Advertising and Selling your Products and Services with Connect to Support

A new way of working

Connect to Support Wakefield offers you the opportunity to advertise and sell your services directly to your customers through an online store.

Personalisation, personal budgets and in particular direct payments combined with increasing numbers of self funders is changing the way health and social care services are provided. Customers can now commission their own services, taking responsibility for identifying, purchasing and appraising the service or product they receive. As a provider you will need to look at ways to promote your services and products directly to customers.

For more information about personalisation visit www.personalisationagenda.org.uk/

Connect to Support Wakefield gives companies and organisations offering goods, products and services the opportunity to create their own branded online store with no set-up fee.

You will benefit from:

• The opportunity to sell to customers online
• A route to new customers via online marketing on a local and national scale
• Potential cost savings through the automation of back office systems such as receipting and invoicing
• Ongoing support and assistance through a dedicated helpline
• Providers selling goods, products and services are only required to pay a 2.5% fee of the sales value to shop4support

The information below provides some advice and guidance on how to get the most out of your listing on Connect to Support Wakefield.

Providers who sell goods or services can set up a store on Connect to Support Wakefield. Organisations offering services for free or offer services at a nominal cost, such as a coffee morning where people are asked for a small donation to cover costs, can set up a directory entry.

Although this guidance is primarily aimed at providers who have stores on Connect to Support Wakefield some of the guidance will be useful for local groups and people advertising free activities.

Your store/directory entry

In order to have a store or a directory entry on Connect to Support Wakefield you will need to sign up here

When signing up your organisation, products and services on Connect to Support Wakefield, there are several things you can do to ensure your store is easy to find, user friendly and engages customers.

About your organisation:

Identify the benefits of your organisation:

• What is your organisation good at
• What does your organisation offer that is unique
• What achievements/ accreditations has your organisation gained
• What is your organisation's mission statement and ethos
• What makes the services you provide "special" or "unique"

What are your unique selling points:

Before registering your services it is always a good idea to consider your "niche". What are the favourable qualities and specialist services you offer? This could be a tailored or personalised approach, or a specialist service for conditions such as dementia or autism. In these instances, experience and understanding are likely to be important to the customer.

Considering your services in a unit:

When you register on Connect to Support Wakefield you will need to offer your service in separate 'units of measure'. For most, this may be units of time, for example an hour of home care or a week of respite care. But you may also sell products in packs such as a pack of 12 disposable pads.

It is helpful to consider:

• What units your services could be sold in e.g. a pack, a mile, a session or a block of time
• Does the unit make sense to customers
• What will ensure accessibility for customers
• The cost of each unit and what the customer will be getting for that unit

The Search function:

Connect to Support Wakefield customers can search for products and services by category and/or key word. You can increase the chances of appearing in a search by following a few simple guidelines.

By category

Customers can search by clicking on a category or sub-category listed on the left hand side of the "Search for products and services" page. The search results will show the customer every product and service within that category/sub-category.

If you offer a range of products and services it is important that you have a separate entry for each within your store. For example, if you provide personal care to customers but also offer a service to take them out in to the community, these would sit in two different categories:

• Home Support category = Personal Care
• Activities and Leisure category = Support and community groups

Ensure that you choose the category that best suits your product or service. If you want to change the category where your product or service can be found, use the Connect to Support Help desk: www.shop4supporthelp.com/hesk/.

It is also important to have separate entries even if they sit within the same category. For example, if you provide personal care and shopping/cleaning services, these would both sit in the Home Support category but in different sub categories:

• Personal care sub category = Personal care
• Domestic services category = shopping/cleaning services

If these services were listed in the same categories e.g. Home Support and Personal Care, your entry would not be found in a category search for Domestic Services.

You can add more products to your store.

By key word

If customers type a key word into the search function, it will search for and display results in the following order:

• Products or services with the keyword in the name will appear first
• Products or services with the key word in the description will appear second
• Products or services with the key word in the organisation's name and background description will appear last

Try to make the title of your product or service as meaningful as possible. Think about the words that your customers might use to find your service. For example, a customer might search for a 'cleaner' or 'gardener' rather than 'domestic services'. As another example, a customer might search for a chair or seat rather than a specific product name such as a 'Modular Perching Stool'.

Use a range of key words in the product/service description and be clear about what it is, that you offer.

TIP: Use clear and reflective images and text

Registration

You need to complete the registration form at www.connecttosupport.org/providers, you are asked to provide information about your organisation and contact details. This will be the first point of contact for customers and therefore the details provided need to be those of a person or team who can provide support to customers. You are then asked to register your first product/service to start building your store.

Registering your organisation:

When developing information about your organisation you should consider:

• The organisations mission statement
• The ethos and outlook of the organisation e.g. flexibility, tailored support, or promoting independence
• The qualifications and training undertaken by staff
• Any particular experience/specialism your organisation offers

This section should be interesting and to the point. Use an initial punchy statement to grab the reader's attention, with a more detailed description below. It is important to ensure what you organisation does is captured early so that customers are clear what they can buy from you.

Your organisation's mission statement:

Remember that your organisation's mission statement will be important to a customer or carer and should outline the way in which you operate. When writing your mission statement think about how your customers will perceive you. Words such as: independent, support and tailored, are key attributes a customer/carer is likely to be looking for in a provider. This may differ slightly for products where words such as: quality, tested and recommended will be more appropriate.

TIP: Include a mission statement that outlines key information about what is important to your organisation

Registering your services

The service name:

The service name should clearly describe the service that you are offering, and who it is for, for example:

• Weekday bathing and showering
• Older people's bingo

The meaning behind words can have an impact on whether a customer chooses to buy your products or services. For example, "day care" suggests that everything is done for an individual and they are cared for, "day activities" suggest a more participatory service.

TIP: Give your products or services a clear and meaningful name

Contact details:

The contact details you provide are likely to be the first point of contact for any customer enquiries about the service e.g. for availability, capacity to support additional needs etc. It is therefore important that the contact number or email address you provide goes directly to a person who can coordinate services and advise on that particular service/product.

TIP: Provide clear and accessible contact details

Description of your service:

The description should be clear and easy to understand. It should be direct and send out a positive message about the nature and quality of your service. It is important to be very clear about what will be provided as part of the service and what the customer may need to provide. For example, if you are providing arts and craft classes, you may need to detail whether the customer/carer needs to bring their own pens and paper.

Remember: if the customer perception of a product or services differs from what you provide this could have an impact on your customer rating.

If the price of your service varies in any way i.e. for those with additional needs or over bank holiday periods, ensure that you highlight this in your description.

If you need to carry out an assessment of a customer's needs provide information about the assessment process.

Key elements of a good description:

• Short, clear and concise language
• A short, punchy and interesting opening paragraph followed by a more detailed description on what is provided/not provided
• Information about any eligibility criteria that might apply
• Details of cost, availability, location and provision
• How to purchase the service and variations to cost
• Information about any registration/accreditations and/or awards your organisation has in relation to the service
• Further background or information, for example this links to your web pages
• A clear and relevant image or logo

TIP: A description should be informative and interesting to read, drawing upon the best qualities about your organisation and service

Description of a Product:

To help sell products effectively, you may wish to include the following information in your product description:

• The quality and reliability of the product
• The availability of the product
• The cost of postage and package, if this is an additional charge
• Will the product need fitting
• Suggestions of other products which may also be of help to the customer
• How well the product will be packaged
• The despatch date and expected delivery date
• If they will be kept informed of progress with their order
• Your terms and conditions are
• Your returns policy
• How to make a complaint and your response times to complaints

The price:

When considering setting a price, it is important to include as much information as possible. You need to think about:

• What does the price include
• If an hourly rate is quoted, is it for one-to-one or shared support
• Does the rate cover everything they need
• Are there any extra charges that your customer should know about e.g. travel expenses
• What will happen if they need more support, how will this be addressed
• What will happen if they go into hospital
• Is there a notice period to be able to cancel a call without charge
• What are the payment options
• What receipts, invoices or statements you will provide for them
• What is the process if prices need to be reviewed

It is also a good idea to have a look at other provider's prices to ensure you are not overpricing and therefore setting yourself outside of the marketplace. In addition, if your charges have to be higher, highlight your niches and preferable qualities.

TIP: Ensure price information is clear and detailed, where needed

Accreditation:

Within this section, detail your company's Care Quality Commission registration if this is a requirement for the service you are selling. It is advisable to include registration numbers, relevant dates and memberships and any other certification that you feel is necessary. This will offer the customer or carer reassurance; registrations can influence an individual's decision to purchase from a company. Accreditations must be relevant to the products/services being advertised and start/end dates of accreditations should be included where appropriate. Inaccurate or misleading information may lead to stores being removed from the site.

Read the "Using Connect to Support Wakefield" guide for customers buying products and services. This will help you to identify what information to include in your store, services and/or product descriptions.

TIP: Detail all accreditation and membership information about your organisation

Availability:

Information on availability of the service should be direct and clear. It should include times and dates when the service is available and when the service is not available.

TIP: Information on availability should be clear and easy to understand

Supporting Documents:

Connect to Support Wakefield enables you to upload any additional documents that may be of interest to the customer; this could include leaflets, policies, copies of certificates, summaries of annual reports and customer feedback. Don't put anything too long or with too much text as customers and carers will lose interest.

You can be as creative as you like around what you place on your pages as long as they are within the terms and conditions of the site.

TIP: Provide interesting and engaging supporting documents

Adding additional items for sale:

To add additional items to your initial registration, click on the link at the bottom of the registration page and go through the same process with each item. Remember to take your time to ensure relevant details and pictures are included within the registration for each item.

After you have registered

Once you have completed the registration form and included details about your first product, your information is sent to Shop4Support for processing. shop4Support will then contact you for more information about the additional services and products you provide. Remember to follow the guidance in this document when developing additional descriptions for your services and products.

TIP:Once your store is uploaded on the website check it to make sure you are happy with it

Adding additional items to your store:

After completing the initial registration you are free to add additional items as soon as you like. It is a good idea to do this as soon as possible, giving customers the opportunity to see a wider range of the products/services you offer. You may also pick up additional sales from customers browsing the other products you sell. You can add extra items here.

Future Considerations:

• Think about the process the customer will go through to buy a product/service from your store. Go through the process yourself to find out how easy it is and the information that would help you.
• Test your store regularly and make adjustments if necessary. This can be done through reporting the page or contacting info@shop4support.com
• Think ahead - know what you are trying to achieve in the future.
• Listen to your customers by reading customer reviews and checking your star ratings. Ask your customers for this feedback so that you can adapt your service as necessary to meet customers' needs.

Connect to Support web pages:

For a number of companies the introduction of Connect to Support will trigger a change in practice and the way in which they have approached their customers. When registering your organisation with Connect to Support you will get a URL name that incorporates Connecttosupport.org and your organisations name. This can either be your sole website or it can compliment your existing website.

Linking to Connect to Support:

If you already have a website, it is a good idea to signpost and link to the Connect to Support Wakefield site. This will enable you to transact online and perhaps help customers to find out about the additional services or products you provide. shop4Support can also offer further support through the help desk.

Social Networks:

Social networks (such as Facebook or Twitter) can offer an opportunity to promote and network your organisation through writing about activities and key pieces of news. Organisations often find it a good way of initially engaging with customers and providing news and updates.

Maintaining your store/directory entry

Registering your services to the website requires ongoing work. As a provider it is your responsibility to check that the information is accurate and up to date; you should do this on a regular basis.

When undertaking a check on the website, consider:

• Pictures/logo - have they been updated/are they still appropriate
• The name of the service - does it still reflect what is being provided
• The description:
  • Are there any spelling or grammar mistakes
  • Does it still reflect the service given
• Categories - ensure your items are in the right category
• The price - is this still accurate
• Availability - has availability changed due to staffing etc
• Supporting documents - are the leaflets/reports still up to date
• Customer feedback information - do you need to review services due to feedback
• If you are no longer trading, have you notified Shop4Support so they can remove your details from the site

TIP: Check your store and product information on a weekly basis!

Gaining Customer Insight:

Connect to Support will enable you to monitor who is buying services and what they are buying. This is helpful as it will support you in potentially identifying a key market for your products and services. The vendor rating system on Connect to Support will assist in building a bank of good customer reviews and will encourage further sales.

TIP: Use customer information to information service changes and promotion

Tips for Home Care service providers

When customers are buying home care they are likely to need a greater level of reassurance. If you are providing care in the home setting, it is a good idea to think about describing the following areas in further detail:

How will you develop a support package?

• How will you get to know the person's needs and wishes, or those of their relatives? How will you communicate effectively
• Will you develop a support plan
• Who will need to be involved when making changes to the agreed support plan
• Will a contract be out in place
• How you will provide cover when their usual support worker is on holiday
• What happens if the customer goes into hospital

How will you monitor and adjust the support package?

• How often will you carry out a support plan review
• What will the review entail
• Can people that are important to the person also be involved
• Can people contact you at any time to make changes to their support package
• How often will you review prices
• How much notice will customers be given if the prices or the service you deliver changes

Who will be supporting them?

• Have all your support workers been checked by The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) previously Criminal Records Bureau (CRB)
• Will the person be involved in recruiting their own support worker
• Do staff have a development plan which sets out training requirements
• How will staff be trained in new skills
• Who will pay for staff training
• Who will cover for their support worker if they are away on training

Will people be well supported?

• Will support workers always carry identification
• Are you registered with the appropriate regulator
• Do you have a 'whistle blowing' policy
• Do you have a complaints policy
• What reporting do you do have in place for Health & Safety incidents and complaints
• Do you survey your customers about the service you provide and how often is the survey conducted