Page 19 - HME Business, February 2018

• Like any retailer, DME retailers should identify their top 10 best cash sellers and their top 10 luxury sellers.
• They should know the insurance items that spike based on the season, know
their related cash sale upsells, and know their cash-based upgrade options.
• They should be aware of what product lines do best in the geographic
area where their stores are located.
• They should understand the age distribution of their patients, as well as
the level of insurance coverage for those groups.
“Top 10 best cash sellers should be well stocked, prominently placed, well
trained for all employees, and suggested during transactions where they would enhance the experience of the customer,” she says. “The Top 10 luxury sellers are the products that should be unwrapped and accessible on the sales oors, assembled and charged and ready for demo. These luxury items are things that other providers may not carry, often come with beautiful free advertising pieces from the manufacturers, and can set your showrooms apart from the small DME sections in your local pharmacies and grocery stores.
“Just like a retail shopper, DME customers are in your store because they need something,” she continues. “They aren’t just browsing. As more boomers enter our arena, we see that customers are willing to come out of pocket for quality merchandise. We have to be ready to give them the hands on demo that Amazon can’t, and we can’t be shy about it.”
Anderson also suggests taking advantage of a dual marketing campaign with your manufacturers and distributors.
Another strategy to create marketing opportunities is to focus on speci c outcome-based data that is compelling to your audience and then deter- mine how best to communicate that information.
“Providers who include outcomes-based data in their marketing campaigns
can have a receptive audience in referral sources,” Rietkerk says. “Many referral sources not only like to see such data from providers — they are swayed by that data to use one provider over another. The same is true of patients who look for recommended products or services to improve their health.”
For example, if you work in sleep therapy, it can be bene cial to use data that shows patient compliance, positive reimbursement, complete docu- mentation, your ability to deliver products to your patients quickly, and patient satisfaction documented through scores or survey, because these areas weigh heavily with your audience, he explains. If your data shows positive patient outcomes, that information should be re ected in your marketing strategy as it may lead to attracting more patients.
“How you execute marketing campaigns using this data is nearly as important,” he continues. “Once you identify your target audience, you must determine the most effective ways to reach them. There are a variety of communication channels, such as email, print, phone and face-to-face, which can be the best options to broaden your reach and increase your odds of a successful marketing campaign.”
According to Christina Throndson, director of business development at VGM Forbin, the data that providers collect should have a plan associated to it.
“If we’re supplied with the user’s email address, this should be imple- mented into our plan,” she says. “The provider plans will be tailored based on what audience you’re speaking to.
“For example, you will want to segment the sleep apnea patients from the mobility patients,” she continues. “The plan should take into consideration the best form of contact for this group. Most of these users engage with
the following mediums: email, patient portals/websites and social media.
In this example, as a provider, we will want to use those mediums to build a
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