This summer's hottest movie is expected to be
“Transformers.” We all like the concept. Just the idea
that one thing can be transformed into something else is pretty
exciting.
In home care, we all probably do some transforming every day. We
transform new employees with little sales and marketing expertise
into health care product experts. We transform delivery staff into
product experts. Many of us have transformed unsophisticated
businesses to those where computers and state-of-the-art software
allows us to monitor operations.
Having been in the industry an eternity (or so it feels), I
remember well that providers with retail stores were few and far
between. Most HME companies worked solely out of warehouses, and
retail was something left for the local food market or drugstore.
When someone did come into the location, we sold products out of
the back warehouse — no showroom, no advertising and concern
only for where employees, not customers, would park.
Now, it is time to take transforming out into the marketplace.
We need to begin transforming our “over the telephone”
referral sources into customers who know all about our retail
operation, our full product line and the service component of our
businesses. We need to transform those who have never visited our
store, referred a patient for a product purchase, or even know
where we are located into new retail customers.
Transforming these customers will take some time, but you can
begin with a plan and a strategy. Here are some suggestions for
making it happen:
Develop a small flyer discussing and focusing on your retail
products and programs. Include a picture of your store that
referral sources would recognize if they drove by. If there is a
well-known store nearby, use that as a landmark to help people find
you.
Create a postcard referral sources can share with their
customers that talks about your store and the products you
offer. Ask referral sources if it would be OK for them to share
the postcard with the customers they refer.
Continue to emphasize your store in all of your marketing
materials and when appropriate include a small map and
easy-to-understand directions to your store.
Make sure your delivery staff reminds all who receive
products in their homes about your store.
When attending meetings of health care professionals, make
sure you continue to let them know about your store.
If offered the opportunity to provide a slide presentation about
your company, include pictures of your locations/showroom and
customers.
Consider doing a mailing to all of your customers letting
them know where you are located. They may have seen your truck,
or looked at your brochure but had no idea you were working from a
store location only a few miles from their home.
Too often, referral sources only order or purchase those
products they are most familiar with. Is it possible they have not
referred anyone to your store because they do not know it exists?
They may be interested in more than just oxygen or a bedside
commode.
Transforming the referral source into a source of business for
your retail store is not easy. A great goal would be to find a way
to have the referral source come to your store to see what you are
all about. You may want to try one of the following:
An in-service program with CE's presented at your location.
An open house with a guest speaker who may be of interest to
health care professionals.
A program for your patients/customers about a particular
disease, product line or service.
A wheelchair cleaning day, letting both referral sources and
patients know about this special event.
Offer a day of health care screening for your customers.
Keep thinking about ways to expose your customer base to all
that you offer. Once you begin transforming all of your
professional customers into retail-aware customers, you will be on
your way to transforming low retail sales to a new high-revenue
source of business.
And if none of this helps, just go see the movie and see how the
real Transformers work!
Louis Feuer is president of Dynamic Seminars & Consulting
Inc. and the founder and director of the DSC Teleconference Series,
a teleconference training program. He can be reached at www.DynamicSeminars.com or by phone at
954/435-8182.
