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Home Care Marketing mistakes, be they related to private duty home care software or even client referral program mistakes generally happen to the best of us. That’s why it’s important to avoid anxiousness, but instead, have a plan of action. This POA, in many cases, can start just with being informed of such mistakes to avoid committing them. Here are five common mistakes you should note, and then do your best not to commit:

Failing to document the referrals properly.

We’re all human, and we sometimes ‘forget.’

Long-term consistent growth seems to suffer from this. We need to have a great picture in mind. It’s important to take the time to ‘track’ every single referral and see how they can be maximized — prune your efforts.

Lacking a process for collecting their information in the first place.

We can’t just ‘wing it.’ Believe me. Some try to. There needs to, instead, be an organized plan. Fail to plan, and you’ll be planning to fail.

It all starts, many times, with that crucial ‘new client inquiry.’ That is your opportunity to collect every bit of information you can from the interested party about how they heard about your services, their own credentials, what they are looking for, contact details, etc. You may need to emphasize regular ‘audits’ on your own staff to ensure they are properly collecting this crucial data. It might require you to sometimes go ‘undercover’ when they are not suspecting you. It’s important to help you assess where the disconnect may be and what can be done better.

Incorrectly recording the ‘inquirer’ as the only referrer.

There may be more interested parties. Ask the ‘inquirer.’ Was he or she asking for himself/ herself or for someone else?

Perhaps they are even pretending as a separate entity entirely, calling on behalf of a potential client requesting that information. It could even be another (competing or non-competing) agency. Regardless, the only true way you will know is to take every factor into account, and never assume (because we know what that does). To further add, ask — find that data trail, and link it back to the original/most interested referrer(s), considering there may be several.

Not following up relationship-wise.

Relationships are everything. It’s no different here. Why would it be?

Sometimes, all it takes is trust. Once trust is built between you and those interested, there is a business. More than that, there is continued business as those who now trust your agency will tell their own social circles, those who trust them, who will then look further into what you have to offer. But how can trust be built if there is no relationship, and how can there be relationship without follow up?

Not sufficiently engaging the referral data you’ve gleaned.

Browse old data often. Analyze strategic insights. Repeat.

You’ve got to, in addition to this, utilize this information to revise your own approach or marketing plan. Break down your traffic, count per person or party/group, and then assess which of these resulted in conversion and which resulted in non-conversion. Consider your stance on billable hours per conversion and much more.

Knowledge is power. Now you know what errors to avoid, take action, and remind yourself of these mistakes continually. Do not commit them!