your team, we have noticed that frequent targeted communication with the family is a big deciding factor in choosing a specific care entity. The potential customers and their families do not know how your process works, so asking open-ended questions, understanding the deeper concerns and setting their expectations, clarifying the process with them, helps keep prospects engaged.
Tip: Avoid feature dumping. They may not need all the information upfront and instead want to be shown your unique value as it relates to their specific concerns and needs. Be transparent in your communication, meet them where they are at and get buy-in throughout the entire process.
How Sixth Sense Solutions Can Help
Sixth Sense Solutions brings a unique perspective into your care agency. Our process will give you better insight, guide operational and financial improvements, and inspire innovation to provide even better service and care.
Find out how it works or set up a complimentary discovery meeting by contacting us.
About the Author
Keith Freeman
A dynamic thinker with a great sense of humor, Keith Freeman, MBA, is a Strategic Consultant offering unique solutions to transform healthcare organizations such as hospitals, hospice/palliative, home health, and home care, RCFE/assisted living and skilled nursing facilities and professional healthcare staffing services that support them.