A Little Bit Country

There is an old-timey, sure-‘nuf country store just down the road from my house. It’s a real delight, especially because I live in a crowded suburb not far from the heart of downtown Atlanta.

Along with fresh summer produce, the tiny enterprise carries those old-fashioned, sugary peppermint sticks, pots of blooming flowers, mile-high cakes made from Grandma’s recipes and even genuine Moon pies. On most days there’s a big iron pot of peanuts (a favorite snack of Southerners) boiling over a fire outside.

The store also has a particular specialty that is great fun to peruse — hot sauce. One rustic wall is filled with hundreds of little bottles that have names like Scorned Woman, Meltdown, Liquid Ax — Cuts Even the Toughest Taste Buds, Slap Your Mama and Jump Up and Kiss Me Hot Sauce. Customers pore over the variety and often laugh out loud as they decide which one to choose for their checkout baskets.

With its selection of specialty items, the little store is thriving among many large competitors, which include several nearby grocery chains, a major mall and a well-known county farmer’s market. Judging from the packed parking lot on Saturdays, this store has found a niche and is expanding its customer base.

These days, most consultants are advising that you do exactly the same. Developing a specialty that will set your business apart can go a long way toward sheltering it from the industry’s harsh competition, and can provide a protective hedge against coming conditions like competitive bidding.

Searching for a way to distinguish your HME, however, requires thoughtful assessment of your current product mix and services, those of your competitors and your community’s needs. Perhaps, for example, the managed-care payers in your area are looking for a good pediatric program. Or maybe there is an opportunity in the growing sleep products arena that is not being served.

While the experts caution that venturing into an unfamiliar specialty is not without risk, because both new services and new customers will be involved, building niche business represents one way to meet the challenge of remaining profitable in the industry’s changing environment.

Do you know what’s missing in your market?