Speaking at Day 10 of LASA’s virtual congress, Pride Living Managing Director Bruce Bailey said home care providers who align their business model with the customer expectations, have the ability to access a lucrative, untapped market.
To explain this, Mr Bailey referred to the Volkswagen automobile group, which has a stable of brands appealing to different markets in Skoda, VW, Audi and Porsche.
Mr Bailey says this has been difficult to do in the residential aged care market due to the concessional ratio to maximise funding for the accommodation supplement.
“As we all know if you fall below 40% you take a huge penalty. And so this meant you had to have all types of residents, all socioeconomic groups of residents in your facility. And so under one brand, one facility you had to be all things,” he said.
Providers should choose the customer, not the package
The attraction of the home care market, Mr Bailey said, is the same legislative requirement doesn’t exist, representing an opportunity for providers.
“Too many providers are making the mistake of choosing the package, the funding, rather than choosing the customer, and if you don’t choose your customer you can end up with a mismatch between expectations and what you’re providing,”
“They’re buying something that you’re not selling, or you’re selling something that they’re not buying, and that’s where you get dissatisfaction.”
Mr Bailey says home care providers with refined offerings will be more profitable, less dependent on Government funding, and provide better outcomes for consumers.
