HME veteran and retail expert Jim Greatorex, Business Development, VGM Retail Services, formerly of Maine’s Black Bear Medical, shares tips for a successful cash orthopedic soft goods product line:
- Research and find a clinically sound, complete product line. You may need to buy from two or three vendors in order to hit market demand.
- Make sure your customer service representatives are thoroughly trained by the manufacture on the product line. Make them product gurus who can comfortably recommend solutions to customers. Allow them to use the products themselves and in their families so they can have first- hand knowledge to go with intensive training.
- I believe the best way to grow in this category is to except walk-in prescriptions. Complement that with a modest marketing campaign that could entail a mailing to orthopedic clinics, general/ family practices, outpatient physical therapy clinics, and any other referral source in which your business has a strong relationship.
- Make sure the customer experience you provide includes person-to-person instructions on appropriate fit and use.
- Provide good, better, best options for the fastest-moving SKUs, which would be supports for the knees, ankles, wrists, backs and elbows. At the very least have two options.
- Make sure you have a fitting room close by and some out of the box products available for the consumer to try on and feel.
- Train your customer service representatives to educate the customer as they would their own family. This will result in increased sales of the higher-quality products.
- Don’t try to compete with Walmart on price. Pick product lines that aren’t carried by big box stores and emphasize quality.
