Page 40 - HME Business, November 2017

costing more than $100. And, if any of those online retailers that do not provide phone numbers, return policies and all the reassurances that online buyers expect, customers will click past. Make no mistake, model 3 is the territory of dedicated players.
“It’s not easy because you have many hurdles,” Throndson says. “You’ve got insurance hurdles; you’ve got pricing hurdles; you’ve got hurdles such as Amazon, Walmart, Walgreens, SpinLife, you name it. Those are folks that not only already have a really great reputation and client base, they’ve got really great pricing and they’ve got the dollars to back up the advertising, as well. That is a huge struggle to try to compete against those folks.
“It’s not just the reputation with the end user, it’s the reputation with the search engines,” she adds. “They [the big name players] have an estab- lished online presence. It does take sometimes a year, sometimes longer, to even build some of that stuff up. If you get niched on some product lines
Model 3 Pro-Tips
• Consider all model 1 and 2 tips.
• Model 3 puts you against all other retailers both regionally and
nationally. Consider that at this point, you are competing against
retailers such as Amazon, Walgreens and Wal-Mart.
• Live chat is important to customers, especially those who may be outside your location and haven’t built up a level of trust with you
yet.
• You must constantly research competitors and watch price,
benefits, and product bundles, all while trying to remain unique to
customers nationwide.
• An online advertising plan is integral for model 3 success.
• Model 3 does not support your brick and mortar business — you
must consider model 3 as a separate business effort to your
physical stores.
• Model 3 HME providers have a company department mainly
focused on its online business. Therefore, model 3 e-commerce
should be treated like opening a new location.
• Many HME providers starting on their model 3 phase will lose
revenue at first, but it depends how niched and competitive your
business is.
• The higher the model, the deeper HME providers must go in
creating a memorable experience. Video production, email campaigns and social media management are all integral to success at this level. Therefore, costs are much higher because it takes a lot more effort to convert sales.
Growing Your Audience to Grow Your Business
Whether you have an established online marketplace or are just beginning to use digital tools to grow your business, here are tips from Christina Throndson, director of business development, VGM Forbin.
Know your audience. There are many digital tools to use, such
as online advertising and social media, that let you target specific groups of people. But this won’t help unless you know your target market. You might not want to talk to everyone in the United States about buying CPAP products because the tools let you target exactly who’s interested and who’s already been researching CPAPs. People with sleep apnea are more likely to be clients of yours than someone who doesn’t have related issues. Or maybe you sell mastectomy products. You don’t need to advertise to every woman — just those with the need. So spend your target dollars carefully by knowing your audience behavior and reaching only those who need your services.
Live inside your customers’ shoes. This sounds easy but it can be very difficult to walk your customers’ walk. First, get an idea of how comfortable your customers are with technology. Then, create your own online goals: Do you want to drive business to your brick and mortar? Do you want customers to call you when they see something on your website or instantly purchase it? Oftentimes you may assume you know what your customers are doing. Take the time to see their perspective of the experience. You also have to know what is top of mind so you can capture interest using social media content. This can be product news or something talked about in a newspaper editorial. For example, let’s say that there’s a trending topic on something that’s related to one of your products. Maybe people are caught up doing something trendy that is causing back pain. In response, you should be supplying them helpful information that draws them into your store or onto your website to view products that can help.
Use your data. What data are you collecting that can help you market to new and established customers? How can you use what you know to help your customers? For example, are you creating a FAQ that helps them better understand your products? Educating your customers is a sure way to be known as an expert in your marketplace. But don’t forget to track that content to see what works and what doesn’t.
Be mobile friendly. Whether researching product information or finding your store hours, customers are reaching for their mobile phones as part of the sales process. If the information they seek isn’t easily found, they will go elsewhere. Soon, Google’s algorithm for organic search will be weighted more heavily on whether your website is mobile friendly.
that are unique, it could take much less time, but I would definitely say your budget — as far as what advertising and your time investment, of course pricing comes into that —those are huge items of consideration.”
Living in the Micro-moment
Digital business is growing and evolving every day, as customers turn more frequently to using computers, tablets and smartphones to purchase and research product information. A consumer’s first step is no longer picking up the phone to ask you a question about a product — the expecta- tion is that this information is available with just a few clicks or keystrokes. This quick clicks, swipes and scrolls on clients’ smart phones are what Throndson refers to as “micro-moments” and if your business is not a part of those moments, then it is missing out on potential revenue, regardless of which model makes the most sense for your business.
“It’s all based on the audience,” Throndson says. “It seems crazy to think that micro-moments apply to our industry, but if you take yourself out of the HME industry, put yourself in the shoes of the user, not even HME-related, would
you engage with some sites if they didn’t do what you expected? No. You’d hit the back button and you would just pass it off, thinking, ‘They don’t have what I need.’ Because you want that need filled at that time and that’s what that micro- moment is, so we have to feed those micro moments as they come to us.”
Those micro-moments are the lynchpin of today’s e-commerce. In fact, they are the lynchpin of doing business today, plain and simple. So regard- less of the level of your digital business today, it is imperative that your busi- ness plan soon reflect a digital strategy that supports customers who are quickly accepting and expecting a robust e-commerce model as a condi- tion of doing business. n
David Kopf is the editor of HME Business, and can be reached at dkopf@1105media.com. Joseph Duffy is a freelance writer and marketing consultant, and a regular contributor to HME Business. He can be reached via e-mail at joe@prooferati.com.
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