Equipment & Technology: From Product To Profit: Our Tips For Buyers And Vendors

Intriguing new products at October's Club Industry and Medical Wellness Summit in Chicago included sophisticated metabolic and body composition tools, client programming and motivational software, equipment adapted for older adults and the physically challenged, and more.

 

Our view for buyers: These products can increase revenue by adding creative new wellness services. Consumers place a particularly high value on new products developed by medical technology companies due to their foundation in research and clinical practice. To maximize your investment, incorporate any product you buy into an overall program that helps consumers solve problems or reach goals.

 

Our view for vendors: Design ease-of-use into your products. Design complexity out. Provide meaningful sales information that actually helps prospects buy. Remember that your tool adds the most value when it's part of an overall program. Integrate your database with major application vendors, especially for health clubs. Ask your current and former customers, and prospects who *didn't* buy, what they like about your product and what they really wish you'd change.  Then, don't tell them why they're wrong - change it!

 

Key observations:

1) Ease of use is key. Some vendors jam too much data and graphics onto too few screens. Some equipment is confusing to operate.

 

2) Product complexity hurts value. Steep learning curves reduce the buyer's return on investment. High customer support requirements hurt profitability and customer satisfaction for vendors.

 

3) Badly-designed product CDs and demos waste the seller's money and the buyer's time. Several CDs had only brief infomercials. One CD loaded 100MB of database software on our PC just to run the demo. We liked CSI Software's CD with a realistic demo and detailed product info. That qualifies prospects and closes sales!

 

4) Programs - not equipment and technology - generate revenue. Effective programs incorporate these new products to help a specific group of consumers solve a problem or achieve a goal. For example, metabolic analysis tools support weight management programs.

 

5) Integration between the tool's database and the buyer's existing customer database adds value. Maintaining multiple databases is a day-to-day hassle and complicates big-picture analysis of the buyer's customer base.