7 Expert Tips on How to Get Domiciliary Care Clients

Whether you’re just getting started or planning to expand, it’s important to know how to get clients for your domiciliary care agency.

Community engagement and a solid marking plan are essential, but in this article, we’re going over 7 effective strategies for finding new homecare clients. 

What is a Domiciliary Care Agency?

A domiciliary care agency (also referred to as a homecare agency) is an organization that provides care and support services to individuals in their own homes, rather than in hospitals or care homes. This type of care is designed to help people maintain their independence and quality of life by assisting with daily activities that they may struggle with due to age, disability, illness, or other health conditions. 

Services offered by domiciliary care agencies can range from basic support, such as help with cleaning, cooking, and shopping, to more complex care needs, including personal care (like bathing and dressing), medication management, and mobility assistance.

7 Ways to Get Clients for Your Domiciliary Care Agency

You can do everything in your power to provide high-quality care. But you’ll also need approval from governing domiciliary care bodies. They usually conduct inspections to assess the quality of care you’re providing to confirm whether you’re upholding workplace compliance and safety. 

For example, England’s Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. The CQC monitors, inspects, and regulates services, like domiciliary agencies. 

The CQC has four ratings: Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, or Inadequate. 

To measure each agency’s quality, the CQC asks five key questions:

• Are services safe?
• Are they effective?
• Are they caring?
• Are they responsive to people’s needs?
• Are they well-led?

In 2023, there were 9,043 domiciliary care agencies registered in England, and only 405 (4.5%) were rated as “Outstanding.” If you can join that small list, you’re guaranteed to attract more clients.

Other accreditations you may want to look into include:

• ISO 9001: While not specific to healthcare, ISO 9001 is a quality management system that some domiciliary care providers choose to obtain. It demonstrates a commitment to providing a high standard of service and continuous improvement.
• Investors in People (IIP): This accreditation is not mandatory but showcases a commitment to high performance through good people management. It can be a sign of a quality employer in the domiciliary care sector.
• Skills for Care Endorsement: In England, domiciliary care providers can seek endorsement from Skills for Care, which is an indication of commitment to high-quality training and development of staff.

Keep in mind that you’ll need to remain up-to-date with the specific registration requirements and standards that apply to your region and your country. 

In addition, because health and social care workers, like carers, aren’t regulated, you may want to require your carers to get The Care Certificate. This online certificate was developed jointly by Skills for Care, Health Education England, and Skills for Health and teaches set standards that social care and health workers adhere to in daily work.

Click here to learn more about The Care Certificate. 

Word of mouth is a powerful way to get your agency’s name around. 

Here are some tips for creating a referral strategy to get more clients for your homecare agency:

• Build relationships with local doctors: If they see that your caregivers are doing good work for patients, they’ll recommend you to others
• Offer incentives: This could be a discount, a service upgrade, a gift card, or even a monetary reward to whoever refers your agency. Ensure the reward is attractive enough to motivate participation while considering what is appropriate and ethical in your industry.
• Make referrals easy: The easier it is to refer someone, the more likely people will do it. Provide simple tools like referral cards or a dedicated page on your website.
• Track and measure results: Implement a system to track referrals, follow-ups, and conversions to better understand its effectiveness.

Ensure legal compliance: This may involve consulting with a legal professional to make sure the program doesn’t inadvertently violate regulations, like those against kickbacks.

As of 2023, the total number of internet users around the globe reached 5.3 billion, accounting for 65.7% of the global population. 

Additionally, over 75% of consumers in the United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom use Google when looking for business information. Therefore, getting your domiciliary agency established online with a well-designed website, local SEO for Google search, and online marketing are all guaranteed to expand your reach.

1. Create a website. Your agency’s website is its digital home on the web. It should be professionally designed, reflect your branding, and include your agency’s service offerings.
   
   You can create your own professional website with a website builder like Wix or Squarespace, but you can also outsource this important task to a web designer if your budget allows.
   
2. Implement local SEO. Local SEO is the process of improving your website’s search visibility on Google and other search engines to increase traffic and brand awareness.

This involves incorporating the right keywords throughout your site, creating and optimizing your Google Business Profile, and linking between relevant pages on your website.

3. Share content on social media. 84.3% of the British population uses social media, so it’s essential to have official agency accounts on social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Social media accounts make your agency visible to a wide range of demographics. While senior clients may not be as active on social media, you can still reach their children or family members who may be looking for care for their parents. Also, you can reach younger demographics who need carers, too.

4. Pay Google for advertising. If you search for something on Google, you’ll most likely notice that the first few results are labeled as “Sponsored.” These are paid ads, and it turns out that Google pay-per-click ads have a 200% return on investment. Therefore, it’s worth the investment.
   
   For example, the search term “elderly care” has over 23,000 searches on Google in the UK every year. With PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising, you can make your agency’s name appear at the top of Google’s results for any search terms you choose.
   

The power of online reviews is huge. 

According to Power Reviews, more than 99.9% of consumers say they read reviews when shopping online–and this includes homecare. Therefore, it’s crucial to monitor what clients are saying about your agency on the web.

Besides your website, here are two other crucial places to set up and monitor online reviews:

• homecare.co.uk: The leading UK homecare review website. 
• Google: Once you establish a Google Business Profile for your agency, clients will be able to leave you reviews. They’ll show up immediately when someone Googles your business.

Because online reviews can make such a big difference for your business, here are a few ways to encourage clients to leave positive feedback:

• Ask at the right time: A good time is after a positive interaction or when a client expresses satisfaction with your service. Personalize your request to make it more impactful.
• Make it easy to leave a review. Simplify the review process by providing direct links to the review page on your website. Consider creating a step-by-step guide if the process involves multiple steps.
• Follow up. If a client agrees to leave a review but hasn’t done so after a few days, a gentle follow-up reminder can be effective. Keep the message friendly and appreciative of their time.
• Respond to reviews. Show appreciation for reviews by responding to them, whether they are positive or negative. A thoughtful response to a positive review can encourage others to share their experiences, too.

The internet is an effective way to promote your agency, but don’t ignore the power of easily readable, well-presented printed materials.

If you’re looking to get private homecare clients, consider that some of them (especially elderly people) might still prefer getting information from newspapers and magazines. Sharing information this way creates buzz and gets your name out.

You can use print-based materials to share the latest news about your agency.

Print-based materials include:

• Brochures
• Local newspaper and magazine ads
• Billboards and sponsored signs
• Flyers and leaflets
• Business cards
• Posters on bus stops
• Local community bulletin boards
• Brand merchandise to share at events (notebooks, bottles, pens, etc.)

You can also use maildrop companies, such as The Direct Mail Company, to deliver printed materials into letterboxes. Local newspapers can include your leaflets in future issues, and local shops can display them on their front windows.

Networking with the community builds goodwill and trust with potential clients for your homecare agency. Here are some ways you can consider networking:

Volunteer

Hold a volunteer day where you and your staff head out into the community. This not only allows you all to do good within the community, but it also gets your agency’s name out to people who may need your services.

Here are some potential volunteer opportunities:

• Hold a gift drive for families in need
• Clean up public areas (parks, beaches, etc.)
• Host fundraisers for charities
• Organize blood drives
• Help out at soup kitchens.

Sponsor events

A great example is senior events like Bingo games and foot races. You can also sponsor events for your potential clients’ children and grandchildren.

Speak at community events 

Engaging in these activities demonstrates your expertise and commitment to quality care, helping to build trust and credibility among potential clients and their families. These opportunities also allow for direct interaction with a wide audience, including local health professionals and community leaders.

Consider events such as:

• Health fairs
• Civic organization meetings
• Community markets and fairs
• Health fairs
• Workshops and seminars

Partner with local businesses and professionals

A partnership with a local business means you’ll both benefit from the promotion of each other’s services. 

Here are some examples of companies you can partner with:

• Occupational therapist offices
• Skilled home nursing care facilities
• Hospices
• Nursing homes
• Social service agencies
• Assisted living facilities.

Getting new clients all starts with a great reputation, and that means delivering quality care to every client. But even with excellent carers and office staff, it’s difficult to ensure staff are delivering quality care when carers work in different places due to internal communication challenges and lack of direct oversight. 

Homecare management software like Connecteam can bridge these gaps and unify your team. You can manage your team from afar and ensure they deliver the best care possible while remaining compliant with laws and regulations.

Here are a few ways how: 

Efficient staff scheduling

With the employee scheduler, you can create employee schedules with the use of scheduling templates, auto-scheduling, and error flagging. 

Easily assign your carers with their patients and include locations right in the app. Then, you can maintain a clear overview of where and when staff are working at all times. 

Comprehensive staff training 

Ensure all staff members receive proper training using mobile training software. Carers can complete their training from anywhere, while on the go for easy learning. 

Create customized courses that cover not only the practical aspects of care but also emphasize communication skills, privacy, dignity, and empathy. Ongoing training on the latest care techniques and technologies can also improve care quality. 

Reliable communication 

Connecteam’s employee communication app comes with in-app chat, employee updates, and a company directory so you and your staff can easily communicate no matter where they’re working. Anyone can easily answer questions, get information, and adjust care plans as needed.

Simplified time tracking

Keep track of everyone’s hours with the employee time clock. Carers can clock in and out of work right from their job sites on their phones, and the app immediately sends everyone’s hours to automated timesheets for payroll.

Connecteam also comes with GPS-tracking and geofencing to ensure your employees don’t stray from their job sites while they’re on the clock or clock in and out when they aren’t at work. 

Easily assign and monitor tasks with digital checklists and reports

Create tasks with digital forms, reports, and checklists directly in the app so carers can view them right from clients’ homes. They can mark items on lists as done as they complete each task, fill out reports and forms, and send them right back to you with a tap for easy progress monitoring.