How to build a care home enquiry pipeline that really delivers
As care seeker journeys continue to get longer and more complex, translating interest into enquiries and move-ins can be an uphill struggle. But you can create a reliable, effective pipeline for your care homes – with the right tools.
Marketing for care homes is no simple feat. With timelines for researching and selecting a care home getting ever longer, care seekers’ journeys are tied up in a complex web of considerations. They have to factor in the location, the facilities, the level of care, the cost, the reputation… The list can feel endless.
Care home groups and their marketers have to capture and convert a care seeker’s attention at exactly the right point in this journey. But all along the way, there’s a risk of losing leads back down the research rabbit hole, or to another provider.
“Without the right insights into marketing performance, care home marketers could be allocating their budget and efforts to the wrong channels and activities,” says Faye Thomassen, Head of Marketing at Mediahawk. “And in an era of tight budgets and high competition, there’s no room for strategies that don’t deliver.”
So how can marketers create a care home enquiry pipeline that consistently connects potential residents to the best home for their needs? It starts with tools like Mediahawk, which extract those missing insights and translate them into meaningful changes.
Track your key call sources – and find out which marketing activities really work
The first step to building an optimised pipeline is working out where the most valuable enquiries come from. Care home marketers should be able to answer three key questions:
- Which channels and campaigns provide high-intent leads?
- What kind of enquiries lead to move-ins?
- How do we use this data to refine – or rework – our strategy?
Dynamic call tracking in Mediahawk can provide the answers. This links phone numbers to channels, campaigns, or even individual ads – so marketers always know the source of each lead. With clear attribution, teams can prioritise the activities that contribute directly to move-ins, shaping their strategies around proven successes.
Broughton House Veteran Care Village, in collaboration with Springup PR, used the data from Mediahawk call tracking and Speech Analytics to build a targeted social campaign to drive more inbound calls and live chats.
This campaign led to a more than 300% increase in enquiries, and 47% growth in Broughton House’s occupancy. That represents up to £900,000 in annual revenue, as well as an improved future pipeline.
“We now have a comprehensive understanding of our Google Ads call performance, allowing us to make data-driven decisions with confidence,” explains Victoria Markianos, a Google PPC Specialist at Springup PR. “It’s not just about saving time and resources; it’s about unlocking the full potential of our advertising efforts.”
Qualify every enquiry – and drive more of the interactions you want
If marketers want to attract and convert high-intent care seekers, it’s not enough to simply bring in more calls. They need reliable, data-driven ways to identify valuable enquiries – and make sure they get five-star treatment.
Methodist Homes (MHA) is a charity care provider that supports over 17,500 residents and members across specialist care homes, retirement living schemes, and community services. MHA combined Mediahawk’s dynamic call tracking with AI-powered Speech Analytics and advanced interactive voice response (IVR) to improve lead quality and identify the shared characteristics of high-intent care seekers.
The IVR routes enquiries to the right place faster, prioritising conversion events and deflecting other calls such as recruiters and suppliers. And while care seekers chat to the team, Speech Analytics assesses the conversation for common topics, intent indicators, and conversion drivers in the background. That insight can help shape call scripts and best practices for call handlers.
MHA also feeds this data back into GA4 and Performance Max to target similar demographics and bring in more high-intent enquiries. This refined approach to targeting reduced MHA’s cost per acquisition by 32%. And as a charity, every penny saved and reallocated counts for so much more.
Stand out in a crowded market – and show the true value of your strategy
An effective care home marketing strategy needs to do two things: deliver value and demonstrate value. It’s vital that teams can show exactly how marketing activities guide enquiries towards conversion – at every stage in the process.
“Historically, it’s been simple enough to track the first and the last click,” says Faye. “But what happens in between can be a mystery. In a sector where the research stage is so instrumental, that’s just not enough insight.”
Mapping care seekers’ pathways to enquiry – with tools like Mediahawk’s User Journey feature – shines a light on the key touchpoints that encourage conversion.
Marketers can pinpoint their most effective resources and web pages, as well as any areas that can be refreshed to offer more value.
Summary
With insights like these at their fingertips, care home groups show care seekers that they understand and support their needs, queries, and concerns. They can make sure they differentiate from the experience competitors offer. And ultimately, they can communicate the value of marketing investment to the rest of their decision-making colleagues. Mediahawk delivers all this valuable data and more, helping marketers prove ROI and attract more residents to their care homes.
If you’re interested in learning more about the power of understanding your leads, user journeys, and strategy effectiveness, book a personalised Mediahawk demo today. We’ll show you how you can turn more enquiries into move-ins, and boost occupancy for your care homes.
