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From Denise's Desk: Positioning for Increased Referrals

Throughout the past six months we've developed several new products designed to help strengthen your agency's position in the mind of the referral source. These products have included special observance cards, disease specific brochures and calendars. We've created these products because we understand the importance of positioning when growing referrals.

Some of the most successful of these products were our Nurses' Day. Many of our clients phoned us saying what a dramatic impression these particular customized gifts made. One home health agency account executive even told us how it resulted in a referral from a source that had never referred to them before!

Another of our more successful products has been our customized home health and hospice calendars. And, our disease specific brochures have been terrific tools for creating a position as a valued partner in patient education.

So, why are these products proving so successful in earning our clients referrals? It's because these products are not simply trinkets, they are products with messages specifically targeted to the home health and hospice industry. And, presented consistently and frequently over time, these items and others like them help to create a bond between your agency and the referral source. In short, they position your agency as a partner that understands the importance of working in unison with the referral source. And that's a benefit referral sources value most.

As your agency moves into the second half of the year, take time now to consider whether your referrals (both from active and new sources) have grown as much as you'd hoped. If you're falling short of reaching your goals, you might want to take a second look at the overall message your account executives have been delivering and the position they are building for your agency in the mind of your referral sources. (You might even want to consider conducting an informal collateral review.) Arming your account executives with the right products and the right message can make all the difference between a stalled outreach effort and a successful year of increased referrals.