Mediaboss Marketing

Foran in-home care provider, the benefits of joining a national franchisor arevast, particularly inthe age of COVID-19.Among the infrastructure advantages are marketing benefits, as a nationalfranchisor is in an always-on position building the brand while a local homecare agency focuses on delivering care and eliminates the work that a startupmust take to build a brand and name recognition in their marketplace.

Hereare four major such benefits all ways in which an independent home careagency can receive support for those duties and focus on doing what they wantto do most: deliver great care.

Tapinto all of the built-in advantages of an existing organization

Whilean independent agency must create all marketing materials from scratch, anational franchisor creates a library of established assets for local agencyuse. They have a system in place with established experts who understand how tohelp agencies tap into a variety of media outlets, from collateral to content,digital and social. These experts also know how to capture both earned and paidmedia and, of course, how to manage the best possible website one that driveshits on search engines.

Theadvantage of a national organization is were disciplinedin multiple areas, saysTeresa Celmer, Senior Vice President of Marketing of national in-home carefranchise company BrightStar Care. National branding power is a largebenefit in what we bring to the table, and we want to be able to support localfranchisees in everything they do.

Joining a national franchisor means gainingaccess to a marketing organization that has all marketing tools at theirfingertips.

Content, design, media plans, network buyingpower all marketing channels are in sync to drive brand awareness, she says.

Fill inmarketing blindspots including websites and social media

Aprofessional marketing team can give a home care agency the guidance it needsin how and where to spend its money and fill in knowledge gaps. In terms ofmarketing blindspots for independent agencies, Celmer identifies two big ones:websites and social media.

Iwould say the power of the website is a big one, Celmer says. I think were not spending enough time on websites, which stems fromnot understanding what SEO means. At a national level, were able to be athought leader, but the blind spot is the investment the local franchisee needsto make to not only complement the national message but to differentiatethemselves at the local level.

The second potential blindspot, she says, isinvesting in social media. While there are plenty of agencies that have someexperience with social, plenty of others remain behind.

There is a gap, she says. So as a nationalbrand, were able to bring best practices and playbooks to get them therequickly.

PRpros can steer reporters your way at both a national and local level

Nationalpress matters and can be difficult to get. But local attention matters too, anda public relations team that knows how to blend the two is putting the agencyon a path to success.

I think that some people dont realize thepower of earned media, Celmer says. What the national presence does, from aPR standpoint, is that it sets the stage, but there are also important messagesthat only resonate on a local level.

BrightStar Care helps agencies, for example,tell their story to local reporters, because those reporters and news outletsknow how to translate a story to a local audience the very people who will bemaking decisions about home health services. These stories can then bubble upto a national level, while more broadly, a national outlet can help create abuzz around the agency and lends it additional credibility.

We reinforce best practices for earned mediaand support our franchises on a daily basis, whether through the local news orthe local papers, or through social media as well, Celmer says. We teach themhow to fish, if you will.

Pair with apartner, and focus on delivering care

At the end of theday, a home care agency wants to focus on what it does best: provide care.Marketing and media help make that possible, especially when fueled by anational organization.

Our departmentsvision is to drive revenue, and a lot of it has to do with generating leadsthrough a mixed-media model to fill the top of the funnel, Celmer says.Imagine youre a local agency and your phone is ringing because of thosenational efforts. We are able to be with you every step of the way. We have adeliberate process that we walk through, and it involves not only the marketingteam or recruitment team it involves operations.

In fact, BrightStarCares founder & CEO spends over three hours with every new owner in atraining session that runs through all the proven practices in which they willhelp drive leads and operational excellence to that agency, and to reinforcethe importance of these efforts throughout the sales process.

Our formula issimplification as well as continuity, Celmer says. The local franchiseehas to wear so many hats, so why not be part of a national brand that can helpsupport you?

This article issponsored by BrightStar Care. BrightStar Care is a national private duty homecare and medical staffing franchise with nearly 340 locations which providemedical and non-medical services to clients within their homes, as well assupplemental care staff to corporate clients. BrightStar Care franchiselocations across the country employ over 20,000 caregivers and over 3,500nurses who play a unique role in overseeing the care for each individualclient. To learn more about becoming a franchisee please visit brightstarfranchising.com.

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4 Top Marketing Benefits of Converting to a National Franchisor - Home Health Care News