In 2026, having a care home enquiry form on your website isn’t enough.
While capturing leads is important, what matters more is how you attract, engage, and convert them. For care homes seeking to boost occupancy, strengthen reputation, and build growth, focusing on care home lead generation is vital.
Here are some proven strategies, going beyond the contact form, to increase enquiries by 50%.
Looking for ways to improve care home and home care lead generation? Book a call with Care Connect today to ensure that leads don’t grow cold with your enquiry form.
1. Optimise Your Enquiry Capture (The Form is Just Step One)
It can be tempting to place a generic form on your website and wait for leads to roll in. But research shows that a streamlined, user-friendly form that is integrated with systems behind the scenes drives better results.
- Keep the form short (name, contact details, service interest, location, and a short comment)
- Use conditional requests so you gather targeted data (‘What kind of care interest? Residential/nursing/respite/specialist dementia’)
- Integrate the form into your CRM or enquiry-management system so nothing gets lost
- Provide immediate acknowledgement (via email or SMS) so the enquirer knows you’ll follow up (that trust boost increases conversion)
2. Reframe Your Mindset (Clinical-Qualified Enquiries are Key)
For many care homes, capturing a generic ‘contact us’ lead doesn’t always translate into an occupant or service user. To get 50% more enquiries, you must aim for qualified enquiries. That is, people who genuinely need care soon, have the budget or funding, and whose location and service needs align with yours. Here’s how to make this shift:
- Add a pre-qualifier question on your enquiry form (‘When are you looking to start care?’ or ‘What level of care is required?’)
- Capture care home clinical leads by offering specialised services (such as dementia or complex care), and separate those enquiries for more intensive follow-up
- Use referral-partner channels (such as hospitals and GPs) to feed your pipeline with higher-intent leads
3. Improve Your Website and Content to Drive More Enquiries
Increasing the number of enquiry form hits often starts with more (and better) visitors. These tactics help:
- Use strong value propositions (highlight things like featured rooms available, specialist dementia wing, outstanding rating, and so on)
- Use clear calls-to-action alongside your enquiry form (such as request a tour, download our care guide, or speak to a clinical advisor)
- Use content tailored to services and location, so you appear in relevant search queries
- Use high-quality visuals and testimonials (seeing the environment and hearing from families builds trust and increases conversions)
4. Leverage Directories, Referral Networks, and Multi-Channel Lead-Gen
Relying solely on your website form can limit your reach. To scale enquiries by 50%, you’ll need to diversify your lead sources:
- Ensure your care home is listed on reputable directories (those used by families searching for care homes)
- Build referral partnerships (such as local authorities, hospitals, social services teams, and community organisations) to generate high-intent care home enquiries
- Consider paid lead-generation campaigns (such as SEO, pay-per-click or PPC, social media, and retargeting)
- Use offline channels (such as local events, open days, direct mail to nearby communities, and GP practices)
5. Enhance Enquiry-to-Move-In Conversion with Follow-Up Systems
Capturing an enquiry is only the start. The real growth happens when you convert it into a tour, and then a resident or client. Key action points:
- Set a service-level expectation (such as a call back within an hour of an online enquiry)
- Use a CRM or enquiry-management module designed for care homes (many exist) to track follow-ups, tasks, and reminders
- Use personalised communications (reference the individual’s situation, saying ‘Hi Mrs Smith, I understand you’re exploring nursing care for your father…’)
- Offer next step content (such as a brochure, virtual tour, call from a clinical lead, or an open day invite)
- Analyse drop-off points (how many enquiries lead to calls, to tours, to move-ins?)
6. Use Data, Measurement, and Continuous Optimisation
To drive a 50% or more increase in enquiries, you must treat this like a business process, not a one-off task. Data helps you refine:
- Track funnel metrics (number of website visits → number of enquiry form submissions → number of qualified leads → number of tours → number of move-ins)
- Use analytics to evaluate which sources (SEO, PPC, directory, or referrals) drive the most qualified leads
- Review and iterate (test form layouts, adjust calls-to-action, refine messaging, and optimise the user journey from first click to enquiry)
7. Create a Template for Your Care Home Enquiry Form and Process
Having a well-designed care home enquiry form template and accompanying process speeds conversion and ensures consistency.
- Template fields might include name, contact details, relationship to resident, location, type of care needed, budget or funding status, urgency, and comments
- The accompanying process should cover an auto acknowledgement email/text, assigning to the appropriate site/staff, scheduling a call/tour, and updating CRM
- Use form logic so high-complex or clinical care leads trigger a priority workflow (which have higher conversion potential)
- Ensure your website copy supports the form (orientate families, reassure them, and show you value their enquiry)
Your Care Home Enquiry Form is Just the Beginning: Optimisation is Key
Boosting enquiries by 50% isn’t about adding more forms; it’s about building a system that attracts the right visitors, engages them quickly and personally, nurtures them through to a tour and move-in, and measures what works. By focusing on smarter form design, qualified lead generation, multi-channel reach, strong follow-up systems, and data-driven optimisation, care homes can grow their enquiry volumes and occupancy in a meaningful and sustainable way.
For care home providers ready to scale, the team at Care Connect Marketing specialises in building these processes, from optimising your enquiry form and developing a care home lead generation strategy to managing care home clinical leads for maximum impact.
Contact us today to explore how we can help you build a high-performing enquiry-to-occupancy funnel.