If it hasn’t happened to you yet, you are lucky – but at some point, your home care business might face some backlash over something you did or didn’t do. The Internet is practically a free-for-all, where anyone can share a feedback and voice their concerns.

Why Should You Care?

Research shows that 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, and 72% report that positive reviews make them trust a business more.

Social media is public, which means every time a customer writes a negative review about your business; the entire social media audience is able to see it. People judge you based on various criteria:

• How quickly you respond?
• What is your reaction?
• What is the customer’s reaction?
• How does the whole thing end?

People on social media platforms, be it Facebook, Instagram or Twitter literally live there. They post in the morning, while having breakfast, after dinner, and even in the middle of the night. So, if you plan to take your business to social media, be ready to do the same.

Here’s How to Handle Negative Client Reviews on Social Media like a Pro

• Ignoring Online Reviews Isn’t In Your Best Interest:

  You might think you should ignore the detractors in order to avoid getting into a contentious back-and-forth on a social platform. However, responding to negative comments or bad reviews on social media shows that you actually care about the concerns of your clients. On the other hand, ignoring them make things worse by giving off the perception that you do not care about them.

• Never Ever Remove Negative/Bad Comments:

  You might be tempted to remove negative comments, but you should never ever do that. If you do so, be sure the upset customer will be back: angrier, louder, and more frustrated.

  Note: There’s one case when you should remove a negative comment: when you are more than 200% sure that it is coming from a troll. If someone writes irrational things about your business or abuses you, delete it.

• See the Positive in the Negative:

  Negative reviews actually have a silver lining for your business. Although it is difficult to see the real value behind those not-so-pleasant feedbacks, remember there are companies out there which pay big money just to survey people to get insight on how they can better themselves. So when you get it for free, see it as a chance to learn and improve. You will be amazed at how crafting a decent response can help you turn a negative feedback into an opportunity to regain trust of the reviewer, and even win over some new customers.

• Carefully Craft Your Response:

  It is obvious to be offended or angry when someone badmouths you on a public platform. However, you must cool down before responding to any critical client feedback, especially when you think their opinion is wrong, unfair, or ill-intentioned. Come across as a reasonable person and not someone who flies off the handle after seeing the negative feedback.

• Ignoring Online Reviews Isn’t In Your Best Interest:

  You might think you should ignore the detractors in order to avoid getting into a contentious back-and-forth on a social platform. However, responding to negative comments or bad reviews on social media shows that you actually care about the concerns of your clients. On the other hand, ignoring them make things worse by giving off the perception that you do not care about them.

Tips:

• Do not attack
• Be careful with your tone
• Avoid tit-for-tat
• Show empathy
• Be authentic and conversational
• Be thankful for the feedback

Follow Up To Show You Care:

Once you listen to the concern of a client, do not leave it there. Contact them to ensure they are happy with the steps you’ve taken for rectifying what they thought was wrong. Not only will this make you feel better, but will also help you create a culture that embraces both positive and negative feedback.

You have to be no less than a customer concierge, doing everything you can to make every one of your customers feel acknowledged, appreciated, and heard. Social media gives businesses the tools to do that for the first time in a scalable way.”

-Gary Vaynerchuk

So, follow the aforementioned tips and take advantage of the opportunity called ‘Negative Client Reviews’.

Mary Johnson sat on her favorite old rocking chair; head bowed with tears pouring down her cheeks, as she recalled her recent visit to the hospital. “It was awful, just awful,” said Johnson, 81, who was diagnosed with osteoporosis last year. Lately, her condition got worse, leaving her dependant on family members to get around. Overwhelmed with the additional responsibility of caring for an aging senior, they hired an in-home caregiver that could assist her with daily living tasks.

There are currently 12 million people in the U.S. like Mary Johnson who receive home health care services. Despite the demand for professional caregivers being at a constant rise, most care agencies struggle to get clients. After all, selling something that most people either do not want or are not ready to buy brings forth many challenges. From a marketing stand-point, there are a few things agencies can do to succeed.

Target All Potential Referral Sources:

Brainstorm. Who do you think can give you referrals other than your existing clients? How about sources, such as churches, the Chamber of Commerce, senior centers, clubs, or organizations that work with seniors? These sources may be able to connect you with the home care prospects that may be looking for what you offer. Reaching the right people at the right time is the first step to a successful marketing strategy.

See Through the Customers’ Eyes:

No one wants to see themselves as a frail, elderly person in need of care. As most people (seniors and their families) are so disconnected from the world of home care, they often see ‘home care’ as something only meant for those who can’t thrive on their own. As a home care agency, you need to see through their eyes and assure them that home care doesn’t imply to loss of independence, but is an enhancement of independence.

Focus on Creating Great Customer Experiences:

Knowing what the whole research and buying experience is like for a senior and their family gives valuable insights to a home care agency owner. Take this journey yourself to learn what being in the shoes of a potential client feels like. Start by mystery shopping your competitors. See if the experience impresses you as a potential client or intimidates you. This will help you twofold. First, by get better understanding of the approach your competitors’ take and second, allowing you to tailor your operations to meet clients’ actual needs.

With a strategic marketing plan in place and keeping in mind these tips, you much more likely to be successful.

According to the Home Care Bench marking Study, in recent years, the median rate of caregiver turnover has gone up from 39.4% in 2009 to 65.7% in 2017.

The odds are that two third of your caregivers are going to quit their job at your agency next year. Although most home care business owners believe they work hard when it comes to retaining their employees, caregiver turnover remains one of their major threats. While hiring new caregivers is the alternative home care providers always have, they unfortunately hit the panic button when doing so. The panic is usually caused due to the escalating threat of caregiver shortage and caregiver turnover, which is combined with the pressure to quickly fill a shift for a brand-new client who just called. The quick hires often aren’t vetted properly and can hurt the customer experience you have been striving hard to offer. A recent research reveals that more than 80% of caregivers who leave in the first twelve months do so in the first ninety days – leaving your home care clients dissatisfied and you hunting for new caregivers.

To sum up, recruiting top talent – and retaining them – continues to be a balancing act that most home care agencies struggle with. The issue has become an epidemic in the home health care industry and there is a lot of evidence available to support the notion. According to the Home Care Bench marking Study in 2017, 77% of home care providers stated that caregiver shortage is one of the biggest threats to their agency.

With this caregiver crisis spreading nationwide with no end in sight, what’s the solution to this shrinking talent pool?

In a recent poll conducted by Just for CNAs, nurse aides were asked what organizations could do or provide to ensure their loyalty. 99% of the respondents said,”Higher Wages”. Unfortunately, most home healthcare agencies are not able to afford raises often. There are many that even struggle paying their current payroll every month while still providing high quality care services. So, if we keep higher wages off the table, what all can be done to decrease caregiver turnover? Keep reading to find out.

It’s Time for BOLD Thinking!

PHI has long been advocating the “Quality Care through Quality Jobs” model and arguing that a well-trained, robust, and stable workforce is most likely to pay off in lower turnover rates and higher quality care which families can count on. In the current era when the governments, as well as families, seem to tighten their belt, care agencies need to ask themselves many complex questions. Some of these are:

• What do you think makes a quality job in the gig-economy?
• How do you make senior care affordable while ensuring your workers’ income is sufficient for supporting a family?
• What kind of training do caregivers need to meet the complex mental, physical, and emotional needs of seniors wanting to age in place?
• How can in-home caregivers be integrated into the care teams in a better way?

The caregiver crisis is real and it is happening now. Be the solution by showing your team of caregivers how important they are to you and the healthcare world. Do not wait! Start today.