Back pain affects one in four americans and is the second-leading cause of work absenteeism, according to the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. The American Chiropractic Association estimates that 85% of Americans will have back pain at some point in their lives.

“When I opened my first shop in 1978,” says JoAnne Schatz, founder of JoAnne’s Bed & Back Shops, “I had never heard those statistics. But as a medical secretary for a busy orthopedic surgeon, I could observe him suggesting products to support patients’ backs in their cars and at home. There was just one problem. Patients wouldn’t know where to go to buy them,” she says.

JoAnne quickly realized that if she sold these products herself, she could turn a tidy profit. Today she and husband Skip own JoAnne’s Bed & Back Shops, a nine-store regional chain in the Baltimore and Annapolis areas—and plans for further expansion are definitely on the drawing board, she says.

When she launched her enterprise, she had no idea her business would be so successful. Her motivation was a simple desire to fill a need, she says. “As a child, I used to bring home stray cats, birds with broken wings...I was a fix-it person. When I first started selling products out of the orthopedic office, it wasn’t to make money. It was to help people,” she says. “If I made more than $4 an hour, I was happy.”

The Schatzes acknowledge being very happy today, as last year their shops sold close to $10 million worth of back support products.

JoAnne’s Shops stock back support devices that cover a customer for 80% of the day, which includes driving to work, at work, at home relaxing, and sleeping. Branding is important to the business, and as the chain grew, the amount of business she did with various manufacturers allowed her to work with them to create a JoAnne’s store-brand product line. These products, which she considers to be generics, are priced slightly below the national brand products she also carries.

To avoid excessive mall rents and restrictive leases that determine the hours and days that a store must remain open, JoAnne’s stores are all in freestanding buildings, situated along major roads and turnpikes. A visible, easy-to-get-to location is important, she says, because drive-by traffic is a large part of the business, with name recognition established through radio and television commercials, as well as editorial coverage.

Marketing Tricks
Though the size of JoAnne’s chain allows her to spend a significant amount of money on advertising, some of her best marketing techniques are inexpensive ones any HME provider can do. For example, an effective business-building ploy is to invite physical therapists, occupational therapists, and physicians to conduct training sessions and consultations in her stores. The goal is to assist customers in achieving a proper fit with back care devices such as pillows, beds, office chairs, and mattresses.

Occupational therapists, eager to get their patients back to work, often help with fitting office chairs. And JoAnne does not miss the opportunity to reinforce her image as a health and wellness store. “At these gatherings we serve cheese, crackers, juice, and health food drinks, in keeping with our overall health-oriented outlook,” she says.

The events are publicized on the radio, and also through the therapists’ network of offices. Although she never partners with physical therapists, she receives numerous referrals from them, as well as from social workers.

Word-of-mouth advertising also is successful for JoAnne. Satisfied patients return to their therapists with good things to say, and the therapists send more patients, so it’s a positive situation that builds on itself, she says. She also works in a community services capacity, often giving lift chairs and other merchandise to churches and senior organizations at discounted prices.

Not surprisingly, at least to JoAnne, her shops sell a lot of beds to doctors. “How can you recommend something to someone if you haven’t used it yourself?” she says. “If you have used it yourself, and it is wonderful for you, your recommendation comes from real integrity.”

Another important sales tool is the company’s Web site, www.backfriendly.com. Although it generates few direct sales, customers use it like a phone book. “They take a look at the site, then come in the store,” JoAnne says. “With a bad back it is very hard to order through a Web site because you have to be fitted, and we have to show you how to use the product properly to realize all its benefits,” she says. The Web site helps prospective customers take the first step.

Reimbursement Woes
Though JoAnne is a firm believer in the benefits of back care products, convincing third-party payors to invest in these products can be a challenge. Many of her products are nonreimbursable, but she carries them anyway. If customers need something, they will find a way to pay for it, she says. Sometimes employers will pay for office chairs to get their employees back to work.

To protect against claim denials, JoAnne’s does no third-party billing without pre-authorization in writing. Customers without pre-authorization can still use their insurance plan, but they must file the reimbursement claim with their insurer directly. JoAnne’s will not handle that claim.

As more insurers recognize the cost savings of proper back care, JoAnne’s may increase the small percentage of the business that is done through third-party billing. “Many private insurers will reimburse because they realize the product can keep the patient out of the hospital and help him stay more independent. This applies to many of our products,” JoAnne says.

The typical JoAnne’s customer is a 45 or older working woman. Expansion plans include targeting younger customers and getting the message across that the products in the store are not designed for just a hurting or injured back. The products also have great therapeutic value in preventing the minor aches and pains that many people experience every day. “Sometimes it is just a matter of finding the right pillow or being fitted to the proper chair,” she says. “And it needn’t be expensive. Cushions start at $30 and less.”

JoAnne knows from experience what it can mean to a customer to soothe an aching back that is stressed from days at a computer or hours behind the wheel of a car stuck in traffic. She has coupled this caring attitude with good intuitive marketing savvy, and turned pain into gain for everyone concerned. “If it makes you more comfortable, you are going to feel better, and you will want to get up and get out,” she says. “There’s a tremendous benefit to feeling good.”

Judy Wade is a contributing writer for Dealer/Provider.