Safety First

If someone walks into an HME, nine times out of 10 they’ll need a bathroom safety product if they don’t already have one in their home, says Kevin Jones, senior product and brand manger for Home Care by Moen. Regardless of what else the customer needs — a walker, wheelchair or oxygen concentrator — the bath safety products typically come into play at an earlier stage, he says.

With odds like these, providers can barely afford not to take advantage of this expanding market, manufacturers say. And cash sales from bath safety products will become increasingly important for providers looking beyond the traditional reimbursement business model, especially in the face of competitive bidding and Medicare payment cuts.

“We think the bath safety market is certainly one of the bright spots for HME amid everything else going on with regard to reimbursement and extensive concerns in the marketplace,” says Jones. “It’s hard to argue against bath safety and what it has to offer.”

There’s no argument that this market is growing by leaps and bounds. Falls are the No. 1 cause of injury for older adults, and as baby boomers continue to age, the need for products to assist and prevent dangerous slips in the bathroom will only increase, he points out.

By 2010, 100 million Americans will be age 50 and older, Jones says. Furthermore, there are 54 million caregivers in the country, buying for parents, grandparents and injured family members. He estimates that Moen’s bath safety line will continue to grow 8 to 10 percent annually.

“If you put those figures together, from a demand perspective, bath safety is a great place to be,” he says.

But with growth comes greater competition from traditional retailers, pharmacies and online companies, who all want a piece of this lucrative market.

“There are broader channels for distribution and more and more sales through these channels,” says Raj Sandhu, product manager for personal care and bathing at Invacare. “We’re seeing more e-commerce sites that are out there today than ever before. They are tapping into this home care market and offering a wide variety of products, including bath safety, and marketing direct to consumers.”

Providers that want to play need to brush up on their retail strategies and offer a wide-variety of products to address the different wants and needs of consumers, whether it’s more style, comfort, stability, function, portability or ease of use, according to manufacturers.

“Those who don’t will be under constant assault from retailers who are also offering these products,” Jones warns. “The future is bright for anyone who follows the trends and adapts accordingly.”

It’s All in the Details

While cost is one of the main considerations when manufacturers are developing reimbursable HME products, bath safety products are in a unique position. Because most of the products are not covered by Medicare, manufacturers say they have the freedom to develop and offer more attractive and feature-rich products that many consumers are willing to pay for out-of-pocket.

“As a whole, [the bath safety market] is focusing more on innovation and function than the lowest price,” says Scott Marcus, co-owner and vice president of sales for Health Circle. “I think that will continue to evolve because baby boomers have more disposable income and they’re educated.”

Among the new developments in bath safety products is replacing rails on the sides of shower chairs and commodes with armrests or support handles.

According to Jones, Moen conducted a study on how people sit and stand and found that handles on the side give them better support and are easier to use. “If there’s a bar on the side of the commode, how do you clean yourself?” he asks.

In response to these findings, Moen is rolling out new products — including a commode, transfer bench and shower chair — in April that include support handles with rubber grips at the top.

Grab bars that swing for varying levels of support are another innovation, according Jason Saint-Amant, sales marketing manager of HealthCraft Products. The company’s grab bar with a pivoting design won the 2007 Innovation Award at Medtrade.

“One request we get working with therapists all the time is to create something beyond static movement and create something with a motion to it that allows people to be supported at all times,” he says.

If people have limited upper body strength they often will reach across the bathtub to try to hold the grab bar, which puts them at risk of falling forward and injuring themselves, Saint-Amant explains.

Manufacturers also are paying more attention to ergonomics and increasing comfort. For example, the seat of Moen’s soon-to-be-released shower chair is made out of mesh material that gives, so it is as comfortable as an office chair, Jones says.

Light and Simple

As the aging are living more active lifestyles and traveling more than previous generations, the demand for products that are lightweight and portable is growing, says Health Circle’s Marcus, whose company sells suction cup grab bars.

“It seems to be more about convenience,” he says. “They want to live, they don’t want to just be stuck in their homes.”

Many consumers also are looking for products that are portable and compactable for storage within the home, notes Invacare’s Sandhu. In response to this trend, the company recently released a folding commode that can be put away when it is not being used.

A number of consumers, especially the elderly, also are looking for simple solutions, such as products that can be assembled with fewer screws and bolts and more snap-together items, says Brent Yamamoto, assistant marketing manager for Eagle Health Supplies. Many of them also are looking for products that don’t require installation or drilling into bathroom tiles, such as grab bars with ceiling-to-floor holds.

Another trend that is becoming increasingly popular and simplifies life for patients and caregivers is all-in-one solutions, such as a shower chair that also functions as a commode, he says.

“Instead of having to transfer a patient from the commode to a wheelchair to another chair in the shower, [the caregiver] is able to just keep them on that for the whole time,” he explains.

They’ve Got the Look

As consumers become more discriminating, they are more willing to shell out bigger bucks for more attractive, better-quality products, bath safety product makers say.

“We never thought high-end bath safety was going to have any potential, but Moen has proved us wrong on that,” Marcus says. “It’s going to be quite a viable segment of the business for a long time.”

Previously, customers who wanted a grab bar were limited to an “exposed-screw, gas station-looking” grab bar, or a white grab bar, says Jones.

“If you have all [oil-rubbed bronze] accessories in your bathroom, and all you see is a white grab bar at the HME, you’re not going to be happy about putting that in,” he says. “The trend of aging in place does not have to be ugly, and it doesn’t have to be uncomfortable. It can be stable, but still comfortable and attractive.”

And people with nice bathrooms are looking for something less institutional-looking, and something that looks like it belongs in the bathroom says Jones. The company, which expanded into the bath safety market several years ago, began to offer more stylish options for consumers, such as grab bars in a number of popular finishes such as oil-rubbed bronze and Old World bronze to match other bathroom accessories.

“We’re trying to expand the market to get people to adopt these products earlier in life,” Jones says. “If you make them attractive, people are more likely to do that.”

While some consumers will always want the cheapest products, Marcus notes “some of the higher-end products that are selling are built better, look better, are more functional, and it’s noticeable.”

But education is key to make sure customers understand the differences in quality and function between products such as grab bars, which can range from $20 to $50 at retail, Saint-Amant says.

“For a consumer, once they understand what a product will do for them, it’s justified in the price,” he says.

People also are willing to pay for products as they become more educated on the importance of preventing falls that can cause serious injuries, rather than after there’s an incident, Saint-Amant adds.

“What people are looking for is a solution to the problem, and that’s preventing falls or allowing mom or dad to shower on their own again and not having mom have to take care of dad in the shower and put them both at risk of falling,” he continues.

“Paying $100 to $200 to have that independence again is not something that most people have a problem doing.”

One Size Doesn’t Fit All

The days of providers offering only one option for customers, such as a single shower chair or grab bar, just won’t cut it anymore, Jones says. Instead, providers who want to thrive in the bath safety arena will need to offer a wide selection of products that address the varied concerns of their customers.

“Every consumer is not the same. You can’t have one product to meet the needs for every consumer and caregiver,” he says. “[The provider] has to ask, ‘Are you looking for more style? Are you looking for more comfort? Or are you looking for more durability and stability?’ They may be different products.”

And keep in mind that different age groups may not have the same expectations when it comes to bath safety. Moen’s market research found that the elderly tend to be satisfied with traditional, institutional-looking items, Jones says.

“They see a chair or grab bar and think it’s supposed to be ugly because [it’s] a bad thing that they’re aging,” he says. “That’s because they’ve never seen anything that was different.”

However, when Moen talked to the typically younger caregivers, Jones says they were more likely to prefer a product that offered more comfort and style.

“As baby boomers are demanding more premium products, there’s a segmentation in the market,” he says. “People want the option of good, better or best.”

Think Like a Retailer

Manufacturers note that taking products out of the box and displaying them in a bathroom environment in the store is key to increasing sales.

“Products don’t sell out of brochures,” Saint-Amant says. “Demonstrate the products and physically have them on hand in the showroom where clients can touch the product and understand how they work.”

The average customer who hasn’t seen anything innovative might not know what a product like a transfer chair is, Yamamoto points out. “But if they have it over a bathtub, it might spark a conversation or it will help the customer figure out what it is or how it works,” he adds.

Jones recommends visiting local retailers for ideas on merchandising, how to best position products, how to use signage, how to create displays and how to use literature to compel the consumer to want to make that purchase.

Besides offering a wide selection of products, it’s also important for providers to keep up with the trends in the market and offer some of the latest and greatest products to put on display. “Dealers are going to want [products] that stand out in their store,” Marcus says.

In addition to marketing and advertising, providers can increase their presence in the community by meeting with occupational therapists, who understand what their patients need, Saint-Amant suggests.

“Therapists are always open to hearing about new products that solve problems,” he says. “And it’s a great way of generating referrals and solving problems in the community.”

Compete with Customer Service

Experts Interviewed:

Compete with Customer Service

In recent years, e-commerce sites selling retail home care products have taken off, and also have taken potential HME customers with them. To compete with these Web sites, retailers, drug stores and other outlets, HME providers will have to train and maintain a top-notch sales staff, manufacturers say.

“As the population moves more toward tech-savvy [consumers], a lot of people are looking more toward the Internet for their needs,” says Eagle Health Supplies’ Brent Yamamoto. “Providers will need to provide a lot more customer service to get their customers back.”

Even though customers may be able to get a lower price for bath safety products over the Internet, they get what they pay for, he says. “It’s not the same thing. You’re paying a cheap price, but you have no follow-up, and the customer is not getting any help,” Yamamoto explains. “If you buy from a supplier, you’ll have someone to teach you how to work [the product].”

Providers will have to leverage their advantage that they are the experts, says Home Care by Moen’s Kevin Jones. “The HME is a specialized store, so [providers] should leverage that versus a mass retailer,” he says. “But you can’t just expect consumers to walk in and ask for it. HMEs have to focus on developing [the expertise], advertising it and driving it so consumers will come to them instead of the local pharmacy or somewhere else.”

To do this, a sales staff that is well-educated about the products is key, says Scott Marcus of Health Circle. “If the store looks cluttered, or if the salesperson is rushing and doesn’t know or care to know about the products, you’ve wasted all that effort and money,” he says.

But on the flip side, for good salespeople who know the products and take the time to get to know the customer, “the customer will probably buy something and sometimes come back later and bring a friend,” Marcus says.

One thing HME sales employees can do to increase sales and customer service is ask, “How can I provide a fuller solution for my customer?” Jones suggests. For example, if a customer comes in and needs a seat cushion for a wheelchair, he says staff should always ask, “Do you have grab bars? Do you have a hand-held shower?” If they do, then ask further, “Does yours do this and this and this? Look at this product we just got in.”

“They have to make that shift from selling based on customer requests to becoming a solutions provider,” he says.

Experts Interviewed:

Kevin Jones, senior product and brand manger, Home Care by Moen, North Olmsted, Ohio; Scott Marcus, co-owner and vice president of sales for Health Circle, Boca Raton, Fla.; Jason Saint-Amant, sales marketing manager, HealthCraft Products, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Raj Sandhu, product manager for personal care and bathing, Invacare Corp., Elyria, Ohio; Brent Yamamoto, assistant marketing manager, Eagle Health Supplies, Orange, Calif.