Discharge planners are an important audience for your nursing home marketing
When marketing your nursing home you need to address the needs and desires of the family (usually the adult daughter) and the patient in your marketing message, However, one of the frequently overlooked audiences to consider is the discharge planner.
Discharge planners are very busy people and their job is to get more patients out of the hospital and into the appropriate after care, whether that be home care or in a rehab/skilled facility, as determined by the physician. When they make the decision on who to call for placement, they usually consider:
• who is top of mind (a.k.a. who was the last rep in here to see me) • who is the easiest to deal with when I call admissions • who generally has a bed available when I call • which facility is close to the family or the patient’s home for easy visiting.
For these reasons, discharge planners need to be part of your marketing game plan. Let them know what an appropriate patient for your facility would be along with specific services offered, proximity to neighborhoods, outlining towns near the city, and ease of referral process. Work with your admissions director to streamline the referral process for discharge planners, package it, and then market it through direct marketing methods and personal visits. Set up lines of communications letting discharge planners know that you can e-mail them on a daily basis with a report on how many beds are available in your facility.
Don’t forget to learn what your competition is doing to market themselves as well, especially to discharge planners. This will help you determine where your competitive strengths and weaknesses are and will help you decide how to best focus your marketing efforts.
Nursing homes are a need driven business. In order to effectively market your facility, you need to develop creative approaches that get the attention of multiple decision makers. The ultimate goal being to keep your name top-of-mind so that when the need arises, you are one of their choices. McCafferty Advertising has over 30 years of experience in marketing nursing homes. We understand what works and where you may be wasting time and marketing dollars. Contact us to learn more about how to market directly to discharge planners and say goodbye to empty beds.
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