I spent a weekend last month with my 84-year-old mother-in-law explaining the ins-and-outs of home health care. She had been bedridden, alone in her apartment, for more than eight days when my husband and I arrived to assess her living situation and home care needs. She had been getting by on the grace of her good friends, who were bringing her food and needed items.
However, she was barely getting to the bathroom using two canes she had purchased. We made a number of calls to her physicians and to local HME companies. I regret to say that our experience trying to get her the right mobility devices took some time, partly because her physicians were slow to get back to us — but also because staff at the HME companies we contacted were not up to speed on wheelchairs and walkers. Good thing we were.
So, what is the moral of this story? There are three major markets for power wheelchairs. These are 1) young men and women (primarily men) with debilitating injuries, such as spinal cord injuries; 2) the frail elderly; and 3) people of various ages whose illnesses cause them to be disabled for short or long periods of time. Each of these target markets has different psychographics (factors that influence people's buying decisions), and it is important that you prioritize these targets in your business.
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Let's start with the debilitated young person market. This is a unique segment with need generally caused by emergency accidents. Think of Christopher Reeve.
Entry into this market means that you have an expert custom fitter to work with patients who need help. These fitters are usually trained on the unique aspects of the business, and they develop strong working relationships with their customers.
Set up an incentive plan to motivate your fitter to build business for you. Certainly you should have a non-compete in place for these individuals, but consider stock options to keep these staff members motivated and tied to your business. Depending on their level of sales experience, pair them with a strong salesperson to generate new leads, and develop an incentive plan that motivates both employees to grow your custom wheelchair business.
Target traditional referral sources such as rehabilitation facilities and sports injury physicians. Decide whether you want to be in the Medicaid business for the under-18 to 21 population. Some states have sufficient Medicaid payment while others do not.
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The second market is the frail elderly, like my mother-in-law. A huge and growing number of elderly people need help getting around, but they don't know exactly what they need or where to find it.
In order to build market share with the elderly, you have to understand how this generation thinks and responds to health care events. Many of these people are Depression children who never really took good care of their bodies and who rely primarily on physicians to make referrals. Develop both a traditional marketing plan and a consumer marketing plan. Get your sales reps out to the physicians who care for the elderly, and really educate them about mobility options.
Develop a consumer pamphlet on mobility. Write it in a language that is simple for the elderly to understand. My explanation to my mother-in-law was quite simple: “It is potentially dangerous for you to try and get around on two canes because you could slip. Look at this picture of a walker; this would be more stable. And for getting around outside, consider a power wheelchair.” She enjoyed the pictures and got the concept. Then she was empowered to speak to her physician about what she needed.
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The third market is people with injuries, including people with acute mobility issues such as those who have had hip surgery, and those with chronic diseases such as multiple sclerosis. This is a diverse target market. Figure out who/what you want to target, then generate educational sales and consumer materials directed toward specific problems with the solution of power wheelchairs.
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General “spiels” do not work. Stop your reps from saying only that you have power wheelchairs. Speak the case language. “Do you have patients who have xyz diagnosis? If we get them this device, they will have this benefit.” Talk specifics and case find. This is the means for developing sales in this market.
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Place a great ad in your yellow pages and on the Internet. Yellow page ads should use a unique color. Internet ads need to be large. Make your ad stand out. Put it in consumer language. Use a professional graphic artist. Don't skimp.
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And, when you get a phone call from an Alison Cherney who now represents the adult child of someone who needs help, make sure your staff can answer the questions that get asked.
Customer service needs to improve. We need to help people figure out what they need so they can stay mobile in their homes.
Alison Cherney is president of Cherney & Associates Inc., a Brentwood, Tenn.-based marketing and sales consulting firm, and is the producer of Homecare Power Selling, a sales training program for home care sales reps. She can be reached at 615/776-3399 or through www.cherneyandassociates.com.
