Competitive athletes, fitness enthusiasts, weekend warriors, and even active seniors are seeking resource centers that can provide products and simple solutions for minor orthopedic needs. This trend presents DME providers with a valuable opportunity to capture a larger revenue stream from braces and supports, simply by using a creative and targeted marketing strategy, carrying a wide range of appealing products, and providing knowledgeable customer service.

Orthopedic products have gone through a revolution in the last few years. Long gone are the sterile white boxes that contained braces of the past. In are the colorful, educational packages that display impressive choices. Most manufacturers offer in-store displays that help patients narrow down choices to a few they would like to try on. Step-by-step instructions with diagrams are included in most packaging to assist patients when they don their brace for the first time alone.

There is now a wide selection of bracing available in orthopedic soft goods: wrist supports, elbow braces, knee braces, ankle braces, slings, back and neck supports, and cervical pillows. When you supply a handful of products in each of these categories, patients will remember what you have and come back if they need something else. Better yet, they will tell their friends, and that is free marketing!

A Prepared Staff
A well-educated staff is essential. Customer service personnel should be able to listen to the consumer’s basic problem and guide them to the appropriate brace or support. Appropriate fit and education on how to don and doff the product are also important factors in customer satisfaction. It is often beneficial to have health professionals such as physical therapists or athletic trainers on staff. In addition to being valuable resources for customers, they can provide staff training and communicate effectively with physicians and other allied health referral sources.

Be sure to also educate your staff about billing issues they might encounter when helping patients. Providing information about insurance coverage, payment options, and company billing procedures is helpful when answering your patients’ questions.

Another source of staff education is product manufacturers. Several manufacturers offer training sessions either on-site or in week-long seminars to help your staff gain a basic understanding of human anatomy, physiology, and pathology. These seminars also provide information about proper product selection and hands-on fitting and application.

Showroom Appeal
Create an area in your facility that is dedicated to the display of braces, supports, and sports medicine products. Make it appealing to the sporting population by using color and eye-catching graphics. If space allows, try to put some distance between the brace and support section and the area of the store that displays items for toileting, mobility, and other needs—this eliminates the potential for any customers feeling uncomfortable while they shop.

A fitting table or bench is beneficial because it provides customers with the opportunity to easily sit and don the brace or support. For items that require the removal of clothing, a fitting room or a large handicapped bathroom equipped with a bench or chair is helpful. Create a display of educational handouts for your customers that describe proper brace use, care of the product, and recommendations for other products that may be of assistance.

Getting Referrals
The atmosphere in a physician’s office can often be described as chaotic at best. The staff, often overworked, is striving to just survive the work day while providing the best care possible. They are inundated with sales calls from representatives trying to bring them lunch and little more. Although most still appreciate a free lunch, the staying power of your efforts lasts only until the next representative brings a better sandwich. When questioned about what they would prefer, most nurses and medical assistants will respond by stating, “Just show me a way to make my job easier.”

Solve their problem with an informational in-service on a product their patients might need. Introduce a program that effectively takes some of the insurance hassles off their load. Offer to do a seminar for patients and caregivers that provides valuable information that enhances the quality of life and can be tied to one or several of your product lines. Cater to the entire staff, not just the physician. On a daily basis, the decision on where to send referrals is often in the hands of the doctor’s trusted nurses or medical assistants.

When given the chance to sit down with physicians, ask them for their preferences on product lines. If they are particular, try your best within reasonable business practices to carry the products they prefer. An indifferent physician often responds to some brief education on why one product may be better than the rest. Differentiate your office from the rest by being well informed and organized regarding the details on your products. Be prepared to answer questions ranging from comfort and ease of use to insurance-related issues. Make physicians feel like they are sending their patients to the best possible place where each will have a positive, educational experience.

Bringing a manufacturer’s representative (whose product you feature in your store) can be helpful when you want to show indifferent physicians new product lines. Manufacturer’s representatives are knowledgeable about their product lines and can help you answer more technical questions regarding how the brace is designed and fitted. It is critical that you are well educated about your product lines when addressing these health professionals. They are often much more critical about details like the selection of the most appropriate product and how it fits. Determining their preferences on product lines is also extremely beneficial.

Once physicians and staff members have opened up about their product needs, create educational handouts that specifically cover those products and meet those needs. This reinforces what you have brought into their practice and what they should remember about your company. These educational tools are quick reminders for referral sources about what products you carry, insurance you accept, and resources they can access. When all else fails: repeat, repeat, repeat. Make sure people associate your face with your company. The more they recognize you, the more they will come to rely upon you and your expertise.
Marketing to allied health facilities like physical therapy clinics is also a good idea. Physical therapists, occupational therapists, athletic trainers, and massage therapists are always looking for a place to send their patients for braces, supports, pillows, and physical therapy supplies. Attending conferences that cater to these target markets can also be beneficial. These conferences can provide invaluable networking opportunities.

Marketing to the Public
DME companies often depend on physician referrals for the majority of their business. Understandably, the focus of the marketing program is therefore aimed at a narrow segment of the population. If this marketing tactic were pictured as a funnel, one would imagine a narrow top and an even narrower bottom. Marketing to primary targets in the general public can significantly increase the size of the top of the funnel, which, in turn, will result in business growth.

Identify your specific population targets based on the expertise of your staff. Advertising to schools, club sports programs, sporting events, and senior centers can be effective. Community-based activities are also well received. Host an educational seminar series on a variety of topics that may tie to the product lines available at your office. Participate in the local health fairs and attend professional conferences as a sponsor or vendor. These events offer invaluable opportunities to network not only with the general public, but also with other health-related businesses.

A highly visible storefront with an eye-catching display can create interest and draw patients into the store. Usually patients do not know what products are available to them, and they are always surprised to find a store that (1) carries the product(s) they need and (2) educates, evaluates, and trains in the products’ appropriate use. Your staff, armed with the resources you have given them, can educate patients about selecting the appropriate products and train patients about how to don and doff the products.

Whatever your target population may be, the keys to increasing your bottom line are directly tied to well-planned marketing strategies and a facility staffed by professionals who deliver what you have promised. Happy and impressed customers are still the best marketing tools.

Helen Gabbard is a sales and marketing manager with Major Medical Supply in Denver and Longmont, Colo. She can be reached via e-mail: helen@majormedicalsupply.com. Marla Tappy, MS, PT, ATC, also contributed to this article. Tappy specializes in sports medicine and orthopedics and has an extensive background in retail sports medicine sales. She is also a business development specialist for PVHS Home Medical Supply, Fort Collins, Colo.