Marketing in-home care services can be an expensive adventure unless you know some of the secrets that make marketing a small business successful. Having consulted with in-home care services and elder care service providers for many years, I show providers that there are some key strategies keep in mind while formulating their marketing plans.

We hear a lot of talk about "branding". Although branding is important, the first step is to develop what I call your USP- unique selling proposition. What is it that sets you apart from all of the other in-home care providers in your area? What makes you unique? Can you say it in 2 sentences? Example: We provide 1 free bath visit for every 10 hours of service provided. Or, we discount our hourly rate on a sliding scale basis. Or, we provide concierge services at no additional charge.

Once your unique selling proposition is established, the next step is to concentrate on making the phone ring in your offices. Your primary job as a business owner, and specifically a senior service provider is to turn prospects into leads and leads into clients. Using the same style of ad that the corporate franchise office uses for branding purposes can be costly and too expensive for the small busines owner. Some franchises are even encouraging using Google AdWords without teaching their franchise owners the proper technique, and how to avoid spending thousands of dollars for clicks that do not turn into clients.

Using a more cost effective approach to marketing senior services includes changing the way your print materials (specifically newspaper and yellow pages ads) attract a reader's attention. Using attention grabbing headlines and free offers are a must. The text in your ads and other print materials needs to engaging as well. Stay away from the frequently used platitudes that so many senior services use over and over again.