My Christmas Gift to You: An Ever-Expanding Customer Base

Happy Holidays

An expanding, stable customer or client base is the foundation for any business’ long-term success. Without these repeat buyers and consumers, the small, hearing aid dispenser must constantly market and mine for new business.

Remember the old adage: it’s much easier to keep a client than it is to find a new one. So, how do you keep your existing customers coming back? Here’s how I’ve done it and, after 35 years in hearing technology, these marketing and promotion strategies work.

They build businesses. Your business. Merry Christmas.

1. Reminder cards. Most small professional service providers send out reminder cards. I get one from the vet telling me it’s time for annual inoculations. Now, don’t get me wrong, my vet’s great, but I also know these reminder cards are sent out to drive business. (That reminds me, I have to make an appointment.)

But here’s the thing: I look at this reminder from my vet but all it tells me is that it’s time for an annual update for pets. Missed opportunity. These cards should not only serve as reminders that it’s time for the annual hearing evaluation, these same cards can be used to announce a special “Friends” sale, offer a discount, free services. In other words, don’t just tell your clients it’s time for a tuning.

Use these reminder cards as an opportunity to sell your services and introduce new products, lines and solutions to hearing problems. It won’t cost you any more in postage, but it will motivate more people to call for an appointment.

2. Offer free after-care and plenty of it. Things that have worked for me:

- free maintenance and cleaning for life

- free battery swaps for life

- free hearing evaluations for life

- reduced costs of tuning (save 20% on your next hearing aid tune-up)

- send out a newsletter every couple of months to keep the company’s name in front of existing customers. This shouldn’t be a sell sheet. Instead, keep it informational, educate your client base on the need for on-going exams, tunings and updates in technology.

3. Conduct free, in-store seminars. First time hearing aid buyers don’t have a clue what questions to ask of a hearing professional. They don’t know about the various options available to them, they don’t know the cost of a mid- and top-tier device.

A simple, one-hour chat in the store (with light refreshments) delivers prospects to the retail outlet and educates a group all at once instead of having to instruct each consumer individually.

4. Contact customers by telephone. I use MS Outlook to create an automated reminder system to call certain customers on certain days.

The client will have questions. New hearing aid wearers also want to know you care and that you provide them with reassurance during the transition phase of adapting to hearing devices compared to impaired, organic hearing.

So, during week one, I call a new buyer twice to answer questions, explain the need for patience and that, in time, hearing with an aid will be the norm.

Week two? One call. If the customer still has problems at this point, I ask them to come to the store. Some minor tuning often solves big problems.

After two or three weeks go by, I make one final call to make sure the customer has adapted well to his or her hearing instruments and whether additional attention is required. This series of calls assures my customers but also provides solid gold marketing input. I can adjust my services to better accommodate my client base using the input I gain from these personal calls.

5. Keep your web site current. In fact, expand the services offered on your web site. Be sure to provide a printable map of your location, written directions, announce upcoming events, new products, sales.

If you freshen up that stale, old website you built five years ago, and print your website’s URL on all of your hard-copy marketing, you can provide a number of on-line services including interactive email from customers with questions (live chat), the ability to make an appointment for a hearing eval or tune-up, post general, hearing health questions on your blog and so on.

True, you aren’t looking for business 10 time zones away from your store, but localized search has changed the way people find the service providers they need. With this in mind, ask your website designer to optimize the site for local search. This’ll deliver more qualified leads to your store front.

6. ‘Tis the season. Always send out holiday cards. You have the names and addresses in your database so it’s simply a matter of printing up the labels and adding a stamp.

Point to ponder: I’m not sure about this. I send Christmas cards to my clients. There are holiday-neutral cards available from any small, local printing company that can print your company name and contact information, making it even more cost effective to say Happy Holidays to your best customers. A personal choice.

7. Reach out. Some of your clients may not be able to get to your store easily. They may be home-bound, in a nursing home or simply without transportation. Okay, pack up your gear and go to the customer. Not only is this a compassionate, humane thing to do, it also serves your business reputation well.

The idea is a simple one: stay in touch with your existing customer base in as many ways as you can. Yes, it may take more time. It may even reduce your margins by a small amount (though that will be more than offset by increased foot traffic and volume).

You’re a community professional with a reputation to manage and a client base to maintain. These seven tips will get you there.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of my readers. And a special thanks to those who have e-mailed me with their questions and their support. I read every e-mail and respond to all.

So, let this holiday season be the one where we become partners in customer care, quality service and business development.

Warmest regards,

John M. Adams III
jma3@hearingtutor.com

Staying In the Game: Work Longer, Hear Better

Let’s face it, hearing aids are expensive. A consumer can easily drop $3,000 on a pair of mid-tier instruments, and how many times have you had prospects come to your store, see the price tags and leave before a screen is even done. To these people, quality hearing is a discretionary purchase.

However, that’s not always the case. More of us are seeing customers in their 30s, 40s and 50s – people with long careers ahead of them. I see people in their 80s still going to work. Retirement is for old people.

The Workplace Benefits of a Hearing Device (Or Two)
If the employee can’t hear the supervisor, following directions is going to be…ahhh, tough. How about impossible? Productivity declines, the individual with hearing loss becomes less useful to the company and, in some cases, these valued employees become isolated in the work place. This isn’t good for business; it’s not good for morale.

Employers want older workers. They’re more reliable, less likely to quit, take fewer sick days and really throw themselves into the job. Older workers bring experience and solutions to the business and should be viewed as a valuable resource, whether we’re talking a C-Level executive or a floor manager. These employees want to work and they can work – if they can only pick up a little gain in noisy factory or quiet office environments.

As my readers know, I do NOT advocate the hard sell. Our job, as professionals, is to assess and advise and, ultimately, hope the buyer recognizes our good advice. However, part of my job as a hearing aid dispenser is to educate the people who walk into my stores and part of that education includes Lesson 1: How To Stay On The Job Longer With Improved Hearing 101.

Perceptions in the Workplace
Numerous studies have been published showing the general population view hearing aid wears as old and “broken.” Let me tell you, some of my clients could kick your butt in a game of one-on-one so broken they are NOT.

SELL Quality Like Unitron.

However, in the upper offices, where the managers perform their daily functions, the stigma of a hearing aid remains, and this prospect is a put-off for today’s busy executive looking for a hearing solution.

For those worried about co-worker perceptions and chances for advancement, you can recommend a virtually invisible CIC for those with mild to moderate hearing loss and a discreet, low profile BTE for those with more severe hearing loss.

Or, you can go a completely different route. Cast of the shackles of hearing aid stigma and go glam with a fire engine red BTE, a branded device (how about the Steinway model?) or hearing devices that look like the dimples of a gold ball for your links lounger who always manages to discover the 19th hole.

You’ll find some customers want discretion. Others want to show the world some attitude. (How long before we see hearing devices emblazoned with the Harley-Davidson logo? How about the Versace line of fashion elegance for the ear. It’s either in the pipeline, or soon will be.)

Sell the Lifestyle, Not the Device
I don’t want to quit my job. Do you? I also don’t want to be laid off because all I hear are pops and clicks.

When the hearing professional first sits down with a new customer, one of the first things to ask is if that client works, will continue working and under what conditions. Then, start explaining the advantages of CIC, ITC and BTE devices, wireless connectivity, automated convenience, wearing comfort and the ability to be a productive, fully-engaged employee for many more years.

Yes, when presented with a pair of high end, high quality devices, expect the consumer to gasp, turn blue and maybe faint dead-away. Once revived, the client needs to be shown the advantages of investing in a higher end unit that is highly customizable, multi-channel, discrete or a neon sign hanging behind the ear cup, durable, even water proof for river guides who experience hearing loss.

The case is a simple one and irrefutable. If your consumer can’t hear, misses key voice mails and says “What?” 12 times in a 10 minute conference, get that person hooked up based on his or her preferences and perceptions of self-image.

Work longer; stay happy and healthy
That’s what most of us want. Retirement isn’t an option, either because of family finances or because the word “retirement” isn’t in the customer’s vocabulary.

Keep those experienced, productive, problem-solvers on the job longer. They’re an invaluable resource to any business.

And the hearing aid technologist – the professional who knows quality and understands the needs of his or her customers – is going to find the right device to suit the business needs regardless of the customer’s age.

Retirement? Not just yet.

Hearing Amps: Danger to Hearing, Danger to Business

SELL QUALITY

You can’t turn on the TV without seeing one of these commercials for hearing amplifiers – the ones that allow you to watch TV while your spouse sleeps quietly. You’ve seen them, and as a professional hearing aid technologist, you understand the dangers this junk poses to your prospects and your business.

Why are hearing amps dangerous to hearing?
Let’s start with the obvious. These devices retail for $14.95 so you know the manufacturer cut every corner possible. The devices are simply poorly made. The quality of sound delivered to the user is compressed and noisy.

However, the real danger is in the user’s ability to control the hearing amp’s volume. These devices are NOT tunable. One size fits all and the only control is a volume control. After all, these are hearing amps, not hearing aids. They make all sounds louder – equally.

The danger to the user’s hearing comes from the fact that the wearer controls the volume. Naturally, users increase gain so they can hear. Problem is, they’re doing even more damage to already weakened hearing. If the wearer has to increase the volume to 10 just to hear the bingo caller, that person is doing damage to his or her delicate hearing mechanism, making a bad problem even worse.

Why are hearing amps dangerous to business?
These devices lower consumers’ expectations of quality hearing aids. If they can buy this piece of electronic junk on TV for $14.95 (plus shipping and handling) why would these folks spend even $1,000 per ear on a tunable device. And you can be darned sure they won’t be looking at the upper tier products – wireless, automated, highest sound quality, wearing comfort, after care – when prospects walk in to your store they are NOT prepared for sticker shock and these TV ads don’t help.

How to sell your professional services?
This most be explained to the consumer. A hearing aid that can’t be custom-tuned to the specific hearing needs of the wearer poses danger of even greater hearing loss and fewer hearing options down the road thanks to that $14.95 gizmo.

Yes, the consumer may pay $1,000 per ear for an entry level hearing aid. But even that low-cost device can be configured, attuned to the needs of the wearer without doing even more damage.

You get what you pay for, and this is especially true with hearing aids. Okay, most consumers will look for the lowest cost solution without considering the impact a hearing aid has on improved quality of life.

Sell quality and improved hearing 24/7, hearing health and customization. Finally, discuss the dangers of these low-cost products seen on TV.

You’ll be educating consumers, helping them make the best selection for their budgets and hearing needs and, most importantly, you’ll prevent further hearing loss caused by the use of low-cost, user controlled hearing amps.

Win-win.

Cut Costs, Not Services: Surviving Tough Economic Times

Unfortunately, during difficult economic times like those we’re now experiencing, hearing aid retailers have to find ways to stay afloat sailing on choppy revenue waters.

The first place most hearing business owners turn is staff. Layoffs. Fewer hearing specialists. And that translates into slower delivery of services to your customers. Appointments for hearing evaluations may be scheduled weeks in advance because you had to let two hearing aid dispensers go to keep expenses under control.

• 
  Another place retailers look for cost cutting is marketing. They cut back on their daily ads in the local paper and radio spots are just too pricey. These steps may offer what appear to be easy ways to lower operating costs but laying off staff and cutting back on advertising to save money is, plain and simple, shooting yourself in the foot.
  
  Yours is a service business in a competitive marketplace. Only 2% of Americans employ hearing aids so we’re all competing in a tight market in a tighter economy. Hey, that means you have a problem.
  
  Here’s how to fix it.
  
  Expand Service Offerings
  If you’re seeing fewer feet walking through your store front, the last thing you want to do is cut services. This has a direct impact on customers and, while it may save on overhead, long term your well-earned local reputation will begin to erode and word of mouth marketing – the best marketing tool in your kit bag – dries up with the delivery of fewer services of lower quality.
  
  Instead of cutting services, expand service offerings to maintain current levels of store revenues. Some suggestions?
  
  Extend your stores hours by opening earlier and staying open later to accommodate customer schedules.
  
  Offer in-home hearing evaluations. Go to the consumer and simplify the process.
  
  Engage in community outreach programs. Visit schools, nursing homes, and other community institutions to conduct free hearing evaluations. In other words, take your show on the road.
  
  Offer free aftercare services. Free battery replacement. Free cleaning and tune up. Free annual hearing evaluations. These free services more than pay for themselves with increased regular customers and community goodwill.
  
  Organize community health fairs. Contact other health service providers in the community and create a blood bank, a BP and hearing screen, free eye exams and so on. Not only are you performing a valuable service to the community, you’re also maintaining the number of customers you see each week.
  
  Build your store’s website to allow customers to schedule appointments on line.
  
  Add a toll-free help line.
  
  Expand your marketing.
  This is not the time or place to cut your promotion budget. Even if it hurts. Look, potential customers have to know your store is there so you have no choice. You have to advertise in the telephone books (very, very pricey), you have to advertise in local newspapers and run spots on local radio and cable TV channels – even if that outgo hurts.
  
  Cutting back on advertising during difficult economic times only hastens the demise of your client base.
  
  Solutions?
  
  Use your store’s website as the center of all your advertising. All adverts point prospects to your website where you can tell your story – the high standards of quality that you represent. While websites aren’t cheap, you can build one for a few thousand – a small price to pay for the centerpiece of all of your marketing.
  
  Make sure your URL appears on every piece of paper associated with your shop – ads, brochures and product literature, invoices, business cards – integrate all of your marketing around your website to create greater local impact.
  
  Newspapers are hurting. Call the advertising managers of the local town papers and negotiate a better rate for a longer term commitment for more ad space. Rates are very negotiable in tough times.
  
  Again, reach out. Create a name for your company as a good corporate citizen. Give it away to create word of mouth advertising – especially in smaller markets where good news spreads fast. Bad news spreads even faster.
  
  Highlight benefits of products, not tech specs. In your print and video advertising, talk about quality of life issues, NOT signal-to-noise ratios. Specs don’t sell. Benefits do.
  
  Maintain contact with your existing client base. These are the customers paying the rent so mail them or email them with special offers – “JUST FOR OUR VALUED FAMILY OF CUSTOMERS.”
  
  Of course, send out reminders that it’s time for the customer’s annual hearing evaluation. This may be top priority on your list but it’s the kind of thing most people forget unless you remind them.
  
  Don’t follow the conventional wisdom of cutting services and marketing. This is precisely the wrong thing to do in difficult economies. Be more visible, make it easier for customers to get screened and fitted, offer incentives and keep prices down by cutting margins whenever you can.
  
  Listen up, hearing aid retailers. It’s time to change tactics.