Match Point

The market for sports and recreational wheelchairs can make you as dizzy as watching a tennis match. Some providers see great opportunity; others don’t want to get involved. There is even disagreement over which sports are most popular. Yet there is consensus regarding the benefits that adaptive sports provide: They improve the lives of those who participate both physically and emotionally.

Matt Traynor, a certified rehabilitation technology supplier with the University of Michigan’s Wheelchair Seating Service in Ann Arbor, says the fun part about sports and recreation programs for people with disabilities is simply showing them they can participate in and enjoy these activities.

Alice Krauss, M.Ed., OT/L, is the manager of the Brooks Adaptive Sport and Recreation Program in Jacksonville, Fla., a community health initiative of Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital. Krauss says it is all about “meaning and purpose in life.

“Year after year, we would get people through the rehabilitation program and they would make great gains, but they would not have a life — there would not be a quality of life that they deserved,” she explains.

“The missing feature for people was leisure. We pay so much attention to making sure they are continent of bowel and bladder, they can feed and dress themselves and brush their teeth and hair, but there was not a focus on the fact that human beings need an outlet for leisure.”

For many, wheelchair sports can provide this meaning. From basketball to handcycling to tennis, almost every sport can be adapted for wheelchair users. Even quad rugby (remember the 2005 movie Murderball) boasts 40 teams across the country.

The question is, then, is it worth it for HME providers to sell and service this market? According to those working in the field, the answer varies.

Putting Your Name on the Roster

Unease in the mobility market has certainly increased providers’ hesitancy to get involved in sports and recreation.

But Josh Anderson, vice president of marketing for TiLite, Kennewick, Wash., points out providers should consider that this specialized segment offers viable opportunities for cash sales and future business.

“The customers for these wheelchairs tend to be a more educated consumer, so they are looking for equipment that they already know they’re going to have to pay for — and that is a person that you want in terms of being able to provide everyday equipment for,” he says.

Myria Crawford, director of mobility and standard HME marketing for Longmont, Colo.-based Sunrise Medical, says in addition to HME businesses becoming the “automatic go-to for the consumer when they are interested in obtaining additional products,” being involved with the distribution of sports products can also significantly increase provider visibility in the local rehab community.

“Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool,” Crawford notes.

On the other hand, says Tim Pederson, ATS, CEO of WestMed Rehab in Rapid City, S.D., preparing for further reimbursement cuts in the mobility sector and the ramifications of competitive bidding don’t put the market on the priority list. “By and large,” he says, “the margin has been very low on those [chairs] to begin with … Also, these are very technical chairs. You have to be very exact when you spec them out, meaning there is not a lot of margin for error.”

In the industry’s unsettled circumstances, he continues, “I don’t see providers really going after that. There are too many other battles that have to be fought.”

Your Marketing Game Plan

For providers who do want to expand into the sports and recreation market, there are key elements to incorporate. One of those is consumer marketing, which experts say should be both creative and targeted.

“Our first avenue of marketing is always, and probably will always be, the consumer,” says Anderson. “Certainly, it is very important to have the provider involved and as up-to-date as possible.”

For providers to become known as a specialist in sports and recreation, they must be visible.

“I see a lot of consumers going to providers now and they look around and see oxygen and urological supplies and scooters, but they don’t see any high-end wheelchairs,” adds Anderson. “They get a little turned off by that. Yes, it’s expensive to have high-end wheelchairs as demos on your floor, but it shows a level of commitment to that market.”

He also points out that providers don’t have to stock every sports chair available — they just have to have one. “Even if it is the completely wrong-style chair for the individual that is coming in, it still shows attention to that end of the market,” Anderson says.

Mary Carol Peterson, OTR/L, product manager for Elyria, Ohio-based Invacare’s Top End division, agrees. “The thing that I find the most frustrating is that people will call up … wanting to try a handcycle, but there is hardly anywhere you can go to try one because providers don’t stock them,” she says.

“If [providers] have a show model and they keep it on their floor for six months or even less, they could definitely sell that model and buy a new one. People do not lose money on a demo; they can always sell it.”

Reaching out to consumers means knowing where they are and what they are doing.

“You have to work really closely with the community resources that you have — the outreach programs, the spinal cord support groups and the multiple sclerosis support groups, for example,” says Invacare’s Peterson. “If you get involved with your rehab hospitals, you will see they have those kinds of support systems already in place. Providers just have to tap into them.”

UM’s Traynor says commercial advertising is expensive and has not proven to be cost-effective. But he has experienced success focusing on the recreational teams in the Ann Arbor area. “It’s better to focus on the teams and your current customers,” he says.

Traynor got involved with local teams when one of his referral sources asked him to look at the kids’ wheelchairs at a practice and perform some minor repairs. He recently became a coach as well. “I started going every week and have been doing it for the last three years,” he says. “At the end of last year, [the therapist] asked if I wanted to help coach one of her teams.”

Peterson says one of the best ways to become involved with local sports teams is to begin talking with recreational therapists at schools and rehab hospitals. “Remember, you generally only need one or two good contacts to really learn where team competitions and events are happening,” she says.

Building Business with Special Events

Many providers are successful when they plan events to showcase their line of sports and recreational wheelchairs. Wheelchair repair clinics, “bike days” and other special events offer opportunities to meet customers and show off the newest products.

“Having a bike day is fun, and it is typically more successful if you team up with someone, such as a rehab hospital,” says Peterson.

Such events can be profitable, but they must be organized and well-planned. The first step should be determining who will come and how many attendees to expect. Then, providers should make sure they have enough products to handle the group’s size. Peterson says she has been involved in several events that have had 100 to 200 attendees.

Some providers even choose to hold two events at once, such as pairing a bike day with a wheelchair tune-up promotion. “You have service repair personnel give a once-over to the wheelchair and tighten up all the loose bolts,” says Peterson. “If more repairs are needed, the customer can schedule an appointment.”

TiLite’s Anderson adds that manufacturers will support rehab events to help with display and customer education. “It can be a very successful day because many consumers don’t have the opportunity to get out there and get a hands-on experience with the equipment they’re considering,” he says.

Anderson adds that he hears some providers say they do not “do sports chairs” because there are not enough people who play to make it worthwhile. “I tend to disagree with that and think it is a poor way to look at the market,” he says. “Those are the people who are typically out there talking about their equipment and who are more comfortable paying for better equipment and for upgrades to their equipment.”

The sports and recreation market is founded on the principles of occupational therapy. “As therapists, we all want our patients to go back to living the most fulfilling life they can — back to work, back to play, back to life,” says Krauss. “The sports and recreation angle will give you that.”

Krauss stresses that the emotional and physical benefits of participating in wheelchair sports programs are obvious. But there is more, she says.

“I cannot tell you how many people I have heard say that the adaptive sport they play has turned their life around — from suicidal thoughts to a passion for living.”

Check These Web Sites For More Information

• Adaptive Adventures provides progressive sports and recreation opportunities for children and adults of all ages: www.adaptiveadentures.org
• Disabled Sports USA offers nationwide sports rehabilitation programs to anyone with a permanent disability; activities include winter skiing, water sports, summer and winter competitions, fitness and special sports events: www.dsusa.org
• The National Wheelchair Basketball Association is comprised of 181 basketball teams within 22 conferences: www.nwba.org
• The United States Handcycling Federation provides information on races, available products and training: www.ushf.org
• The United States Quad Rugby Association lists teams by geographical area and a calendar of events: www.quadrugby.com
• The United States Tennis Association has leagues and tournaments for wheelchair athletes as well as guidelines for starting a local league: www.usta.com
• Wheelchair Sports, USA offers information on archery, track and field, table tennis, shooting, swimming and weightlifting: www.wsusa.org

Competing Against The Internet

It is a fact that many wheelchair users looking for sports chairs find discounted prices on the Internet. But local providers can overcome this obstacle if they focus on service and remain competitive with pricing, according to those working in the field.

“The bottom line is HME providers will never get full retail. If they are competing with online dealers, those companies usually have a discount of about 20 percent or the mark-up is 20 percent, whichever way you want to go,” says Mary Carol Peterson, OTR/L, product manager for Invacare’s Top End division. She adds that providers should know the prices these products are selling for on the Internet.

“You have to know your competition. Go online and find out what they are charging,” she advises. “If you are charging a lot more than what the online companies are, you might as well just tell [a potential customer] not to come in.”

She notes that providers often complain that potential customers come into their showrooms for a demonstration of the products but then go online to buy it. “The answer there is that you have to sell yourself on service and meet the price of online people,” she says.

Matt Traynor, a certified rehab technology supplier with the University of Michigan’s Wheelchair Seating Service, agrees that being competitive is a must. “When it comes down to self-funding and paying out-of-pocket, there’s not much you can do to compete with Internet companies other than giving [customers] a really good discount,” he says.

“Providing the product as close to cost as possible — but not losing any money — gives you the opportunity to work with [customers] on the pricing and keeps them coming back to you for the repairs, which is important. Most will go through two or three sets of tires in a season.”