Page 18 - HME Business, August/September 2018

10 e-Commerce Winners
WOMEN’S HEALTH
The trick of providing women’s health products is knowledgeable and caring service that caters to personal issues such as post-mastectomy care, maternity, and incontinence. This not only lets providers take the trust they build in person and leverage that for more sales online, but it also lets them reach new clients who can get more information through browsing.
“It’s these personal experiences that while it makes sense that I need the right expert, I don’t always want to just go in, walk into any store neces- sarily, initially at least if I don’t have a relationship with you,” she says. “I want to learn more.”
Cure Medical expands size ranage for its catheter for women Cure Twist, a ready-to-use catheter specifically for women, is now available in French sizes 8-16. The Cure Twist is designed to look
like a cosmetic product for
discretion and convenience and features a twist open top and polished eyelets on a pre-lubricated straight tip for no drip cathing. Cure Twist is also available with an Insertion Kit, which includes a BZK wipe, ambidextrous gloves, underpad and collection bag with a universal connector. Cure Medical, LLC.
(800) 570-1778
www.curemedical.com/
Storm Sneaker
from Vionic boosts
buoyancy
The Storm Casual Sneaker
utilizes Vionic’s orthotic
technology to maximize foot
comfort and support. The
lace-up sneaker features a
lightweight, flexible textile and durable rubber sole for buoyant movement. It has a highly-flexible pattern that is available in Black, Light Pink and Navy Black.
Vionic Group, LLC.
(888) 882-7954
www.vionicshoes.com
EVERSHEER
combines fashion and
compression
Compression hosiery does
not typically go well with
business or formal dress.
EVERSHEER, however,
offers medical graduated
compression hosiery that
is both fashionable and
comfortable. EVERSHEER
comes in seven different
colors: Dark Navy, Natural, Sun Tan, Café, Mocha, Nightshade and Black. New colors Toasted Almond and Warm Sand will be available in September. This hosiery is ideally suited for pre- and post- vein treatment with minimal edema patients who prefer fashionable options.
SIGVARIS
(800) 322-7744
www.sigvaris.com
HME’s Three e-Commerce Models
While it might sound daunting to some providers, e-commerce is becoming a business imperative in the HME industry, and it should be part of your strategic planning for 2018. Simply put, it’s where the customers are. According to a June 2017 Forbes article (bit.ly/2zqbEv4), online sales grew faster in 2016 than they had over the past three years and account for 11.7 percent of overall retail sales. There seems to be no stopping this sea change of how customers shop and get much of their product information.
So how do providers approach e-commerce? It starts by picking a busi- ness model. Christina Throndson, director of business development for VGM Forbin. Throndson oversees all business develop- ment by VGM Forbin for websites, social media and online advertising. She outlines three basic models for HME e-commerce:
Model 1, Awareness
This model is meant to create an online offering that drives traffic to the physical location. As the most common and easiest level for HME providers to rollout, model 1 is a basic online presence that informs customers about what a provider offers and specializes in, and how clients can find or contact the business. It is more of a billboard than an interactive marketplace. The main goal of a model 1 website is to drive customers into the brick and mortar location in order to conduct business.
Truly succeeding at model 1 is much more involved than it sounds. Media to mining data analytics, creating, main- taining and measuring your customer pipeline is perhaps the biggest learning curve for online HME providers. The more a provider knows and acts on your data, the more successful it will be at building
an online presence, regardless of the level. Also, social media plays a big role in model one, according to Throndson.
Model 2, Convenience
This is a limited e-commerce pres- ence designed to help patients purchase resupply items and other HME offerings online, but still in support of a physical location. This model allows customers to explore more information online, such as individual products with purchase capa-
bilities. Unlike model 1, model 2 can have elements of e-commerce, which is the ability to order, re-order and purchase online using credit cards — so customers don’t have to come in the store to get what they need. The online strategy is likely limited in its use of online marketing campaigns to bring in new customers. Like model 1, the focus is on a local presence, but you are giving convenience to current customers and potential prospects by letting them purchase online.
Many model 2 providers see the value in partnering with distributors and member organizations, such as McKesson and VGM Forbin, to take advantage of online plat- forms and product databases — making
it easier to build an online catalog of products with online purchasing capabili- ties. These modules enable complimen- tary regular data feeds to keep on top of product changes and availability. In addi- tion, HMEs can leverage distributors drop ship models to ship the products directly to the customers home.
Model, 3 Dedicated e-commerce
This is a business model that is dedicated to e-commerce and is focused on engaging with and transacting with online customers on a regional, national or international level. Model 3 could incorporate some of the goals and tools of model 2, but the main focus is running a full-fledged e-commerce platform (purchase, fulfillment, online marketing, social media, database manage- ment, etc.) that lets providers re-engage with past clients and seek new ones. E-commerce HME providers must realize that they compete online with retail heavy- weights, such as Wal-Mart and Amazon, so a strategy of adding value that differenti- ates the provider from big-box retailers is integral to success. It can also be difficult to re-engage as this model is often seen as a transactional (onetime) experience.
In model 3, not only is visibility crucial
— ranking high on search engines and advertising on a wide scale —but so too are pricing and legitimacy. Throndson explains that people will research as many as 10 different online retailers before making
a decision, especially on items costing more than $100. And, if any of those online retailers 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 terri- tory of dedicated players.
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