PEDORTHICS IN RETAIL: WINNING STRATEGIES AND PHILOSOPHY TO
GAIN A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE AND HIGHER MARGINS
“The most successful way to execute a pedorthic retail operation
requires a full-service, one-on-one experience for the customer.”
Creating the Operation
The most successful way to execute a pedorthic retail operation
requires a full-service, one-on-one experience for the customer.
Granted it can be difficult to employ the proper amount of
employees for this model but once this is enacted, the increase
in satisfaction by the customer will lead to greater sales and more
referrals. This practice works on two levels and must have an
efficient model to not consume too much time for the business.
The first level of operation is the typical “wall-in” customer where
front line sales staff is in charge. It is highly recommend that
a full training on the philosophy and execution of pedorthics as
well as monthly training on common pathologies be consistent
in educating your sales staff to assist in increasing sales. Dealing
with a customer one on one allows a real bond to be created and
during that time of interaction, plenty of pertinent information
can be disseminated to the customer.
An educated sales staff will have the ability to draw the line
between what new footwear can accomplish versus a visit with the
resident pedorthist. When the sales person determines their level
of knowledge is not satisfactory to provide a solution, this is when
the pedorthist enters into the service mix. Again it is important
to have the sales person propagate all the information learned
in the initial visit to cut down the time spent on learning the
problems of the customer and to focus on the solutions to their
foot problems.
The second level of operating a profitable pedorthic retail
operation is the “consultation” type by appointment. Usually
the customer/patient has evaluated their options to find solutions
for their problems and goes directly to the pedorthist. In this
situation, your advertising impacts this process and determines if
you are marketing your ‘direct’ services. In this type of operation,
there is more time spent with the customer since your front line
sales staff does not have the opportunity to evaluate the situation.
You will ideally be operating on both levels and the sales staff
should be able to identify key customers that can benefit from
your pedorthic services, namely an orthotic.
Orthotics: Language and Sales
In the retail field, you have to sell yourself. For the customer, it
is not a visit to a doctor’s office so the ultimate choice of purchase
is much different from the clinical setting. When a consumer
is looking for solutions to a foot problem in the clinical setting,
doctors are much more limited in the breadth and depth of
footwear solutions.
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Pedorthic Footcare Association www.pedorthics.org
Orthotics is another story and this is where the pedorthic retail
operation has the greatest opportunity for better profits and
higher margins. The differentiation of the retail setting versus
the clinical setting should be taken advantage of. The retail
pedorthist is in the business of helping people’s feet feel more
comfortable via footwear and inserts; we are not out to bash
podiatrists, just to offer another avenue of solutions.
When it comes to orthotics, our business has taken a slightly
more logical and simplified route compared to most non-retailing
practitioners. In the modestly debated battle of “accommodative”
orthotics versus “corrective/biomechanical”, we reside on the
accommodative arena for a number of reasons.
First, look at 90% of the footwear on the market and you will be
hard pressed to find a decent amount of contour in the footbed.
Most feet outside of the severe pes cavus will receive greater
satisfaction from a decent amount of contour in the footbed due
to greater weight distribution; leading to greater efficiencies in
biomechanical gait process.
To save you from reading a 100 page diatribe on correctional
versus accommodative, this is a short (comparison) comparative
list of corrective versus accommodative orthotics and why it works
for my operation:
• Method of Impression
• Corrective/Biomechanical – a static, non or full weight
bearing impression creates a cast that requires corrections
prior to manufacturing the orthotic. Even with the best
practitioners out there, the corrections are subjective and
cannot be changed once the orthotic is fabricated.
• Accommodative – a dynamic, semi weight bearing
impression creates a cast which does not require corrections
prior to fabricating because the dynamic nature of the
impression allows for the proper amount of pronation/
supination natural in one’s foot. Corrections are done after
the orthotic has been manufactured, creating a neutral base
product to start from. This process could be considered
more of an incremental solution, instead of “over
supporting” a foot out of the gait.
• Static versus dynamic aspect. In the static, non or full
weight bearing creates an impression that is “imperfect”
since the medial arch is either too high or low, necessitating
a modification. In the dynamic, semi-weight bearing
impression, we look at this method as capturing the
feet in motion since there are 2 forces interacting. The