Use Marketing Materials To Cut Costs

EDUCATE AND PRE-QUALIFY BUYERS USING SALES AND MARKETING MATERIALS.

SHORTEN THE SALES ARC BY 25%

Marketing costs always end up on the expense side of the ledger – and in many cases, marketing is a BIG expense. And in this contracting economy, you might be tempted to cut back on your marketing to save a little money.

Don’t.

Instead, use marketing materials to actually cut the cost of operating a hearing aid retail outlet.

Education

Use sell sheets and other marketing collaterals as hand-outs. Keep a stack in your store and, of course, bring plenty for every out-of-store event – from teaching an adult ed class on hearing loss to the annual community health fair.

And how should prospects be educated? Well, it’s important that consumers understand the considerations that should be made before a hearing aid purchase. Most buyers place money at the top of the priority list until they discover the advancements in hearing aid technology and what a little extra expense will get them in everything from sound quality to wireless connectivity.

A sell sheet the describes the different TYPES of hearing aids (BTE, CIC, etc.) helps the consumer take a more active role in the selection of the right device to suit his or her hearing needs and preferences. I’ve used several of these selling tools and, frankly, it cuts the amount of time I need to spend with consumers. They’ve educated themselves using my marketing collaterals.

And that’s a money saver. The fact is, by educating the consumer using hand-outs, consumer buying guides and other unbiased information, you create a more pro-active stakeholder in the hearing improvement process.

By using sell sheets that explain everything from how to read hearing aid specs to a simple, do-it-yourself hearing test, you prepare prospects for the process of hearing evaluation and the introduction of technological hearing solutions.

This saves time throughout the sales arc. An educated buyer is quick to decide on hearing aid type, features and cost because your take-aways have provided valuable, cost saving information.

I estimate that a well-educated buyer is easier to service by approximately 25% based on personal experience. Oh, and by preparing buyers for the cost of quality hearing aids today BEFORE they come to your store, you eliminate sticker shock syndrome.

Pre-Qualify Buyers

Not everyone who walks through the door of your store will buy a hearing aid. Some are just “window shopping” and gathering information. Some just come in for the FREE HEARING EVALUATION you advertise. Some are thinking about upgrading while some are simply looking for a low-cost solution to hearing the TV better.   

A prequalified buyer is one who knows s/he needs hearing technology to solve a hearing loss problem. These pre-qualified buyers may have had a FREE hearing eval at a local health fair. Or some may have taken a simple, DIY hearing test that indicates the need for hearing aids.

Using these simple tests at seminars, health fairs and other events is a great tool to cut down on the qualification process. An individual who takes the hearing test ( a set of yes and no questions) already knows he needs hearing aids. This cuts down on the time you need to determine whether this customer is best served by a pair of quality hearing aids or a simple assisted listening device.

It’s a time saver and in any retail business, time translates into revenues. So, if you can use sales materials to educate and pre-qualify buyers, the sales arc is much shorter and your margins increase because of this increased per store productivity.

Of course, developing these sales materials to educate and pre-qualify customers can be expensive to develop. However, help is available, even for start-ups on the tightest of budgets.

Learn more about low-cost, license free marketing materials, customizable with your store’s name and contact information, and save marketing costs and the costs of operation at the same time. CLICK HERE

You can’t lose.