LAS VEGAS – Medtrade Spring attendees cast their votes for the best new products in the New Product Pavilion Providers’ Choice Awards (sponsored by HomeCare Magazine) and the Handy Cane by The Handy Cane (Salem, Mass) took home the Gold Award.
Handy Cane was the top vote getter among innovative HME products that have been on the market for less than one year. Medtrade Monday sat down with Alec Stern, co-founder, The Handy Cane, to learn more about the product and how it can help HME providers to boost sales.
Medtrade Monday: Why do you think the Handy Cane did so well at Medtrade Spring?
Alec Stern, co-founder, The Handy Cane: The Handy Cane team was thrilled to bring home the Medtrade Providers’ Choice Gold award at Medtrade Spring 2017.
We really appreciate all of the providers who voted for us. We find that any time we are able to demonstrate, and let providers try it for themselves, they remark on the Handy Cane’s unique cane and grabber combination and the high quality of the materials and construction.
Medtrade Monday: What do they appreciate most about The Handy Cane when they see it in person?
Stern: They are impressed with the versatility of the grabber in picking up anything from a coin on the floor to a jar on a shelf. In keeping with the trend at Medtrade 2016, most of the providers we met at the Spring show in 2017 expressed interest in becoming Handy Cane distributors, and many of them placed orders on the spot.
Medtrade Monday: How should providers be marketing your product?
Stern: Seeing is believing, so we recommend displaying the Handy Cane side by side, one with the grabber open and one with the grabber closed, to show the dual functionality and encourage customers to try it themselves. Providers do the same thing we do in the booth, dropping items on the floor for customers to pick up. Everyone wants to try it. You could say the Handy Cane “grabs their attention,” pun intended!
Medtrade Monday: Are providers finding The Handy Cane easy to market and sell?
Stern: Providers tell us the cane is easy to market to people who are looking for a cane or a grabber, as well as those customers purchasing other mobility aids like wheelchairs and scooters. They tell us their customers are impressed to find the best of both in one product at such a competitive price point. Providers have given us the thumbs up on the marketing materials and resources we supply to every new Handy Cane distributor and we can see the marketing and sales approach working via re-orders that have exceeded expectations.
Medtrade Monday: What is your level of optimism going into 2017 and Medtrade in Atlanta, scheduled for Oct 23-26 at the Georgia World Congress Center?
Stern: We are looing forward to another great experience in Atlanta this fall. The Handy Cane team is excited to build on our success with the Silver Award at Medtrade 2016 and the Gold Award at Medtrade Spring 2017. Bringing so many providers together in one place, Medtrade is a fantastic opportunity for us to meet prospective providers and spend time with our existing ones. While we show providers the Handy Cane, we also learn about their customers’ challenges and gain validation that the Handy Cane is helping customers to stay mobile and accomplish every day tasks independently. Medtrade is a win-win.
