As a hearing aid practitioner you already know how difficult it is to draw in prospects. Many individuals who would benefit from a pair of hearing aids are put off by the process – testing, selection, fitting, adjustments, refitting – it all sounds like a big hassle. And to be honest, it can be for both customer and dispenser. Every dispenser wants to keep it simple for any potential customer who walks through the front door.
Then there’s the price question. People see these ads on TV for “assisted listening devices” selling for $14.95 plus shipping and handling. They then walk into your store and see hearing aids that have 22 channels for finely tuned hearing. Only problem is these hearing aids cost $2500 apiece, or $5K for a set. Sticker shock is a common phenomenon for the hearing aid retailer, which is why it’s so critical to educate the consumer to explain the dangers associated with ALDs that do not have limiters to protect the user’s already damaged hearing mechanism.
Now, if you’re the only store in your service area you have an obvious advantage. If the next outlet is 50 miles away, you’ve got a locked-in market. Congratulations. However, only 2% of all Americans use hearing aids, so it’s still an uphill battle – one with which we’re all familiar.
The New Guys in Town
In an active, urban environment competition among hearing aid practitioners is the norm. Not so for small town businesses that may have a lock on the market, though naturally, that market is much smaller. I sell hearing aids in
So, when a new hearing aid practitioner opened in the same geographic area that I serve I knew I had a problem. Oh, I had a nice client base built up over time and I was well known in the communities I serve. But competition is competition so I knew I’d have to push harder, keep a closer eye on sales trends and of course, do a little reconnaissance on the new player in my sandbox.
A Drive-By
The new hearing aid outlet did a big media push before they actually opened their doors for business but the first thing I did was take a drive by my new competition to size up their store, neighborhood, amount of likely foot traffic, how far were they from a major road and other factors that are used by buyers to determine which hearing aid retailer to go with.
The store was small but in a busy strip mall that saw a lot of traffic from a convenience store, the town deli and other small businesses typical of small town
I didn’t attend the grand opening with the balloons and give-aways, including a free hearing evaluation (of course). But I asked a friend to attend to see, face-to-face, the new owners of the competition. She collected business cards and slowly wandered off.
Competitive Analysis
The first thing I saw was that the business had a web site so, naturally, that was my first stop. The site was simple but it provided a printable map, a long list of services, professional biographies of the professionals and some information on sales of products. I could immediately tell this owner was a real professional and that to keep my market share in a very small, rural market, I had my work cut out for me.
I also paid very close attention to the advertising used by my new competitor. They used quarter-page adverts with co-op templates provided by hearing aid manufacturers. I did the same only with a different template.
I tracked the activities of the new competitor. For example, the website had a blog but there were never any new posts. Either the store was so busy (I knew that wasn’t the case since my sales were holding steady) or none of the owners could write. A blog provides information, establishes professional credibility and can even be used to announce special sales, health fairs, community events – it’s a community bulletin board. Yet, for over four weeks not a single post.
This was an opening that I could use to my advantage. I had a blog. (You’re here now.) So I upped my posting activity to keep my regular clients up to date on what my stores were doing.
Sales and In-Store Events
I also made a telephone call to find out what brands the new store carried. Fortunately, there was no overlap. We both carried a range of products at different price breaks to appeal to a wide variety of competitors.
I called the sales rep of one of my best-selling product lines. We’d spoken before and had a nice telephone friendship. I explained the situation and asked if the manufacturer would cut its margins for a few months while I undersold my new competition. The manufacturer’s rep was able to shave off a bit on my wholesale price but most of the lower price would have to come from me.
Any way, I slashed my margins on several well-known, high-quality brands – in one case creating a loss leader – one hearing aid that I was selling below my own cost. That’s one way to go broke fast, right? Well, it was a drastic move but I actually saw a slight increase in store traffic and sales increased a bit.
We began offering free hearing evaluations with a coupon. That brought in more traffic than I ever expected. Funny thing, though. It was obvious the new competition was watching what I was doing because they began offering free evals with a coupon.
One thing that really added some octane to store sales were talks by professionals. I announced these events well in advance, put out some coffee and simple refreshments, rented a few dozen folding chairs and had local, medical professionals come in to discuss hearing loss. Then, we’d follow up with a Q&A that lead to a quick overview education of the hearing process and hearing technology solutions.
Beating the Competition
If you’ve enjoyed the luxury of a closed market, don’t count on things remaining that way. A new store or franchise may open up right down the street. So what do you do?
- Check out the new store ASAP. How far are they from you and how much of your service areas overlap? The less, of course, the better.
- Have a friend visit the store to check out the inside. Or, if you see synergistic opportunities between two hearing aid retail outlets, go visit your new competitor and strike up a positive relationship – maybe even share some promo costs.
- Cut margins, at least until the geo-specific hearing aid battle settles down. Even if you sell below cost, you’ll get that back by building a larger, more loyal client base.
- Track the competitor’s activities. What kinds of ads are they using and where? The local newspaper will tell you a lot. If you see that the competitor’s ads are shrinking in size, you know the new store is NOT pulling traffic with their print campaign.
- When the new phone books arrive, see how your competitor has positioned himself and how much space they’ve taken under specific yellow page headings.
- Expand service offerings. Bring in professionals to discuss hearing loss and hearing aid solutions. Talk to your manufacturers’ reps. Some makers of quality hearing aids provide speakers who travel from outlet to outlet providing impartial, quality information.
- Advertise in-store events at least three weeks ahead of the actual event date.
- Don’t necessarily follow everything the new competition does. Wait, watch and learn. If the tactic is successful, the competitor will continue to use it – something you might consider adding to your promotional tool kit. If it doesn’t work, the competitor will stop using that tactic and you’ve saved yourself some money.
Having the market locked up for lack of competition is great, but few of us actually enjoy that luxury. So, when the competition moves in, be ready. Then, follow a few simple steps to beat that new competition.
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