No matter what type of business you have, effectively marketing your product and services is crucial to your success. Operating as an NDIS provider, you will simply need to tailor your approach to the various types of participants.
In the digital age, a lot of marketing strategies are based on website content and social media campaigns. For these to be successful, you’ll need to consider your target participants and you may also want to consider what other types of media you can use.
The types of NDIS participants and marketing methods
When looking to attract clients, there are three types of NDIS participants and you should tailor your approach for each:
- Self-managed participants deal directly with service providers and manage the funds that the NDIS provides. In these cases, you will need to communicate directly to participants.
Social media if often the best way to communicate with self-managed participants. Many participants will be on NDIS-related Facebook groups. These groups are where you should create posts that contain useful information for participants, showing your expertise and knowledge. This is not the place for a hard sell or heavy promotion. Instead, answer questions, be helpful and highlight how you can be of assistance.
Once you’ve built up a trusted relationships and gained interest from participants, they may seek you out as a provider.
- Plan-managed participants appoint a third-party plan manager to handle their fund and deal with providers. This means you will need to build relationships with the plan managers, aiming to create partnerships with them.
In this situation, your website content and social media are equally as important, especially since some participants will be unaware of the benefits of using a plan manager. You may be able to offer useful advice to those who can’t manage their own fund.
- NDIA-managed participants have their plan managed by the National Disability Insurance Agency, which will supply a list of registered providers to a participant. To access these clients, you need to be on this list, which means you have to be a registered NDIS business. Once you're registered, you will automatically appear on the provider lists for your area.
Charges and the price guide
For self-managed participants, you can charge anything you feel is appropriate, but for the other groups you’ll be governed by the NDIS price guide. However, no matter who you provide support to, the intention should always be to charge and treat them fairly.
How to keep NDIS participants and grow your reputation
When it comes to marketing, you should always know what your goals are from the outset, this may be the type and number of participants you're hoping to provide support to. Once you have a goal, it's important to then record and review your results to see if you achieve your aims. This can be done simply on a spreadsheet, or there are marketing software tools you may like to use.
Gaining new participants should not, however, be treated as the end goal. Finding particpants can be easy, but keeping them is often the most difficult part. It's important to build a good relationship by always providing an excellent service and ensuring you keep any promises that you make. This will foster trust and help to build a good reputation. Word of mouth recommendation is often the best type of marketing you can have.
How PROVIDERplus can help
By becoming a PROVIDERplus member, you will have access to our exclusive marketing programs and webinars. Not to mention being always kept up-to-date with changes in the NDIS landscape. Our expert support will help your NDIS business to become compliant and successful. Call us today on 1300 852 790 to find out more.
