Page 32 - HME Business, March 2017

RETAIL SOLUTIONS
on a younger customer who uses sports-related products, you’re probably more 70 percent to 30 percent in regard to online vs. traditional.
Traditional Marketing Tips
make great sales people. So Haddard recommended that if you are committing to retail, hire a great sales person and offer incentives like commissions. Let them be the go-to member of the team who will work with customers and educate them on accessories and products that will improve the lives of the caregiver as well as the patient. Haddard also suggested:
Proper signage and street exposure if you are in a retail location, as well as well-lit and properly
Micah Swick
grouped products by category in store. When laying out the planogram, you should properly display accessories as if in use. Wheelchairs should be presented with items like cushions, cup holders or pouches, for example.
Referral sources who work with you on a regular basis can be one of your biggest assets when increasing your retail/cash sales business. Reach out to pharmacy chains, home health care, physician offices, assisted living facili- ties, and hospices in your service area.
Markusen says to create a loyalty programs, as the baby boomer and millennial populations are very loyal to brands. One way, she says, to drive customers to your programs is via direct mail.
Online Marketing Tips
Markusen says that many of the clients she works with need updated websites.
“We find providers that don’t have websites or have mistakes in them, or they are unprofessional and missing important items,” she says. “You need a place where people can find you when they begin to search for you.”
With that says, search engine optimization manage- ment is key to getting online customers to find you. “We conduct business assessments in markets all over the country with
the purpose of helping our members identify if a cash business or an expan- sion of retail makes sense, and, if so, should they stay where they are physi- cally or should we find them a new location,” she says. “One of the ways that we determine what the consumer knows about the market is a competitive online search analysis. We often find that people aren’t even in the top five when we search for lift chairs or research their name or whatever the case may be. If I’m a consumer and I look up lift chairs, I’m not going to know that you exist. I’m going to go by what is on Google.”
Micah Swick, director of sales for Pride Mobility Products, which makes a number of retail items for HME providers, says that retail HME consumers are exactly that – retail consumers – and we all need to see them that way.
“It’s still somewhat common to think the person walking in the door will have a prescription for a particular product,” he says “Retail providers need to look at every person as a retail sales opportu-
Kamal Haddad
nity. This means using mainstream techniques, from point-of-purchase displays to interpersonal sales skill. Display products and create real discussions around how they can immediately benefit the consumer.” Swick suggested that providers:
• Providers need on-hand, ready-to-buy inventory and spacious show- rooms that invite customers to try the products.
• Present the product to customers with a sales approach that doesn’t rely solely on medical need but on quality-of-life benefits.
• Display products at targeted community events where demographic foot traffic draws product interest.
• Understand that the competitive landscape is changing. Long estab- lished retail companies are now recognizing the HME space as profit center. Haddard says to be successful at traditional marketing, you need dedi-
cated retail employees. Typical insurance intake employees do not always
Maria Markusen
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Lisa Wells
According to Wells, Integrated marketing is the major sticking point that she sees most providers are missing out on when they launch digital efforts in correlation with their traditional marketing programs. Often, she says, this is because the provider opts to have a college student or an employee’s child running their social media.
“If your social media is offering up all kinds of wheelchair information instead of targeted content to
your core audience, you are diluting your efforts online and reducing your return on investment in terms of audience value for your business,” she says.
Wells adds that for brick and mortar stores, it’s nearly mandatory to be focusing on local search results with your Google Adwords campaigns. Google and other search engines are refining search results to offer
up destinations based on the person’s location. Target your local
search ads to appear on Google Maps. Google Maps ads help businesses be more visible when consumers are searching online for somewhere
to shop. n
30 HMEBusiness | March 2017 | hme-business.com
Management Solutions | Technology | Products
Joseph Duffy is a freelance writer and marketing consultant, and he is a regular contributor to HME Business and its supplements. He can be reached via e-mail at joe@prooferati.com.