Training: Welcome to Our Open House

• By Angela Neville, Cynthia A. Parkman
• Apr 01, 2004

Successful HME providers are continuously hosting open houses to promote their business name and professional expertise in home health care.

Frequency and repetition are the keys to success in advertising and marketing. They also work in PR: companies that continuously generate publicity and keep their names high profile are what advertising agencies call top-of-mind companies. Consumers think of these business names first when they have a need for a specific product or service in a respective marketplace.

Open houses are one of the best kept secrets for recognition, brand-building and business growth in our marketplace. Those HME providers that hold quarterly open houses have grown their respective niches beyond expectations. Plus they have become renowned as the home health care experts within their respective sales territories.

Initial Planning

Open houses are not a simple one-time event that you can plan a few weeks ahead. A successful open house must be coordinated within a company first, as a joint effort combing sales, marketing and operations. Plus referral sources, vendors, local health care experts and the local media also must be incorporated into this planning process.

The initial planning phase begins for most HME providers by focusing upon one home health care category or medical condition. Then the core vendors within this category are identified and contacted. Will one vendor underwrite this event as the sole sponsor and be credited in all marketing and advertising? If so, then the open house will profile this vendor's products in conjunction with the speakers and activities.

Otherwise, all core and related vendors within this category are invited to participate, display and demonstrate their products for a nominal charge. This charge is often between $200 to $500, depending upon the cost of the event, such as catering, activities and number of vendors participating.

An outline of the open house to do list includes the following:

1.Set date and time.

2. Determine place, store, and parking lot.

3. Contact and book vendor reps.

4. Create guest list of referral sources, customers, and other health care professionals.

5. Identify and contact possible guest speakers, i.e. health care professional in respective field.

6. Print and mail formal VIP invitations.

7. Contact and book caterer luncheon or after work wine-and-cheese.

8. Contact and book entertainment, i.e. face painter, balloon clown, pianist.

9. Call all invited guests to confirm attendance.

10. Rent tables and chairs if needed.

11. Call caterers with final food count.

12. Set up event.

Vendor Partnership

Vendor involvement is crucial for the success of any home health care open house. During the entire 90-day promotional period for any given open house, request that your partner vendors help make this promotion more profitable by offering special pricing, extended dating, additional showroom samples, staff inservices, raffle items, brochures for mailers, and co-op funds for advertising.

Vendors are the experts in any given product category or medical condition. Each and every vendor is an integral component in your overall presentation. They will display and demonstrate the HHC equipment and supplies that end-users, caregivers and referral sources need for this specific medical condition.

Vendors need tables on which to set-up their products. Possibly they will present a short talk at some point during the open house on this medical condition. Otherwise they will staff the table during the entire event to greet and educate attendees.

Raffles also are an excellent means to keep attendees attention and attendance at an open house. Each participating vendor can be requested to contribute one or more items for a raffle. By either holding periodic raffles or one raffle at the end of a set program, attendees generally remain to see if they will be winners.

The Main Event

Open houses appeal to caregivers, patients and health care professionals because they provide an opportunity to learn how to maintain or improve someone's daily quality of life. HME providers usually invite all to attend but at different times. Food is a great draw, such as lunch or wine and appetizers after work. Sometimes the public is invited for lunch and the referral sources after work. Or the open house simply incorporates one of these meal functions into the schedule.

Annual open houses sometimes include the local chamber of commerce. The chamber will provide red carpet for the entrance and red-suited greeters for the opening. The red carpet adds to the excitement and anticipation among attendees.

Attendees are usually given time to walk around the store and visit with vendors both before and after the official program. There might be self-care testing offered at the beginning, such as blood pressure, blood glucose or bone density. If the event is outdoors or includes families, musicians, face painters or balloon clowns can be stationed in the main area for entertainment.

One guest speaker is usually hosted for each open house. This person might be a healthcare professional in the respective field, a local politician concerned about health care, a health care editor from the local media, a Medicare representative, a locally known physician or hospital administrator, or a medical insurance company spokesperson.

The hosting HME provider will speak and possibly moderate this event. Or sometimes a health editor from the local newspaper, radio or TV is honored to be the celebrity host or hostess. The fundamental purpose of an open house is to provide an opportunity for more quality face time with customers and referral sources. Be sure to thank guests for coming as they gave their time to attend.

Media Coverage

The ultimate success of an open house is not necessarily measured by the sales receipts from that day. Open houses are one of the best commercial events that generate publicity. Coverage of an open house in the local media usually generates new customers who come into the store within the following week or two. Make sure your salespeople ask new customers how they heard about your business.

In order to receive publicity after an open house, sufficient leg work must be done prior to the event. Make a list of every health-related editor and writer from your local newspapers, radio, and TV stations. Send them formal invitations with RSVP's and follow-up with a personal phone call to ensure that they will attend.

At the event, have the HME owner or marketing director introduce themselves to every media person. Prepare a media kit or simple press release about your HME business, explaining your professional expertise in homecare in general as well as your expertise in the specific medical condition that you are highlighting. By providing editors with well-written background information, you are making their task easier of reporting on your professional event.

Finally, collect copies of everything that appears about your company following an open house. Copy and include these articles in your sales folders that you present to referral sources. Be proud to show them your business is highly respected in your community as being the experts in home health care.

Open houses reinforce your professionalism to both your customers and referral sources. Every new open house only further publicizes the extent of your expertise. You might already be the HME experts in your community but until you continually reinforce this message, no one will remember.

This article originally appeared in the April 2004 issue of HME Business.