Business Development: Strategic Partnerships to Drive You Business
As the home care industry grows and matures, Homewatch CareGivers has positioned itself as the leader by establishing a presence in every niche of the industry’s landscape from partnerships in home health and hospice to remote care monitoring and work life solutions like backup care and employee assistance programs. We know that a more expansive reach helps us to strengthen our brand.
One of the most valuable things we can do for our Franchise Partners is develop strong relationships on international, national and regional levels that are impossible for local owners to cultivate on their own. With our international footprint, systems, service offerings and streamlined communications, we are able to favorably negotiate on behalf of the system and to create economies of scale for our Business Partners.
We estimate that 10% of our system’s gross revenues are attributable to our business development relationships and activities. The types of partnerships that the Home Office Business Development Team establishes fit into the following categories.
Provider Networks
Relationships where we have a contractual relationship and/or are part of a provider network, either members of the network or more typically as “preferred” or “premier” providers. Where we have preferred relationships, our system provides approximately 20% of the total home care services for our partners nationwide.
Within this category our partners include those in:
--Long term care insurance
--Work/Life Solutions (i.e. backup care and employee assistance programs)
--Workers’ compensation
--Managed care
Nurse Assessment Opportunities
The nurse assessments referred to us by third party administrators in long term care insurance give our Franchise Partners’ nurses extra work and provide an additional revenue stream.
Lead Generators
We bring our negotiating power to those companies that provide our system with client leads.
Strategic Alliances
Our strategic alliances are those that have the ability to bring you additional revenue and exposure in your local market. Two key strategic alliances include our mutual referral relationship with a national home health and hospice organization and our telehealth and remote monitoring partnership with Healthcom. We are also working with facilitators in the field of medical tourism to provide before and after care services for their clients.
Our Business Development Team vets, pilot tests, supports and tracks these relationships as well as incurring the legal costs reviewing agreements. We are in constant contact with our existing Business Partners and always working on new relationships that are profitable for our Franchise Partners.
Finally, our team identifies leadership and membership opportunities in industry associations. We are active in the following: National Private Duty Association, Private Duty Home Care Association, Society for Human Resource Management, International Franchise Association and the National Association of Women Business Owners.