Autumna, the UK’s largest directory of care home and retirement living providers, is using geospatial software from Esri UK to help its customers market their properties more effectively.
Using spatial analysis to identify where most care seeker queries are coming from, Autumna is able to tell care providers which properties are best suited to promote on its platform using a premium profile. One care provider, Four Seasons Health Care Group, has seen queries from care seekers more than double across 40 care homes since using the service.
Four Seasons Health Care Group upgraded a single listing to the premium level and saw a 40 per cent increase in enquiries. As a result, it decided to look at other areas and increased the number of upgraded listings to 40 homes and the number of enquiries generated more than doubled.
The new digital mapping solution from Esri replaces manual processes using spreadsheets and static PDF reports. By visualising query traffic on an interactive map dashboard, the data is validated as users can see it is real. Autumna introduced the new mapping technology as it wanted to understand the impact of location on searches for care homes and help care providers achieve the best ROI on their marketing spend.
Autumna founder Debbie Harris said: “We needed to examine which care homes in the country were in the best location to receive the largest number of enquiries possible and we could only do this with geospatial technology. We chose to work with Esri UK due to its impressive pedigree and how accessible the software was.
"Plotting providers and care seekers from the last four years on the same map, instantly gave us a clear picture of demand hotspots, along with hotspots for the type and cost of care being sought. It’s a different way of looking at our data and creates new insights which we’ve been able to share with customers. The approach eliminates a lot of risk for them by revealing which of their locations are best suited to invest in a premium profile so helps create a more reliable relationship with us.”
