Gambling is not one of my hobbies, however when it comes to the world of marketing I definitely spend a great deal of time monitoring marketing trends to make the best forecast possible.  Whether it’s monitoring what’s working with my own home health, nursing, assisted or independent living clients, reading the latest books, or researching the internet, I can honestly say there is one prediction for 2010 that I feel 100% confident making: blending traditional and non-traditional marketing strategies to grow your referral base and census will be essential!

Predictions to Ponder for Referrals
There is no doubt about it, marketing methods have changed immensely since I first started in the early 90’s.  There has been a switch from the traditional means of “interruption” marketing to more non-traditional “interactive” methods of marketing. My 10 predictions to ponder include:

1.    Yellow page advertising. It’s dying a slow death. People are no longer just searching for a telephone number, they are looking for in-depth information and are going to the internet to search for the information they need. Save your money on large ads!!

2.   Print and television advertising. These will never go away, however the value of this type of expensive advertising is in the form of “call to action” that they invoke, especially when it directs the consumer to your web site.

3.    Web Sites. Interactivity and compelling content is the key to an optimized web site.  Instead of one-way interruption, Web marketing is about providing targeted information to a target audience at just the right moment.

4.   Social Media. It’s not going away! Be sure you know how to use it to build relationships with referrals. The largest growing segment of users is your target audience!

5.     Direct Mail. Alive and well for seniors. Consistency and providing relevant messages that invokes a “call to action” is the key.

6.    Customer loyalty programs. These should be used in order to maintain loyalty with discharged clients.  Remember, the best customers are the ones you already invested in.

7.    Customer Service. Service will still be king! Customer service excellence should be one of your organization’s core values with measurable goals.

8.   Service Niche. Positioning yourself as an expert in a niche area will put you ahead of your competition.

9.    Diversify. Broadening your referral base with untapped sources will be a must as competition increases for the same referrals.

10.    Intellectual Property. The value of intellectual property as it pertains to the collection of marketing data, referral source information, clients, etc. will become more valuable in order to makecost effective, referral generating decisions.
2010 will mean working harder and smarter to capture the attention of clients and patients. Ultimately relationships created through interactive compelling conversation and communication will set the census winners apart. What do you think about my predictions?