American Made is Back. DRE Launches New Product Line

DRE recently launched an entire line of quality headlight systems that are proudly made in America.  You can view the surgical headlight series here.

In our industry there has been some backlash in supplying products from manufacturers less capable of high quality standards and great communication channels.   Often times these are upstart companies in Asia or India that are not yet up to the task.  This does not mean that all companies in those regions are not.  Specific companies can compete with anyone in the world.  It is just extremely important to know your supply chains capabilities.

In the end it makes sense for DRE to sell American made products when they offer more competitive advantages to our customers and our business.  It is nice to have a new product line we feel will offer customers a great alternative and also help spur American manufacturing and job growth.

17 Trillion Unwanted Emails Effect Marketing

A recent June 19th study from Return Path states that 85% of the email they tracked in 2011 would be considered SPAM.  That equates to 17 Trillion unwanted emails.  Put in perspective that is about 2,500 unwanted emails for every person on the face of the earth.   As expected, the study goes on to promote Return Paths primary service, “sender reputation management”.

Essentially the cleaner, smaller, and more targeted your lists the better your sender reputation will be .  One of the issues for the Email Marketing Professional is that to get a better reputation the list in fact does probably need to be significantly smaller.  Either way you lose.

A good example of how difficult it can be to develop a large legitimate list is to review Mail Chimp’s recommended email list practices.  Most people familiar with email marketing know Mail Chimp is one of several main players in bulk email distribution.  You can view Mail Chimp’s guidelines here:  http://kb.mailchimp.com/article/is-my-list-okay-to-use-in-mailchimp  .

Their guidelines have fairly specific and rigid rules on the type and source of email lists that are sent through their service.  This is common and is the public face of most of the high profile services. They are very much in line or more conservative than the current “Can Spam Act” law on the books.  They are nearly forced to uphold these standards because failed audits could lead to fines or service interruption.

Despite this fact, we are still constantly assaulted by organizations selling targeted “opt-in” lists ( if you are wondering, there is almost no way to legitimately purchase an opt in list! ).  Who on earth would knowingly give someone permission to sell their email address to an unknown future third party???  — Sounds like a great idea, sign me up for that please!  If you find them, please let them know I have a great “time share” deal for them as well.

Because email is so cost effective and easy,  everyone’s Inbox is under assault.  The amount of spam being filtered is increasing  and the amount of spam reaching it’s destination is also increasing.

The bottom line is that real email lists are available for purchase or collection ( legitimate or not ).  The end result is in the neighborhood of those 17 Trillion unwanted mailings.  I’ve seen it in my own inbox.  ISP’s and email service providers are currently going to war on what is a quickly growing issue.

If this trend continues it will essentially destroy the playing field for most organizations utilizing email marketing.  To put it plainly, future filtering systems will be forced to block out all but very specific email. Today’s filters are puny compared to what is in the works.  As this happens many legitimate emails will be filtered out of the inbox regardless if they opted in or not.  A less than perfect reputation score in the future could cut your delivery rates by 50% or more.  In addition it will be very hard to have a good reputation score with lists of any significant size.  ( Not a good situation for the marketer. )

Today it is still fairly easy to reach most of your audience, enjoy it and take advantage while it lasts.  Future changes are going to make it much much more difficult to reach a similar audience.  Delivery rates will be heading south.

Is it all doom and gloom?  The jury is out…

Here are 9 ideas to help insure outbound marketing success into the future.

Keep Sending – Enjoy the golden age while it lasts.  It is still extremely cost effective.  Don’t stop now, just be aware of the challenges ahead.

Keep It Clean – Clean your lists religiously.  Remove old emails, remove repeat bounces, segment your markets, and work with your ISP / ESP.  Your sender reputation will be very important.

Direct Snail Mail – Don’t divorce your printing company.  It may come in handy in the future.  Well targeted cost effective direct mail is a close relative to email.  As the cost to deliver email increase it will start to look more attractive again.

Quality Content – Make your email extremely attractive, useful, compelling, sticky, and needed.  Your audience literally needs to ask why they aren’t receiving them anymore.  They need to be darn interesting.

Please Respond – Convince your customers to open and respond to your emails now to start a positive pattern.  If you can convince potential customers to email you now, it will be much easier to send them email moving forward.  Spam filters take this into consideration.

White Lists – Find creative ways to convince potential customers to put your email on their personal or company white lists.  There must be a perceived need on their part to receive your email.  The contents of those future emails are going to have a high value proposition.  Try tying it to official correspondence like billing, accounting, service, etc.

Micro Batches – Teach your sales force or organization representatives to send targeted emails directly to their customers in small batches.  Emails from a direct rep / real person is proven to be opened and acted on at higher rates than promotional mail.

Be Multidimensional –  Create awareness from a variety of sources.  Email, direct mail, ppc, seo, phone calls, trade publications, trade shows, and social media.

SOCIAL MEDIA – Social media is mentioned last in #8, but in reality it is the first thing that could replace bulk email as a cost effective outbound tool.  Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest, and others will be more effective at influencing potential customers in the near future. Convert email customers to your social networks aggressively. These networks can be your new best friends!

The Website Analytics Landscape

A few days ago Urchin finally officially called it quits. For those of in the early days of website analytics Urchin was your best available option to fully measure the success of your website traffic and marketing.  This article posted at the Google Analytics blog talks about the official announcement.

As you can see from the comments, there are a number of previous Urchin customers that want a more private or fully featured option than Google Analytics or Analytics Pro.

Today there are enough options to make your head spin.  In looking around and talking with several web experts I have a short list of popular options outside of the “big bad” Google Analytics.

  • Visistat – Affordable with an integrated feature set for extended marketing.
  • Clicky – Affordable, easy to use, and powerful.
  • Piwik – OPEN source, lives on your server, you own the data, FREE, and nicely featured.
  • Omniture – Not cheap – but backed by Adobe and very feature rich.
  • Coremetrics – Again, not cheap, but backed by IBM and feature rich.
  • Kissmetrics – Affordable and recommended by many reputable SEO experts.

DRE Added to Inc. 5000 List

After three years of cumulative company growth, DRE lands on the 2010 Inc. 5000.Louisville, Ky. — October 1, 2010 — Inc. magazine has placed DRE, Inc., a premier surgical and medical equipment supplier, on its fourth annual Inc. 5000, an exclusive ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies.

“We are honored by this recognition from Inc. Magazine, as it heightens the satisfaction of providing quality medical and surgery equipment to hospitals and surgery centers throughout the world,” said Mike Spencer, DRE managing partner.

According to Spencer, DRE’s continued growth confirms the company’s development as a trusted source for top-quality new and refurbished medical equipment. “Healthcare facilities interested in saving on dependable new and refurbished equipment should look no further than DRE for anesthesia systems, vital signs monitors, operating room lights, surgery tables, and much more,” he said.

DRE is building upon recent successes by offering healthcare facilities essential medical equipment, such as the DRE Waveline Pro, an anesthesia gas monitor that recently received FDA clearance and is now available to hospitals and surgery centers throughout the United States. Other popular products from DRE include the Penlon Prima SP2, an anesthesia system featuring a touchscreen ventilator that provides six ventilation modes, and the DRE Anetic-P, a mobile surgery table that combines the positioning of a surgery table with the maneuverability of a stretcher.

In addition to new medical equipment, DRE provides medical facilities with an assortment of refurbished equipment, including late-model anesthesia systems such as the Datex-Ohmeda Aestiva/5 and Dräger Fabius GS. Other budget-friendly refurbished products from DRE include the Amsco 3085 SP, a surgery table capable of supporting up to 1,000 pounds, and the Valleylab Force FX, an electrosurgical generator designed for cutting, desiccating and fulgurating tissue.

On top of its success in healthcare markets, DRE has generated rapid growth in veterinary markets, increasing sales of veterinary equipment to veterinary hospitals and clinics, veterinary teaching institutions, and research facilities. DRE Veterinary is a complete source for veterinary anesthesia systems, patient monitors, surgery and exam tables, and much more. DRE Veterinary is also a complete source for medical gas equipment, and can help veterinary facilities design a complete medical gas system, including the placement of outlets, manifolds, alarms and zone valve boxes.

The Inc. 5000 list represents the most comprehensive look at an important segment of the economy—America’s independent-minded entrepreneurs. Music website Pandora, convenience store chain 7-Eleven, Brooklyn Brewery, and Radio Flyer, maker of the iconic children’s red wagon, are among the prominent brands featured on this year’s list.

“The leaders of the companies on this year’s Inc. 5000 have figured out how to grow their businesses during the longest recession since the Great Depression,” said Inc. president Bob LaPointe. “The 2010 Inc. 5000 showcases a particularly hardy group of entrepreneurs.”

2010 marks the first year DRE has been named to the Inc. 5000. In recent years DRE has also been named a Fast 50 Company and Small Company of the Year by Business First of Louisville.

About DRE, Inc.

DRE is a premier medical and operating room equipment supplier. DRE provides a combination of new and professionally refurbished or used medical equipment to industry professionals around the globe. For the third consecutive year, Business First of Louisville has named DRE one of the 50 fastest growing businesses in the Greater Louisville area.

Contact Information:

DRE Medical Equipment Justin Jeffries, Marketing Director 1800 Williamson Court Louisville, KY 40223 1-800-462-8195 www.dremed.com media@dremedical.com

DRE 2009 Fast Fifty

DRE, Inc. was honored this year to be named one of the fastest-growing companies in Louisville. It was DRE’s Third consecutive year to make the list. The list is comprised of companies that have demonstrated growth in overall sales over a three-year period.  DRE has seen significant growth over the past 5 years and continues to lead in the global distribution of new and professionally refurbished medical equipment.

DRE 2008 Company of the Year

After naming DRE the 17th fastest growing business in Louisville, Business First of Louisville has named DRE a 2008 Company of the Year.

Business of the Year AwardDRE, Inc. — a premier international medical and surgical equipment supplier — has been named by Business First of Louisville as a 2008 Company of the Year. The award caps the most successful three-year period in DRE’s history.

“In the last three years, DRE achieved a cumulative revenue growth of 90 percent,” says Tim Jarm, DRE’s chief operating officer. “DRE’s growth is due in part to our competitive mix of low-cost professionally refurbished medical equipment and dependable DRE-brand equipment.”

Jarm expects affordable DRE-brand and professionally refurbished equipment to be popular in 2009, as many ambulatory surgery centers, oral/maxillofacial surgeons and other healthcare facilities will need to maximize limited budgets.

“Our products cost significantly less than equipment from competing companies,” says Jarm. “Healthcare facilities looking to save money in 2009 should take a look at our product mix, which includes the DRE Waveline Plus vital signs monitor and the DRE Integra AV-S anesthesia workstation.”

In recent years, DRE has harnessed its lineup of refurbished equipment — which includes operating room lights,surgical tables and anesthesia machines — to strengthen its market share in the United States and throughout the world, with particular success in the Middle East, Latin America and Southeast Asia. In the United States, many healthcare educators are turning to DRE’s economically-priced equipment to provide their students with hands-on training.

In 2008, DRE expanded its online store, ORSupply.com, to become the largest online marketplace for surgical supplies and medical devicesORSupply.com added products from Littman, Heine and Miltex, and redesigned its interface to allow customers to search, find and instantly purchase medical accessories with only a few clicks — no purchasing group or supply contract needed.

In addition to success in medical markets, DRE is rapidly expanding its veterinary division by selling products essential to veterinarian hospitals and clinics, universities, and research facilities. DRE Veterinary recently released exclusive lines of wet tables, exam tables, grooming tables and surgery tables. DRE Veterinary has also expanded its selection of supplies and accessories available for online purchase at www.dreveterinary.com.

DRE received its Company of the Year award at Business First of Louisville’s Business of the Year award ceremony on December 12, 2008. At its Fast 50 award ceremony in October 2008, Business First of Louisville named DRE the 17th fastest growing business in Louisville. DRE’s 2008 placement is up eight spots from 2007, when DRE placed 25th on the Fast 50 list.

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DRE Repeats on Business First 2008 Fast Fifty

DRE, Inc. — a premier international medical and surgical equipment supplier — has been named by Business First of Louisville as the 17th fastest growing privately-owned company in Greater Louisville. DRE received the honor at the Fast 50 award ceremony on October 24. This is the second consecutive year DRE has received a Fast 50 award.

DRE’s continued growth can be attributed in part to the company’s commitment to providing medical facilities with affordable, dependable medical equipment, says Tim Jarm, DRE’s Chief Operating Officer.

“Surgery centers know DRE as a dependable source for economical medical equipment solutions,” said Jarm. “Surgery centers are choosing affordable DRE-brand equipment, such as the DRE Waveline Plus vital signs monitor and the DRE Integra AV-S anesthesia workstation, because our products have the same features as name-brand products but at a fraction of the cost.”

According to Jarm, DRE’s investment in its biomedical engineering facility has helped spur additional growth. “DRE has a full service refurbishing facility, making us uniquely equipped to provide surgery centers with professionally refurbished surgery tablesoperating room lights and anesthesia machines, at prices as much as 50 percent less than new equipment from competing companies,” Jarm said.

In recent years, DRE has harnessed its professionally refurbished product lineup to expand its presence in markets throughout the United States, as well as in Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. According to Chris Padgett, Division Manager of DRE International, medical facilities throughout the world buy from DRE for reason’s beyond the low prices of DRE’s refurbished products.

“Many new clients are drawn to DRE because of the affordability of our products,” said Padgett. “Customers continue purchasing from DRE because we provide a higher quality refurbished product, offer a variety of affordable USA-manufactured products, and have a responsive staff that adapts to the specific needs of each customer.”

In addition to success in medical markets, DRE is rapidly growing in its veterinary division. DRE Veterinary is tailoring its veterinary product mix to the many niches of the veterinary market. The recently released DRE Titan, a large animal anesthesia machine, helped DRE Veterinary delve into the equine and bovine surgery markets. Also, the DRE Vetrec PDM, an all-in-one touchscreen central station, expanded DRE Veterinary’s wireless monitoring product offering.

DRE’s growth in 2008 was furthered by the success of the remodeling of ORSupply.com, DRE’s medical supplies and accessories e-commerce website. DRE optimized ORSupply.com to allow customers to speedily search, find and purchase medical accessories. DRE also increased ORSupply.com’s online catalog to include more than 15,000 distinct products, including products from Sklar InstrumentsFlexicare and Intersurgical.

As 2008 comes to a close, DRE continues to remind its customers that medical equipment purchased in 2008 may be eligible for tax deductions associated with Tax Code Section 179, in accordance with the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008.

“With Section 179, some medical facilities may be able to deduct the full purchase of as much as $250,000 in medical equipment from their taxable income,” said Jarm. “This is about twice the amount that could be deducted the previous year, and potentially makes 2008 an ideal year to invest in new and refurbished medical equipment.”

DRE acknowledges that filing for Section 179 deductions requires planning. DRE does not endorse any tax filing method and recommends that medical facilities consult a financial adviser to confirm that filing for Section 179 deductions is appropriate. This is the second consecutive year that DRE received a Fast 50 award. DRE’s 2008 placement as the 17th fastest growing business in Greater Louisville is up eight spots from 2007, when DRE placed 25th on the Fast 50 list.

About DRE Inc.

DRE is a premier medical and surgical equipment supplier that provides a combination of new and professionally refurbished or used medical equipment to industry professionals around the globe. DRE offers value to doctors by providing the features and reliability they need while still fitting within their budget.

 

DRE Named to Business First 2007 Fast 50

Over the past three years, DRE has experienced significant overall company growth. The October 2007 Edition ofLousiville Business Fast 50 has named DRE the 25th fastest growing privately owned company in the Greater Lousiville area. It is the first year DRE has been included on this list.

Much of the growth can be directly related to an expanded product line of factory new products for the operating room and surgical environments. Within the past year DRE has added a new line of vital signs monitors, surgical microscopes, a new flagship anesthesia machine, and a surgical table.

DRE continues to also expand refurbished product lines by sourcing an increasing amount of equipment from brand name manufacturers. In late 2006 DRE more than doubled the size of its in house biomedical facilities. In many cases a quality refurbished product is a better solution for the customer than paying for features that will never be utilized.

Export business has also played a very strong role. DRE International has added representatives and infrastructure to better serve Latin America, Southeast Asia, and professionals in the Middle East. By impressing international clients with a great value by providing quality equipment at affordable prices DRE is able to expand the capabilities of many professionals worldwide who would otherwise not be able effectively expand their practices. Being able to offer the choice between new and refurbished products makes a difference in these markets.