Grow Your Home Care Agency: Brand, Data, and Technology

Dr. Michelle Rankine, a multi-location Right at Home franchise owner based in Lewisville, Texas, says music anchors everything she does. In her session at the April Sensi virtual customer summit, she elaborated on her leadership philosophy, her approach to marketing, and the way she leverages technology for her home care agency’s growth.

Make sure everyone’s singing the same song

Michelle says a musician wants to be heard, so they need to be visible, amplified, and on every platform. She applies that same logic to running her home care business.

“There is no better marketer than the (home care agency) owner themselves. Make sure you amplify what is the song for your industry.”

For Michelle, this means showing up at every level of the organization. Whether she’s speaking to a room of a hundred people or having a one-on-one conversation, she uses every interaction as an opportunity to reinforce her agency’s philosophy of care. Her marketers share that same message. Even her care team’s talking points are built around that same language of care.

Her advice to other home care owners? Formulate a brand narrative, a philosophy that’s distinctly your own. “There is no better marketer than the (home care agency) owner themselves. Make sure you amplify what is the song for your industry.”  Then, in every communication, take a page out of the musicians playbook and sing that song to everyone that’ll listen.

Build a referral ecosystem

Once, after a presentation on care intelligence to the leadership team at an assisted living facility, she ran into the activity director on her way out of the meeting. That person has daily contact with every resident, could see the value of Michelle’s services, and wanted more information.

“Don’t miss the opportunity because every person has the benefit of knowing what you do. Blanket your referral sources.”

Every person in the care ecosystem can advocate for your agency. If they’re interested, primary care physicians, activity directors, discharge planners, and social workers should all hear your pitch. You limit your agency’s growth if you stick to the “usual” referral targets. “Don’t miss the opportunity (to present to interested people in the care ecosystem) because every person has the benefit of knowing what you do. Blanket your referral sources.”

When you present real data and real outcomes, you give people a reason to refer. Facility owners can’t ignore stats like this: seniors with dizziness are over 60% more likely to experience future falls. And, falls are particularly dangerous for seniors because one out of five falls results in a serious injury, such as a head trauma or a hip fracture.

Invite interested people into your referral pipeline. Do this by opening both figurative and literal doors to everyone in the care ecosystem: tell them your story, give them a reason to advocate for you in the future.

The case for data-driven care

Michelle has been in home care for over 13 years. For most of that time, she describes the process of onboarding a client as reactive: meeting families, asking them for anecdotal behavioral and health information, and making assessments based on a snapshot in time.

“For the past 13 years, I (have had to) trust the family (when I do an intake). I can assess based on what I see in a moment, which is not enough. But now I have data over time.”

The shift to data-informed care has changed the conversations she’s been able to have. She now walks into family care coordination sessions armed with documented trends. Detailed alert patterns, caregiver activity, and behavioral shifts give families and healthcare partners something concrete to act on. “For the past 13 years, I (have had to) trust the family (when I do an intake). I can assess based on what I see in a moment, which is not enough. But now I have data over time.”

She compares it to wearing a fitness tracker. WWearables give individuals insight into how they slept or how elevated their heart rate was, technology-enabled virtual support gives agencies insight into what’s happening for clients between visits.

Home care owners know that better data drives better outcomes and it builds credibility with referral sources and families alike. When you show a physician or director of nursing insights from a documented care report, you become a trusted clinical partner.

Sensi Solo Care as an entry point for home care

One of the most interesting parts of Michelle’s conversation is her strategy to court a segment of seniors home care agencies aren’t serving yet: the 60% not ready to accept in-home care.

These seniors value independence, and the moment caregiving is mentioned, many feel that independence slipping away. Rather than seeing this group as a “not yet” market, Michelle sees it as the front door.

“The moment we can get in the home earlier is the opportunity for us to show them what we (can) do.”

Her model of care maps technology-first monitoring of Sensi Solo Care as an entry point for clients who aren’t ready for full care. Blended care, consisting of technology-first monitoring plus caregiver hours can be the next intermediary phase as needs grow. “The moment we can get in the home earlier is the opportunity for us to show them what we (can) do.”

And even after a client has recovered or reduced their care hours, staying connected through virtual care support keeps the agency-client relationship active. For home care agencies, this is a growth opportunity. Families who call to ask questions already need something, make sure you lead with your care message and have available service options to offer so you can meet the seniors where they are in their care journey.

Embed tools and technology into daily operations

Michelle advises growing home care agencies to remain accountable to innovation. Any tool, system, or innovation only works when your team embeds it into daily operations. She uses a refreshingly honest analogy: she walks past her Peloton every day with every intention of using it and often doesn’t.

“You have to make sure that this is integrated into every part of your business. Find the cheerleaders, connect all the dots.”

Right at Home, Lewisville solved this by creating internal marketing materials, including a custom magazine, with their technology and standard of care front and center. The marketing materials put the agency’s philosophy front and center; and gave the team clear talking points for clients and agency partners. “You have to make sure that this is integrated into every part of your business. Find the cheerleaders, connect all the dots.” Care coordinators use data in care plan reviews. Marketers reference it in the field. Owners pitch it to referral partners.

The lesson: adoption is a leadership responsibility. If you want your team to use something, embed it in your processes, your culture, and your standards of care from day one.

Growth strategies for home care agency owners

Michelle’s approach aligns leadership, brand, data, and technology into a system that serves clients and fuels growth at the same time. For home care agencies that want to grow and differentiate their services in an increasingly competitive market, her playbook is clear and actionable.

• You are your agency’s best marketer. Make sure you have a care agency philosophy, share it with your admin and care team, and build your agency culture around it.
• Expand your referral ecosystem. Every person in the care ecosystem is a potential advocate. Present data, tell stories, and go broad.
• Data transforms your credibility. Technology-enabled virtual care documents trends that improve care decisions and position your agency as a clinical partner.
• Treat technology-first virtual support as a business development strategy, not only a care tool. Seniors not yet ready for in-home care represent a significant, underserved market, and a door to a long-term relationship.
• Tools only work if your team actually uses them. Build your technology into your processes, materials, and standards of care from day one.

For more information on growing your agency by implementing technology-enabled virtual support, contact us.

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