As one of our favorite films, 1987’s “The Princess Bride” contains a number of unforgettably humorous and pithy lines. Many utterances possess both descriptions, with our top combination being, “Get some rest. If you haven’t got your health, you haven’t got anything,” which Count Rugen suggests to Prince Humperdinck after the latter explains his lengthy and nefarious schedule. Though equally diabolical, the henchman makes a helpful observation in prescribing a course of inaction for his boss. Crammed calendars can make a good night’s sleep hard to come by, but even if consumers can fit in a proper amount—or even an extra shot—of shut-eye, they’ll still need to consult medical professionals or seek medical advice at some point.
Along with displaying their bedside manners, said figures will often look for additional means to put patients at ease, as will the locations where they work to wallop diseases and tend to injuries. To do so, they will enlist promotional products to educate, assist and alleviate the stress of the help seekers. Health care has long registered as a hot-button issue, and while medical offices, hospitals and insurance companies have the chief task in guiding individuals through crucial decisions, suppliers and distributors can also take on a vital role in preserving peace of mind no matter the situation.
Promo Marketing has accumulated a few ideas on how those presences can stage a successful health care promotional products campaign, but we gladly sought second and third opinions, connecting with Kathy Brown, national sales manager for HoMedics, Commerce Township, Mich.; and Matt Wagner, vice president, sales, for Fields Manufacturing, St. Cloud, Minn., to see how their peers can likewise live robust lives and help end-users do the same.
Diagnosing the Need
Trying to navigate one’s way through the health care promotional world at large can prove downright daunting, and that is not lost on the aforementioned suppliers. Some maladies, afflictions and other nagging medical issues might stump the experts with respect to how to tackle them, but these promo companies customarily diagnose needs with aplomb and have aligned themselves with numerous contemporaries to make their health care-specific items stand out. For HoMedics, that has meant supplying such goods for the last nine years, with the products’ availability intensifying a reputation that has situated its offerings in more than 60 countries.
“Preventative care has become increasingly important to consumers, leading to more self-health monitoring,” Brown said. “Health care products, therefore, have become incredibly viable in the promotional products industry.”
Since its 1987 founding, the Wolverine State business has gained renown for its home massage products. But, fully realizing the need to widen its scope, it made the decision to become a health care goods supplier in 2009, with the results being not only closer connections with contemporaries but also a deeper commitment to offering quality items. In the latter regard, HoMedics, according to Brown, has worked diligently to help organizations promote their brands while also helping them stress the importance of self-maintenance.
“Health and wellness are top of mind, so there are plenty of opportunities to sell related products,” she said, giving credence to not only the fictional character’s advice but also to the benefits of adding said elements to one’s product lines.
Two states over from HoMedics’ base, Wagner and his Fields Manufacturing cohorts are also enjoying the fruits of having been a trusted supplier for more than three decades. They have come to acquire high standing in the field, with plenty of honors, including multiple Promo Marketing Supplier Excellence Awards appearances, cementing them as experts in health care and other products. For Wagner, like Brown, that means freedom to ponder and implement new ideas so as to write a prescription for success.
“Our health care goods are experiencing an upward trend and continuously gaining popularity,” he said. “The health care industry, as a whole, is a diverse marketplace that provides more exposure, opportunity and necessity to a wide range of products. This expansive market is what strongly contributes to its high-ranking spend within the promotional products industry.”
Though he and Brown hold health care products in high esteem, it can be quite easy to tab their companies as outliers. That is because health care items do not tend to register as especially compelling promotional products industry components, due to the ubiquitous nature of goods such as writing instruments or technology items. For Wagner, in particular, that is a shame, as no matter what makes us all unique, we all have to work on our well-being and, thus, will somehow come into contact with people who can provide us with something that encourages further upkeep.
“Being a strong supplier to the health care market not only serves as a security to our business but also carries a strong positive element in that we’re able to supply products that give back,” the sales overseer said. “A lot of our goods relating to health care are educational in nature. So, not only are we supplying a marketing piece to benefit the advertiser’s business but also an item that helps improve the health and wellness of each recipient.”
Prescribing the Solution
As HoMedics and Fields are continuing to emphasize their identities as health care promotional products advocates, they are on the cusp of what Wagner sees as a stretch of time where said goods will gain more esteem. Yes, they might never rival pens or the latest gizmo, but they will never become the promotional products equivalent of bargain bin compact discs either.
“I don’t believe that health care-related products are underestimated,” Wagner, whose employer oversees multiple product lines, said when asked about the esteem in which consumers, suppliers and distributors hold the items. “Annual reports continue to illustrate the performance of health care spending in promotional products, and I believe our industry is continuously molding to the trends and demands of top buyers.”
Brown agreed, mentioning an increase in workforce wellness programs as a great opportunity to help end-users and companies get in tip-top shape. Such exposure allows the latter, if they are willing, to match consumers with items such as HoMedics’ blood pressure monitor to become trusted allies in the battle against the bulge and other health complications. Diligently applying oneself to the practice of stressing health could also help entities to expand their clientele totals, with Wagner noting that Fields has done just that by
approaching the marketplace with more focus and strategic targets.
Exercising Your Opinions
It is incredibly easy to be a person of words and not actions, so when the moment arrives that a business decides it wants to add health care promotional products to the mix or increase their scope, what should motivate its actions, and how should it proceed to achieve success?
“Health-related products will likely have a place in the promotional product industry for years to come given the focus on healthy body and healthy mind, heart health and the overall aging population,” Brown said. “Providing a product that is beneficial to someone will have positive effects on that person’s health and overall well-being. That is a promotional product they will truly be grateful for.”
Wagner likewise advocated for making a figurative appointment to acquire more knowledge, with his prescription being quite an easy pill to swallow.
“To gain success in any marketplace, you need to be the expert,” he said. “Know and understand your buyer, and explore your latitude in sales so as not to rely heavily on a single point of entry.”
