Marketing a New Science in the Care Business for Some
Marketing a New Science in the Care Business for Some; but Our Approach to it Often Hampered by Previous Experiences The business of care might be the most diverse in terms of the number of provider types from hospitals to nursing homes to home health care to assisted living to outpatient rehab to adult day services.
Care is available in tons of venues.
Most of these care providing organizations are also strong business entities with departments and personnel in place for financial control, internal audit, human resources and marketing...
with maybe one exception.
In many states of the union these past 40 years, a new entrepreneur was developed.
As America sought to de-stigmatize mental health we moved many of the mentally ill and those with developmental delays into more appropriate and often more person-centered community based settings.
We developed licenses as adult foster care group homes, community residential family homes and more.
Some states still use the multi-faceted regulatory category assisted living.
Entrepreneurs acquired real estate, complied with licensing requirements and opened shop to serve these vulnerable adults.
Mental health authorities were developed on state and county level to contract with the care providers.
These independent businesses often were in business for less than a matter of days before serving a houseful of consumers of residential mental health services.
Today that apparatus is still in place.
Budget cuts have affected reimbursements and a push for more semi-independent living has reduced the number of group homes in many areas but community based settings remain the national preference for residential care.
Its now 2013 and many of these independent business people want to move to serve a different population.
Some focus on disabled veterans often out of a sense of duty while others focus on the medically fragile and/or the frail elderly.
Of course certain aspects of how a program operates have to be considered before a real transition can be made.
This includes furnishings, training of staff and more.
Yet an even bigger challenge lies on the horizon.
Marketing.
Many of these entrepreneurs - and for some we use the word loosely - have never marketed anything.
They licensed a home and the beds were filled by a mental health authority acting as a managed care kind of network or apparatus.
Today, some believe due to the entitlement mentality developed by how group homes were filled early on, Medicaid waiver programs will only do business with providers who have been in business for at least three, (3) years.
While the wait also helps to ensure the business is financially stable and has certain operational systems in place, many believe it is also to help entrepreneurs develop a sense of self-development from having to market their new entities.
Back to how we dealt with group homes early on: Unfortunately people making money a week after opening without having to market can be a dangerous process.
The businessperson is lulled into a mindset of "if I build it they will come" when the mindset should be "if I develop it and market it correctly they will come.
" Extreme over-confidence was not unusual for many and the resulting problems were immense.
Now as those mental health dollars are no longer matching the work involved to earn them and the politics become more and more unnerving for those qualifying to get them, providers rightfully are looking to serve other populations and many are logically transitioning to other business models such as adult day care.
The problem comes in when they relapse back into that original mentality associated with their entry into the group home business.
In a new venture some find waiting ninety, (90) days to establish themselves and beginning to serve someone from a different category a virtual lifetime.
How tragic and non-sensible! Taking this approach is a quick road to disappointment.
Whether it is an assisted living business transitioning to new populations or entry into adult day care, give yourself six, (6) months to feel like the business is on the right track.
You need to be prepared, market aggressively including on-line in order to make it work and feel as though you earned that new income stream.
It takes time for people to get to know what you are about.
You will find terms such as "Google AdWords" will become your friends and with the right guidance you'll enjoy the new life.
Just be careful looking for it to occur overnight due to being stuck in the mentality of yesteryear.
Thanks for allowing us to share.
Look for more on-line at http://www.
americancarenews.
com.
Care is available in tons of venues.
Most of these care providing organizations are also strong business entities with departments and personnel in place for financial control, internal audit, human resources and marketing...
with maybe one exception.
In many states of the union these past 40 years, a new entrepreneur was developed.
As America sought to de-stigmatize mental health we moved many of the mentally ill and those with developmental delays into more appropriate and often more person-centered community based settings.
We developed licenses as adult foster care group homes, community residential family homes and more.
Some states still use the multi-faceted regulatory category assisted living.
Entrepreneurs acquired real estate, complied with licensing requirements and opened shop to serve these vulnerable adults.
Mental health authorities were developed on state and county level to contract with the care providers.
These independent businesses often were in business for less than a matter of days before serving a houseful of consumers of residential mental health services.
Today that apparatus is still in place.
Budget cuts have affected reimbursements and a push for more semi-independent living has reduced the number of group homes in many areas but community based settings remain the national preference for residential care.
Its now 2013 and many of these independent business people want to move to serve a different population.
Some focus on disabled veterans often out of a sense of duty while others focus on the medically fragile and/or the frail elderly.
Of course certain aspects of how a program operates have to be considered before a real transition can be made.
This includes furnishings, training of staff and more.
Yet an even bigger challenge lies on the horizon.
Marketing.
Many of these entrepreneurs - and for some we use the word loosely - have never marketed anything.
They licensed a home and the beds were filled by a mental health authority acting as a managed care kind of network or apparatus.
Today, some believe due to the entitlement mentality developed by how group homes were filled early on, Medicaid waiver programs will only do business with providers who have been in business for at least three, (3) years.
While the wait also helps to ensure the business is financially stable and has certain operational systems in place, many believe it is also to help entrepreneurs develop a sense of self-development from having to market their new entities.
Back to how we dealt with group homes early on: Unfortunately people making money a week after opening without having to market can be a dangerous process.
The businessperson is lulled into a mindset of "if I build it they will come" when the mindset should be "if I develop it and market it correctly they will come.
" Extreme over-confidence was not unusual for many and the resulting problems were immense.
Now as those mental health dollars are no longer matching the work involved to earn them and the politics become more and more unnerving for those qualifying to get them, providers rightfully are looking to serve other populations and many are logically transitioning to other business models such as adult day care.
The problem comes in when they relapse back into that original mentality associated with their entry into the group home business.
In a new venture some find waiting ninety, (90) days to establish themselves and beginning to serve someone from a different category a virtual lifetime.
How tragic and non-sensible! Taking this approach is a quick road to disappointment.
Whether it is an assisted living business transitioning to new populations or entry into adult day care, give yourself six, (6) months to feel like the business is on the right track.
You need to be prepared, market aggressively including on-line in order to make it work and feel as though you earned that new income stream.
It takes time for people to get to know what you are about.
You will find terms such as "Google AdWords" will become your friends and with the right guidance you'll enjoy the new life.
Just be careful looking for it to occur overnight due to being stuck in the mentality of yesteryear.
Thanks for allowing us to share.
Look for more on-line at http://www.
americancarenews.
com.
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