It’s no secret that compression
is a growing market with
the potential to help any HME
provider build a clientele dedicated
to reordering product, particularly
if they are well-educated about the
benefits that compression therapy can
bring to their lives. But the road to
creating an expert team of fitters is not
always clear, especially as providers
must compete with online sellers and
Amazon for clients’ attention.
While it’s crucial for fitters to learn
as much as possible about garments
and measuring, that’s not all that goes
into building a top-shelf compression
services team. Patients also appreciate
if the provider has some understanding
of their underlying conditions and
gives them personalized attention
during their consultation.
Providers have reported that patients
often come in with negative views of
compression therapy, either because they
had purchased products that did not fit
properly or because they were not fully
educated on how to wear their socks
or sleeves. Therefore, it is imperative
to hear out the patient’s frustrations
and gain their trust through a mix
of thorough product knowledge and
attentive customer service.
Consistently earning the trust and
compliance of compression clients
makes providers attractive to referral
partners, ensuring a steady stream of
customers heading to the provider. But
as many providers were forced to close
in-person visits due to COVID-19,
their loyal customer bases were critical
in maintaining margins through
reorders. For this reason, HMEs must
shore up these relationships.
BUILDING PATIENT TRUST
Relationship-building between
providers and patients is crucial
to every provider business, but
particularly in the compression
services sector. While customers
could find instructions to measure
their own legs online or buy cheaper
products online, they would lack the
type of education and assurance
that a professional fitter can provide
in-store.
In turn, it’s the provider’s job
to demonstrate the value of
ordering from their business rather
than another provider or online
seller. The main difference is the
provider’s level of expertise and
willingness to educate, said Sydel
Howell, who found her passion for
compression in 2011 as the chief
operating officer of San Diego
Homecare Supplies.
“You cannot expect to grow a
compression business by having
thousands of dollars of compression
on the wall and handing a person
a box. It’s never going to take off
– never, never, never,” Howell said.
“You have to lay hands and put it
on their body, and not be afraid to
show the patient how to use all the
accessories.”
Howell has learned how to be
compassionate but honest with her
customers. She is not willing to sell
people with lymphedema a sheer
garment just because they want it
and technically fit into the stocking
because these patients need
“tough love” to follow their therapy
regimen, Howell said.
“A lot of times, people don’t
want to tell the patients something
they don’t want to hear,” Howell
said. “But when you can be honest
with them and they trust that you
know what the hell you’re doing,
they’ll believe you and say, ‘OK,’
especially after they get the right
garment.”
Howell’s hands-on approach has
been difficult to recreate through
virtual calls during the COVID-19
era, but her customer base has been
responsive to her team’s reorder
calls because they want to support
the business, she said.
EDUCATION AND EXPERTISE
Once providers have shown the
ability to build relationships with
clients, therapists and surgeons are
next up on the list. Many doctors
do not have time to explain the ins
and outs of compression with their
patients, entrusting providers with
the duty to educate their customers
on how to wear their garments and
why their therapy is beneficial in the
long and short term.
At San Diego Homecare Supplies,
Howell’s team of fitters spend a lot
of time with patients in the fitting
room talking about their condition,
their past experiences with
compression and success stories
of clients who have experience
immediate improvement in their
every day lives. Each fitter comes
equipped with a similar speech to
ensure that every patient receives
similar education about the
lymphatic system, among other
topics.
“The number one reason why
people wear compression is
education,” Howell said. “It’s not
how good it looks; it’s not how it fits.
They have to understand why they
are wearing it, what they can expect
from it and the results they’re going
to get from it.”
When one of her newer fitters
reports that they are having
an issue with a client, such as not
wanting to try on a sock in store,
Howell responds by listening
to the patient and allowing them
to relax. By regaining the patient’s
trust in the moment, Howell is also
able to show her employee that
they will be able to do the same as
they gain more experience in the
position.
“What we’re selling is not a
commodity, even though the
internet tries to treat it as such,”
Howell said. “What we’re selling
is our expertise in our service and
experience. You can’t learn that in a
class. You just have to do it and be
able to learn.”
CRITERIA FOR SUCCESS: PASSION
It remains important for providers
to attend compression fitter classes,
seek new product knowledge
through training sessions with
manufacturers and learn more
about the common conditions
experienced by patients. But Howell
cites a common characteristic
among successful compression
provider businesses: passion.
The business is not easy by any
means, she said, and providers often
deal with very difficult situations,
including very sick patients and
clients who don’t want to listen to
advice on therapy compliance. But
it’s all worth it when fitters can see
positive results in real-time due to
their intervention.
“I think the passion comes from
knowing the amount of difference
that the right sock and the right
arm sleeve can make,” Howell said.
“And when you have that passion,
you want to know how you can help
people even more.”
POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Compression services providers have an
opportunity to build a loyal customer base if
patients are properly educated about how to
wear their garments and can see the positive
results of compliance. - Fitters must develop a wide range of skills in
order to connect with patients and improve
therapy compliance rates, including the
development of product expertise and
knowledge of patients’ underlying conditions. - To stand apart from online sellers, providers
with in-person locations must show a
commitment to spending time with patients
and working through previous frustrations with
compression. - Relationship-building is key to ensuring that
customers reorder, even during times of crisis
like the current COVID-19 pandemic.
LEARN MORE
For newer teams, SIGVARIS (sigvaris.com) offers
basic fitter courses in addition to a specialist
training course. Juzo Academy (juzoacademy.com) also provides web tutorials and in-person
courses on everything from measuring to
compression for lymphedema and lipedema.
