Page 27 - HME Business, March 2019

More and more, HME providers are integrating retail sales into their business,
as competitive bidding, audits and various other reimbursement challenges compel them to seek new ways to bring in revenue. Tried and true, retail has proved to be a reliable source of alternative revenue for providers. Free of claims processing workflows and possible denials, retail sales offer streamlined cash transactions between provider and customer that don’t involve insurers or Medicare.
However, the increased cash flow oppor- tunity of retail remains only an opportunity if providers don’t strategically stock their retail product inventory and deploy marketing strat- egies that appeal to customers, both old and new. Simply stocking shelves with any retail products doesn’t guarantee increased sales.
“It’s still very important to consider the local healthcare landscape,” says Rob Baumhover, VGM Group’s director of Retail Services. “Much of a provider’s business is determined from referral sources surrounding their loca- tion. A product category that works for one provider, may not work for another.”
To help providers get an idea of what product categories have the potential to drive revenue and what strategies ensure those categories’ success, HME Business asked several HME retail providers and experts from around the country to offer their recommen- dations for must-stock retail categories and their best tips of the trade for providing those products successfully.
BATH SAFETY
“In the case of fall prevention in the home, it starts with bath safety,” Daniel Stearns, HME regional manager for Williams Bros. Health Care Pharmacy, says. “This category offers high demand and brings motivated buyers into your store. Not necessarily high margins, but sheer interest and volume alone, anchor this category firmly.”
Bath safety is critical to ensuring safety
and independence for elderly customers and customers with mobility challenges, yet it is not funded. The acute need and high demand for such products, in part, is what drives customers to the store to purchase these items on a retail basis.
Wayne Slavitt is CEO of Mobül, a retail mobility provider in Long Beach, Calif. who says he primarily focuses on mobility-specific
products, but he finds value in stocking bath safety products because issues of mobility and bath safety are strongly connected.
“When people start to have mobility
issues, the first thing they’re typically trying
to address would be something dealing with the bathroom,” Slavitt explains. “They’ll come in because they’re feeling a little shaky in the shower, for example, because if you fall in the bathroom, it’s very dangerous. Eighty percent of accidents in the home happen in the bathroom.“It’s also a lower dollar value; bath safety is not an expensive way for customers to dip their toes into this,” he continues. “If you are concerned about safety in the home, then getting a shower chair is a fairly benign product — it’s not having to make a big commitment dollar wise or emotionally. And it’s such an easy entry-level way of saying, ‘You know what? I’ll start here and I’ll up to the next products over time.’”
To ensure that providers are maximizing the potential of bath safety, Slavitt recommends displaying as much product as possible.
“We’re a big believer in displaying as much product as we can for two reasons. One, it’s very appealing to customers. And secondly, most of our customers who come into our store have absolutely no context as at all with what we sell. They’re being thrust into this role as a caregiver or end-user with virtually no training.”
Displaying the initial product in the store also pays off down line post-purchase by cutting down on returns. Instead of customers buying what they think will work, they can
buy what they know works for them. When product is out and available, customers can test features such as height adjustment, dimensions, comfort and aesthetic.
“We show them the possibilities for solu- tions and the best to do that is to be able to show them: ‘This one’s a little bit wider. This one has handles on it. This one has a back on it. This one will fit nicely in the bathtub. This one is going to be too wide,’” Slavitt says, adding that because of this hands-on experience, “Customers are able to make an
informed decision and be able to see exactly what they’re buying.”
LIFT CHAIRS
Multiple providers suggest stocking lift chairs in their store. “Lift chairs offer great margins, and high revenue opportunities,” Stearns explains. “They display well, draw people into your store and provide care-tailing opportunities.”
Stocking lift chairs is also a way for brick- and-mortar HME providers to keep a compet- itive edge on online retailers. According to Steve Ackerman, CEO of Spectrum Medical
in Silver Spring, Md., “lift chairs are items that you can’t comfortably buy on the Internet. Even though it is available on the Internet, people are hesitant to buy there because of possible ongoing service needs and they want to make sure that their warranties are all taken care of.”
Alex Anderson, general manager of Oswald’s Pharmacy in Naperville, Ill., also finds that customers are more comfortable buying lift chairs in the store as opposed to online, especially when they can try them out in the store. “You get to try every chair,” he says. “There’s quite of a lot of big differences between the different chairs. It’s great that the customer gets the option to sit there and try each and every one.”
From a sales and marketing point of view, Stearns suggests that providers focus on rebranding. “Try to eliminate common misconceptions that lift chairs are for elderly people who can no longer stand on their own,” he explains.
Though senior customers are a large consumer base for lift chairs, anyone with balance and mobility challenges, people with certain chronic illnesses, and people recov- ering from surgery or injury can benefit. The marketing should not deter non-seniors from considering lift chairs.
PAP DEVICES AND ACCESSORIES
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Management Solutions | Technology | Products
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“Providers should strive to make their product categories complimentary to each other. Using this strategy, a provider is leaving room for additional sales and service opportunities.”
— Rob Baumhover, VGM Retail Services