This post was originally published in January 2018 and has now been updated to reflect the current provider environment.

As the NDIS and Aged Care sectors reform and expand, we are seeing a growing number of emerging Care Management Systems (CMSs) entering the market – each offering their own unique blend of functionality, sophistication and design.

While they differ in appearance and features, they all share a common desire to help service providers manage their operations, improve efficiencies and deliver transparency on areas like financials, staff activity and client care. So which one is right for your organisation?

Our team has direct experience in the sector using some of the most comprehensive and user-friendly systems available. Based on this we have put together our top 4 recommended platforms for comparison.

Top 4 Care Management Systems Comparison Table

Brevity

Why you’ll love it

If you’re an NDIS provider; smaller in size; and have a tight budget, then Brevity could be for you. Even better it’s easy to use, has all the key functions you need to operate at a base level including support around client record management, HR modules, rostering and even some reportable analytics.

In short, yes, it does the job. Does it have the full automation that other systems have? No. But you wouldn’t expect that with the price you’re paying. It’s also great for providers who do support coordination, plan management & high intensity personal activities (clinical care) and private/brokered Aged Care (Home Care) services.

Be aware

Whilst it has the functionality you need to operate, you’ll find like an emerging wine connoisseur, your taste is likely to change as your business grows. The wine that you once liked doesn’t quite satisfy your needs anymore. You start to look for improved quality and substance. You want to tick more boxes. This is where Brevity can fall over for some providers — not being able grow and adapt as your business grows and demands more.

Summary

Brevity is a great first or second stone that represent the steps of growth in your business. Some providers don’t want to see massive growth, particularly sole traders or services operating in smaller regions — in these contexts, Brevity does the job. For those who have a bigger picture in mind, then consider a platform that is able to adequately grow with you — particularly if you have multiple sites, lots of staff and a more complex operational framework.

SupportAbility

Why you’ll love it:

SupportAbility is a cloud-based platform specifically developed for the Australian disability sector – the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

The platform allows providers to assess participant goal progress and support the changing needs of participants over time as well as plan, monitor and report on their funding. It comes with some solid reporting tools, with in-build functionality to make sure staff are recording everything they need to and following process. Providers can also track progress and report back to the NDIS which supports evidence-based service delivery.

While SupportAbility offers all the standard administrative tools like staff rostering and client scheduling, the platform includes a unique Human Resources module to support staff professional development and promote best practice. The platform houses a good range of financial and reporting tools including full NDIS funding and budget management tools. An online learning centre means service providers are able to learn the system quite easily.

The platform houses a good range of financial and reporting tools including full NDIS funding and budget management tools. An online learning centre means service providers are able to learn the system quite easily.

Be aware:

Having a platform that’s built to support organisations operating in a specific sector is great but has obvious disadvantages for organisations who are, or intend to, diversify their services across other sectors such as Aged Care, Child Care or Employment.

SupportAbility does have some very basic lead nurturing and marketing features, however, its primary purpose is care management. In addition to this, while SupportAbility can handle care management for clients in other sectors it does not manage billing or reporting and integrations for anything other than disability services.

Summary:

SupportAbility offers a well-packaged platform, specifically designed for NDIS service providers. Amongst the list of other Care Management Systems available in Australia, SupportAbility sits (and is priced) somewhere in the middle.

The platform offers a great suite of features, designed to support evidence-based service delivery within a quality management framework. This works well for both clients (participants) and being cloud based, provides transparency for both staff and clients.

Lumary

Why you’ll love it:

Lumary (as featured in SmartCompany) is one of the most exciting and fastest growing Care Management System used across both the Disability and Aged Care sectors — and it’s not by chance.

First up, Lumary has done its homework. Instead of mirroring many other systems, the platform has been imagined entirely from the ground up whilst leveraging the power of one of the World’s leading CMS providers, Salesforce. It also focusses on some serious efficiencies around workflow, operations, claiming and other key areas.

Further, Lumary’s completely cloud-based platform also reflects updates within its platform when compliance requirements change, this includes pricing. Whilst it doesn’t provide state and federal regulatory updates or your business’ policies and procedures to govern your operations, the team ensures you are operating within a compliant environment.

Aged Care providers have the added benefit or being able to utilise an interface with the Federal Government’s Services Australia for improved claiming processes.

Be aware:

It’s a great, intuitive system that give you remarkable transparency over their business, it does come with a price tag. This is why Lumary is most suitable for fast growing, profitable (and generally larger) organisations who have the budget to invest in such as system.

Summary:

We’ve all done it. Walked into a vehicle show room, seeing the car of your dreams and then seeing the price tag and cringing. If nothing else, it’s worth getting a demo and weigh up the benefits versus the cost and see if it’s a good fit.

VisiCase

Why you’ll love it:

Visicase is a comprehensive, cloud-based care management platform that ticks all the boxes (plus quite a few more). What I particularly like about Visicase is the attention to smaller details with a significant emphasis on streamlining workflow and automating processes. The Platform comes with integrated rostering, accounting and finance interfaces so you don’t need to worry about mix-and-matching other software. It’s also supported by a powerful workflow engine that keeps track of what needs to be done and by whom.

The platform boasts a user-friendly client portal that provides access to their secure portal so they take an active part in care planning and given transparency of their plan progress, tasks and budgets.

The final big tick comes from the Platform’s adaptability. Unlike other systems, VisiCase’s Platform is not confined to a single market environment, but rather has built in multi-sector proficiency. With a growing number of businesses choosing to extend services from just disability to also include aged care, employment (and more), this is a real benefit.

New: For smaller providers, Visicase has released Fast Start — a cost-effective, rapid-rollout solution for businesses seeking to automate processes around NDIS service delivery, quickly and economically. It comes with pre-configured NDIS-compliant settings if you’re happy with a more out-of-the box, less tailored solution.

Be aware:

It’s hard to find flaws with systems as comprehensive and feature-packed as this one — but that’s exactly where it fails to address some business needs. It’s hard to ignore the point that Visicase has stormed ahead with system sophistication and automation. Where it can become difficult is in the pricing — additional modules mean more money. There can also be a significant setup fee, but this also depends on the size and complexity of your organisation.

Summary:

Visicase is an impressive, multifunctional Care Management System that offers an ‘all-in-one’ solution for your organisation. It allows streamlining of remedial tasks, optimisation of resources and greater transparency on your broader operations. VisiCase does a good job at enabling individual care planning and budgeting as well as measuring progress towards desired outcomes.

With advanced integration facilities, intuitive workflow management and customisation, it’s really an all-in-one care management system that breaks many boundaries, making it very difficult to compete with.

How do you choose?

When choosing what system is right for you, make a list of the main functions and features that are important to you in a CMS. Because there is such a wide range of options available, we recommend getting details and quotes from at least 3 potential CMS systems.

Key things to consider in determining the right system for you:

• What functions does it include (e.g. timesheets/payroll, staff records, client records, invoicing, reporting/metrics)?
• Ability to integrate with other systems (e.g. financial management or workforce management)?
• Availability of Apps (and how is privacy managed)?
• What is the back-up system/typical down-time of the system?
• How will it grow with your organisation (e.g. adding other service types for different sectors)?
• Cost (and cost as you grow) – set fee/per user/subscription?
• Minimum contract term (cancel anytime/monthly/yearly/3 yearly)?
• Minimum specifications (will your existing computer systems need upgrading)?
• Ease of use (request a demo)
• Any training offered to your team initially (and ongoing)?
• Support Desk availability if you need help?
• If you are transitioning from an existing system, ability to transfer/upload data from your old system?

The post Top 4 Care Management Systems | NDIS & Aged Care Providers appeared first on Amergin.

Whether you’re an established provider, or just starting out, NDIS Provider Marketing will play a key role in all strategic planning efforts for your business.

With the growth of the scheme continuing at a steady pace as we head into 2021, there’s no shortage of providers looking to capture their share of the market. What this means for participants is what the scheme set out to achieve – A greater level of access for people with disability. What this means for you however is simple – more competition.

So… what can you do to help set yourself apart from the competition? How do you even know who your direct competition is? Have you taken the time look? For many, the term ‘marketing’ is one that brings a feeling of dread and worry, resulting in it being dumped in the ‘too hard’ pile and left for later. The problem is – while you’re waiting for later, your competitors are capitalising.

Now don’t get me wrong, Marketing does not have to be your strong suit – there are professionals that can help when the time comes. But as a small business owner, it’s important to at least get an understanding of some of the fundamentals. And – you’ll be relieved to know – there’s a few things you can be doing right now to help give you a competitive advantage. Here’s a few to get you started.

3 NDIS Provider Marketing Tips

01. Competition Analysis

Start by taking a look at your closest competitors. There’s a good chance if you’ve been operating for a little while that you might already be aware of a few. Even so, an important part of staying competitive is staying ahead. While marketing agencies and the like go into incredible detail when conducting a competition analysis, we’ll keep things simple for now. Open google in a new tab and search some keywords related to your business. Some examples include:

• ndis provider near me
• ndis provider [your location]
• [your location] ndis providers
• [service name] near me
• ndis [service name] [your location]

Continue to make a list of these keywords and phrases that relate to your business and services that you can search for at any time. For results that start to pique your interest, note them down in a spreadsheet for easy reference and safe keeping. Now, start asking yourself the following questions and add the answers in as separate columns alongside each competitor.

1. How many employees do they have?
2. What services do they provide?
3. How many locations do they have?
4. What is their pricing model?
5. What are their selling points?
6. What social media channels are they present on?
7. How do they engage with their audience?
8. What is your point of difference?

Congratulations – You’ve just started compiling your very first competitor analysis! Continue checking back and adding to your spreadsheet over time and you’ll be amazed at what you’ll find. Whilst this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to conducting a competition analysis, it’s a great first step to getting proactive in your NDIS Provider Marketing efforts.

02. Conduct Your Own SWOT Analysis

You may have come across the term SWOT Analysis before, but have you conducted one for your own business? If not, it’s a great way to take a critical look at your business to take stock of your current situation and help identify where improvements can be made. A SWOT analysis consists of the following parts:

1. S – Strengths
2. W – Weaknesses
3. O – Opportunities
4. T – Threats

Sit down with your team and brainstorm each of the four categories in detail. Some questions to start asking yourself could include:

Strengths

1. What do you do well?
2. What is your point of difference against competitors?
3. What resources and staff do you have available?

Weaknesses

1. Where are you lacking?
2. What advantage/s does your competition have over you?
3. Do you have any limitations?

Opportunities

1. Is there an emerging need for our services?
2. Have we received any good press or media coverage?
3. Is competition in our region low?

Threats

1. Who are our competitors? (See ‘Competition Analysis’)
2. Are there any emerging competitors we are aware of?
3. Is the operational landscape changing or evolving?
4. Can we keep with and meet demand?
5. Are our clients happy with our services?

03. Follow the Data

When it comes to Marketing, data is your friend. Having a good understanding of what data is available to you – and how to read that data – is going to give you a huge advantage. The source of this data is going to be different for every business, but your past and present clients are a great starting point. Ask yourself:

1. How did they find your services?
2. Are they happy with your service offering?
3. Where are they located?
4. What made them come to you over another provider?

The great thing about utilising online tools to assist with your NDIS provider Marketing efforts is that they all generally come with reporting functionalities.

• Do you have a website? Ensure that Google Analytics is in place and tracking user engagement.
• Do you utilise a CRM? Set up Weekly and Monthly reports to help get a snapshot of your database
• Are you on Social Media? Start analysing the audience tools to find out demographic information, interests and more when people engage with your page.

The more time you take to understand this data, the more you’ll understand how to market your business and differentiate your services from competitors.

The post NDIS Provider Marketing: 3 Things You Can Do Right Now to Get a Competitive Advantage appeared first on Amergin.

It’s no secret that without a business strategy, you don’t get results. Your strategy is your map to achieving your objectives and your vision. But here’s the thing – your team culture eats your strategy for breakfast.

Does that sound familiar? “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” was made famous by well-known management expert, Peter Drucker.

When you break it down, it means no matter how powerful your strategy is, its success relies on the people who deliver it.

When you have an engaged, high-performing team, your business thrives. Your team are aligned with the values and direction of your business and want to go the extra mile.

However, when your team is showing unhealthy signs, not only is your strategy impacted, so is your team morale, your client services and your bottom line.

The signs of an unhealthy team culture aren’t always obvious.

They can start off small – an under-performing team member isn’t making progress or poor client feedback is starting to become more regular. When you don’t have the right strategy to manage these, the problems can escalate.

There are five ways you can nip these issues in the bud and transform your team into a high-performing one.

To get started, download your free copy of our community sector playbook, Five ways to build an unstoppable team.

It will walk you through the mistakes to avoid and the changes you can start making today to build a high-performing team and accelerate results in your business.

And if like many businesses your strategy has taken a hit this year, or gone out the window, you can get your free 2020 Strategic Planning Guide to drive your business forward with certainty and clarity.

With a high performing team and a solid strategy, you’ll have a winning combo to charge into 2021 in full swing!

The post Why Your Team Culture is Eating Your Strategy for Breakfast appeared first on Amergin.

It’s no secret that the events of 2020 have left many community service organisations scrambling to cover costs, maintain clients and future proof themselves all at the same time.

Unfortunately, this has seen many businesses – particularly those operating in the NDIS – having to operate on a skeleton budget or even in some instances, close down altogether. On the flip side of this, we’ve thankfully also seen a high percentage of organisations thriving through the limitations and restrictions that came about due to Covid-19.

So what exactly is the difference between the success of some community service organisations and others?

The simple answer? Planning. As a business owner myself, I’ve seen firsthand what incredible change and growth can come from effective business planning – not only from Amergin’s perspective, but from our clients’ as well. If you’re anything like I was 8 years ago, you might be sitting there right now thinking ‘What good is a day out of the office going to do me? I need to be present and ‘doing’ to measure my success.’ And to be perfectly honest, (and to what my colleagues can attest) this is simply not true.

What is true however, is that if you don’t take the time to strategically map out your pathway to success, it’s going to be a long and tumultuous ride. Even worse – you might end up spending a lot of money on ideas or initiatives that don’t offer any serious return on investment. And that’s where things can take a turn for the worse.

With all of that said and done, I’ve decided to put the proverbial pen to paper and share 4 budget conscious tactics you – as a business owner or manager operating in the community sector – can put in place from today (and for free!) to help prepare for unexpected circumstances.

The most important thing community service organisations can do now through these times of change and uncertainty is to keep going. Step back, take in the bigger picture and start taking action on the things you can change, to help get you through the things that you can’t.

The post 4 Budget Conscious Tactics Community Service Organisations Can Implement Right Now appeared first on Amergin.

Community Organisation Strategic Planning keeps you moving forward. It’s your secret weapon for charging ahead when you’re faced with disruption and uncertainty.

But knowing how to create a Strategic Plan that genuinely works is challenging.

You can spend your precious time and hard work creating a Strategic Plan, only to find it sits on a shelf, collecting dust, because it doesn’t translate into real deliverable actions or doesn’t quite get you to where you want to be. It can leave you feeling disappointed and like it’s been a waste of time.

How to Create Your Community Organisations’ Strategic Plan

There is a way to create a Strategic Plan that translates into the growth you’re working so hard for. It just needs to cover 3 key ingredients.

We’re going to break down the first one – it’s the one that can often be missed and it’s the foundation to a solid plan.

Refining your Vision, Mission and Values

Your Vision, Mission and Values are the fundamentals to your Strategy. They give everyone a shared direction and purpose, and your people know what your business stands for.

When you have a clear Vision, Mission and Values, you can develop a Strategic Plan with the specific priorities and goals that get you to your destination.

So, if you already have a Vision, Mission and Values, why refine them?

When it comes to creating a Vision, most businesses think about their Vision through the lens of their organisation, but they may not think about how it meets the needs of the sector they operate in or the clients they serve.

Your best Vision is where the needs of your business, the community services sector and your clients overlap.

When you refine your Vision so that it reflects what your business is capable of and how it meets the needs of the community sector and your clients, you can drive forward with clarity on what makes you unique, and how you can share this with the very people who need your help.

Your Mission and Values should align with your refined Vision so you may need to revisit these too.

The post Community Organisation Strategic Planning: Could You Be Missing This Key Ingredient? appeared first on Amergin.

Before taking you through these, I want to point out that if you’re reading this article, you’re likely operating in a system that is either fully or partially funded by the Australian Government (including the NDIS, Aged Care or individual block funding arrangements). This means that ultimately, the need for services will not actually decline – in fact, it may increase!

Don’t get excited quite yet… Whilst understanding the need for such services is expected to remain constant throughout this uncertain period – when I say ‘period’, I’m talking possibly several months – the ability to actually deliver or receive services will undeniably be impacted, although to varying degrees.

How then, can you service a market where demand hasn’t changed, rather there has been a major disruption to the usual service supply chain brought by the Coronavirus (or COVID-19)? Let’s use a residential aged care facility as an example, where elderly residents are arguably at greatest risk of death should they be exposed to the virus (compared to younger, healthier people). How does a facility not only protect its residents but manage an internal infection where the risk of several fatalities is significant?

This is a scenario that many business owners are not accustomed to dealing with. The following tips may help you mitigate impacts that threaten your community service organisation.

We are, without a doubt, in uncharted territory. Never before have we as a country had to face such an enormous and potentially catastrophic health and economic emergency that continues to test us on many levels.

From purely a business perspective, it’s important to maintain a strategic and measured approach to navigate through. Consider your risk, look to your systems, ask for help and most importantly, try to plan for a range of scenarios. You’ll then be in the best possible position to get you through to the other side.

FREE Provider Forum

If you have any questions, jump on the FREE Everyday Practice forum – Coronavirus (COVID-19) and NDIS Service Delivery – the moderators are able to help clarify any questions you might have about providing NDIS supports and services to NDIS Participants during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Have more questions or need dedicated business support from our team?

Amergin is committed to helping providers get through this difficult period.To do this, we have put together a Business Response Team who can help you address specific business issues you might be experiencing now, or anticipate happening in the coming weeks as a result of the pandemic. This might include:

• Planning
• Enactment of remote service delivery
• Clinical response
• Anything else you might need

Amergin considers itself an extension of your business, and like you, we are also working hard to be responsive during the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic.

The post 4 Ways To Help Your Business Survive the Coronavirus appeared first on Amergin.

]]> 9477 /google-analytics-overview/ Thu, 28 Sep 2017 06:15:49 +0000 /?p=6411 For the purpose of this article, we are using Google’s Demo Google Analytics Dashboard to represent data in the below screenshots. These examples therefore do not depict true or correct data. Google Analytics is a powerful and robust tool used for tracking user activity on your website. Not only does it give you a good […]

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]]> For the purpose of this article, we are using Google’s Demo Google Analytics Dashboard to represent data in the below screenshots. These examples therefore do not depict true or correct data.

Google Analytics is a powerful and robust tool used for tracking user activity on your website. Not only does it give you a good understanding of how many visits your website is receiving, it also provides a range of actionable data that can be used in conjunction with your broader marketing efforts. Unfortunately, despite Google’s regular enhancements and updates, Analytics can be a bit of a beast when it comes to breaking down the data.

If there’s anything we’ve learned here at Amergin, it’s not to get overwhelmed with the amount of data available; it’s to focus on the data that provides value to you and your business. We’ve compiled a basic overview below for you to start understanding your own Google Analytics Dashboard and begin navigating through the information.

The Google Analytics Overview

Setting timeframes

Before we start, it’s important to mention that the date range can be changed at any time, and the associated data will be reflected accordingly. By default, your dashboard will display data from the Last 7 Days. You can however change this to hone in on specific timeframes in which you would like to analyze further. There are additional presets ranging from Today through to the Last 30 days or alternatively, you can set the Date Range manually using the calendar. This is particularly handy if a marketing campaign has been launched and you want to view data corresponding to the campaign dates.

Now to start digging…

1. Audience Overview

This is the best place to start for anyone wanting to get a basic understanding of the traffic landing on their website. Here, you can view the following data:

• Sessions – Total amount of visits to your website, including repeat visits.
• Users – Total amount of unique visitors to your website.
• Pageviews – The total number of pages viewed in the set timeframe, including repeat visits to a single page.
• Pages / Session – Average number of pages viewed during a session.
• Average Session Duration – The average length of a session.
• Bounce Rate – The percentage of single-page sessions in which there was no interaction with the page. ie The user navigated away from your website.
• % New Sessions – An estimate of the percentage of first time visits.

Digging a little deeper in the Audience category, you can also discover basic Demographic information of your users, the technology they are using to visit your website and even what platform they viewed the website on (ie. Desktop, Tablet, Mobile Phone).

2. Acquisition

Simply put, the Acquisition Overview outlines how visitors reach your website. This is split into a variety of channels, with five of the biggest listed below:

• Paid Search – Visitors landing on your website from paid advertising (Google Adwords).
• Organic Search – Visitors reaching your site from organic search results based on particular keywords entered into Google.
• Direct – Visitors landing on your website by entering your URL directly into their browser.
• Social – Visitors landing on your website from social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
• Referral – Other websites that have sent traffic to your website.

You can continue to uncover further insights from each of these channels by clicking through on each category and analysing the data. For example, clicking through on the Organic Search channel will reveal the keywords visitors typed into Google in order to reach your website. Likewise, clicking through to Social will provide you with an understanding of which social channel is generating the most website visits.

3. Behaviour

Finally, and in our opinion most importantly, comes user behaviour. Some of this data will look similar to what’s available to you in the Audience Overview, however you can now see exactly where on the website your visitors are looking. The Pages metric provides the top 10 page URL’s on your site that are receiving the most visits, and allows you to break down the page data by Pageviews, Unique Pageviews, Average time on Page, Bounce Rate and more. Cool, huh?

For those more visually inclined, Google have also included a Behaviour Flow tab that visually represents this information in an interactive flow chart. Need a quick, visual understanding of how visitors are moving through your website? This is a great place to start!

Start exploring!

So there you have it – Google Analytics 101. This is very much a quick introductory overview of the platform, however as Google Analytics has much, much more to offer, we highly recommend you start exploring your Google Analytics dashboard regularly. For a free tool, it provides extremely valuable insights to help you measure and track your online performance.

The post Making Sense of Data – A Google Analytics Overview appeared first on Amergin.

]]> 6411 /get-new-clients-3-simple-steps/ Fri, 08 Sep 2017 01:51:32 +0000 /?p=6360 You’ve registered your business name, received your ABN, developed a business plan and taken all of the necessary steps to start providing your products or services to the public. So what’s next? How do you start building a reliable sales pipeline and ultimately, get new clients to help sustain your business, and grow it, too? […]

The post Get new clients – 3 simple steps to generate leads and build your business appeared first on Amergin.

]]> You’ve registered your business name, received your ABN, developed a business plan and taken all of the necessary steps to start providing your products or services to the public. So what’s next? How do you start building a reliable sales pipeline and ultimately, get new clients to help sustain your business, and grow it, too?

How do I get new clients?

Surprisingly, this is one question we hear time and time again. More often than not, it’s this question that is pushed to the back of the pile while the short term focus of building a new business takes priority. But, what about the long term? The countless hours and tireless efforts that have been invested often go to waste when a new business goes to market, and more often than not, it’s because the long term goals haven’t been considered. You could have the perfect business plan in place – you’ve identified your niche, established a point of difference, have a great understanding of your competitors, hired any support staff you require and now there’s nothing left to do but start. Unfortunately, getting clients isn’t as easy as some startup business operators think. It takes time, dedication and, yes, financial investment to attain new clients and customers. So, where do you start?

1. Start by talking

Tell people what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Know your target market and go where they go to network – events, conferences, meetups and expos are great places to kick things off. Check out Eventbrite if you’re short on ideas or want to find upcoming events in your area. Despite the technologically driven environment we live in, face to face communication and good ol’ fashioned word of mouth are still some of the best marketing assets you can have to develop relationships and attain new clients.

2. Get a website

Building relationships in person is great, but what else can you do to get new clients on board? Once you’ve established rapport, where do you send your potential customers to take the next step? It’s astounding how many small businesses still operate without an active online presence – whether that be through a website or other online channels such as social media. Taking your business online is hands down one of the best investments a small business can make. Not only do you now have an easily accessible destination to send potential clients, it offers a platform to outline your services and pricing and explain to potential customers why they should choose your business over your competitors. With the ability to add customised forms and develop content specifically tailored to the needs of your target audience, your website is often your first port of call for customers looking for the products or services you offer and allows the opportunity for you to collect and gather their details for further marketing opportunities.

3. Invest in Advertising

You might have heard of a little thing called Google. Okay, let’s be honest – it’s pretty big. In fact, it accounts for approximately 90% of all search traffic, with the remaining 10% spread across the smaller search engines such as Yahoo! and Bing. With this much traffic attributed to Google, you can imagine that competition to appear on the first results page is fierce at best. Doing so takes time, an optimised website and a bit of trial and error, but with dedication it is certainly achievable. In the short term however, there are alternative solutions such as Google Adwords, which allow you to place paid ads in search results for specific keywords or search terms. Not only will this give your business instant visibility in Google, but the additional click throughs to your website will help build credibility and in turn your websites’ organic reach. True to the old adage of ‘You’ve got to spend money to make money’, posting ads will require a financial investment, however with the correct strategy in place, has the potential to yield considerable reward.

Over to you

As you can see, it takes time, dedication and financial investment to attract new clients. With that said, if you take the time to understand your market and put in place the appropriate steps to help reach them, you’re well on your way to building your database and generating a healthy sales pipeline.

The post Get new clients – 3 simple steps to generate leads and build your business appeared first on Amergin.

]]> 6360 /disability-aged-care-sectors-marketing/ Thu, 03 Aug 2017 02:54:28 +0000 /?p=6037 The changing landscape of the Community Sector is being driven by mass reforms within the aged care and disability services sectors. This rapid evolution is forcing non-government organisations to rethink their position within the market to ensure a competitive advantage. Why this is important in the Disability & Aged Care Sectors One of the major […]

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]]> The changing landscape of the Community Sector is being driven by mass reforms within the aged care and disability services sectors. This rapid evolution is forcing non-government organisations to rethink their position within the market to ensure a competitive advantage.

Why this is important in the Disability & Aged Care Sectors

One of the major necessities of successful marketing is having a comprehensive understanding of the environment in which you operate. This is of significant importance in the disability and aged care sectors as more and more businesses enter the market in order to capitalise on more open markets created by person-centred and consumer directed service delivery.

Most organisations have, at the very least, the standard marketing tools and functions in place – a website, an occasional newsletter to clients and maybe one or two social media accounts. Although this is a very good starting point, without understanding the market in which you are operating, efforts to increase engagement are often misguided and end up falling flat.

Ask yourself these 3 questions:

1. Do you understand what makes your organisation different to your major competitors?
2. Are you finding it increasingly difficult to compete against new competitors?
3. Do you have a plan or strategy in place to attract customers and drive growth?

Without an understanding of the impact these things can have on your broader marketing efforts, your organisation will find it increasingly difficult to thrive. So, where does this leave you?

Time to take action

Whether you’re just entering the market or are an established organisation, there’s no better time than now to undertake an audit of your current positioning. This will help you and your team to identify any areas that may require improvements or discover opportunities that you may be missing out on. Either way, having a better understanding of where you sit within the competitive landscape will provide valuable insight into what steps you need to take to position yourself for success and drive financial growth.

Start with your brand

How you communicate, what you communicate, when you communicate, what your values are and the emotional reaction you want your customers to feel when engaging with your business are all crucial parts that make up your brand. Unfortunately, these defining elements can be afterthoughts, or more often than not, neglected altogether. By reviewing your current brand and asking yourself a few simple questions about where it currently stands, you are well on your way to establishing yourself as a serious competitor in the disability and aged care sectors.

To help you get started, we’ve developed a comprehensive guide to help you through this process and give you a valuable resource to share with and include your staff and stakeholders. Our free Position Your Brand for Success Guide provides comprehensive insight about where to start and what to think about to distinguish your business and drive financial growth in the Community Sector.

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]]> 6037 /small-business-advice-3-short-words/ Tue, 18 Jul 2017 02:34:59 +0000 /?p=5805 When we decided to update our website at the start of the year, the team spent hours writing, rewriting and fine tuning the copy on every single page until it was perfect. Developing content is often one of the most difficult (and important) aspects of defining your brand, and for us, we wanted to make […]

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]]> When we decided to update our website at the start of the year, the team spent hours writing, rewriting and fine tuning the copy on every single page until it was perfect. Developing content is often one of the most difficult (and important) aspects of defining your brand, and for us, we wanted to make sure it was just right. After all, we were developing our voice – how we would communicate our message and how that message would be perceived by the masses. It had to be perfect.

As a brand, we decided that if we were going to be heard, we needed to be bold, and this was reflected throughout all of our messaging. One of the subtleties that has truly stuck with me however, was in the form our Call to Action…

Make it Happen – Small Business Advice that Everyone should adopt

At the time, it seemed like a simple phrase to use as a creative alternative to ‘Contact’ or ‘Enquire.’ Now however, as we delve even deeper into our business and continue pushing the boundaries in all directions, it’s becoming one of our defining attributes – our ethos, if you will.

Truth is, running a small business is tough – a sentiment to which many of our clients and partners can also attest. Hours are long, the workload immense, and we’re surprised the coffee machine hasn’t spontaneously combusted from overuse. So what is it that drives us and pushes us through the seemingly endless roadblocks? It’s our passion for what we do, our passion for the success of our clients and most of all, our drive to make it happen, no matter the circumstance. We’re in it because we love it – and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

This doesn’t just apply to our own business of course – it applies to that of our clients’ too. We’re often engaged by people who want to work with Amergin based solely on our credibility. This speaks volumes to us as a business, because it’s that ethos – those three short words – that got us to where we are today, and it’s that same driver that we apply to all the work we put out. After all, without our valued clients, Amergin as we know it may not even exist.

For those of you are going through a similar phase of starting and maintaining a small business in today’s entrepreneurial landscape, I implore you to keep pushing. The days won’t get shorter and the workload will keep piling up, but as the old adage goes, you only get out what you put in. Keep pushing the boundaries, keep working, keep doing. When everything seems overwhelming or like you’re fighting an uphill battle, remember why you decided to do it in the first place. Make it happen and enjoy it for what it is – yours.

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