Educate Your Customers to Build Positive WOM
Each week you spend a great deal on advertising-at least you do if you own a successful hearing aid retail outlet. There’s that half-page insert in the newspaper, there’s store signage, radio spots, marketing materials. Let’s face it; you spend a lot of money on notifying prospects about your business and the services you offer.
It’s all part of the sales process. How are prospects even going to know you exist if you don’t tell them?
Well, one way prospects find out about your hearing aid business is through word of mouth. And word of mouth, or WOM in the marketing industry, is, bar none, the best advertising you can ever get. Even better than a Superbowl Ad!
Why WOM Works
Think about it. You’re much more likely to see a movie recommended by a friend. You’re more likely to read a book recommend by a neighbor. In fact, a referral or recommendation from a trusted friend is the best advertising any small hearing aid retailer has available. Why?
The trust factor. You can advertise all you want about the quality of your products and the detail and level of service but that’s you talking about you so, of course, you’re only going to say nice things.
A friend, your spouse, neighbor or co-worker who recommends a movie, book or particular hearing aid practitioner comes with the full stamp of approval. A friend who just purchased a pair of hearing aids from you isn’t going to direct her friend to your store unless she believes that the friend is going to experience the same level of quality and professionalism she enjoyed during the purchase process.
There’s an old axiom in marketing. An unsatisfied buyer will tell seven friends about his or her bad experience. A happy buyer will also tell seven friends about his great experience and how happy he is that he chose your store.
Which kind of customer do you want talking up your store around town?
How To Build Positive WOM
You might think it starts with the customers you’ve served but actually, it starts with your outlet. How many people drive by your store front or office each day? 500? 5,000? Whatever the figure, these folks see you store regularly and that makes an impression.
So, is your store easy to find? Is it in a safe neighborhood – even for nighttime shoppers? Is the signage done professionally? Is it eye-catching? Is there a huge pile of garbage in front of the store every Thursday morning – garbage day?
Drive by your store. What sticks out? The peeling paint? The rusting bolts holding your store sign in place? Or the hand-painted, pricey lettering you had done? Chances are, people see the bad stuff first. Ever buy a house? During your first visit you notice every little negative detail like it was the end of the world. Same with those who drive by your store on the way to work.
The exterior of your store should look spotless and totally professional. If you offer free hearing evaluations, make a display that announces that fact. But don’t clutter your windows with posters and come-ons from the various manufacturers you carry as part of your product line. You want visitors to be able to see inside the store, as well.
The Second Impression
The prospect walks into your store. S/he has already selected your store based on WOM or the outward appearance of your outlet. But, when she enters the store, she sees shabby furniture, dust you could write your name in and magazines from the 1950s. (Is Look even published anymore?)
Now, what would you do if you walked into this scene? Well, if you’re shopping for a hearing aid, you’d be smart to turn around and walk out. If the store owner is this careless about the look of his or her store, what kind of attention to detail can you expect during the testing and fitting process.
Your store should be spotless all of the time – even if you have to run the vacuum after closing time. Product literature should be displayed in neat piles and everything should be in its place. Your furnishings also say a great deal about you so don’t litter your store with cast offs from home or something your brother-in-law picked up at a tag sale.
And what about you…
…professional head to toe. Would you buy a hearing aid from a practitioner who had dirty fingernails? How about a hearing aid specialist with a neck tattoo? Of course not.
People want to see a professional behind the counter when the walk in. So, I use a white or light blue lab coat. So do the staff members who work with clients. Other staff – receptionist, bookkeeper, insurance billing clerk – should always dress professionally and appropriately. No plunging necklines. No AC/DC T-shirts. And no perfume or cologne.
The In-Take Process
Once you’ve greeted the prospect and determined his or her needs, begin the in-take process. I always fill out the in-take forms myself rather than have the buyer complete the data. This does a few things that, in the long run, help my business:
- It shows I’m a helpful, professional service provider
- I can take additional notes as I interview the client.
- I can read my own handwriting. (You wouldn’t believe some of the handwriting I’ve seen on patient-completed in-take forms. Sometimes you can’t even read the telephone number to contact the buyer that her devices have arrived and are ready for tuning). So, find a quiet, private spot and complete the in-take form yourself. After all, you are the professional.
Your testing equipment should be spotless and fully functional. “Gee, I’m sorry you drove all the way down here, but my audiometer is on the fritz. Coffee?” Consider that a lost client and a lost sale.
Explain each step of the testing procedure. This is part of the education process. By explaining what each stage of the testing process is for, you prepare the client for a range of hearing solutions. You make the buyer a stakeholder in the hearing process.
Throughout the evaluation process, encourage your clients to take their time. Don’t rush, don’t sell, just gather the data in a sound-neutral, private examination room. I’ve been in stores where testing takes place on the sales floor. First, this doesn’t give the most accurate results because of the background noise and room tone. Second, it makes many clients uncomfortable to be tested in public, so create a little privacy and a sound-neutral environment for testing.
Review Your Findings
Upon completion of the evaluation, review your findings and continue with the education of the patient. I’ve seen it many times. Chances are you have to. You start talking about loss without the upper frequency ranges and you see the client’s eyes glaze over.
Don’t assume your client knows anything about the process of hearing, frequency response, signal-to-noise ratio or any other hearing health jargon. In fact, don’t assume the buyer knows anything about hearing health. That’s what you’re there for.
You can usually tell when a client gets it. You can also tell when they don’t. Encourage questions throughout the review process. And remember, there is no such thing as a stupid question.
Help The Buyer Make the Right Choice
You margins might be better on a higher priced model, or a well-known brand name, but that device may not be in the best interests of the buyer.
The astute hearing aid practitioner goes the extra mile to find the right fit – the device that fits the hearing needs, the budget needs and limitations and the personal preferences of the buyer. Never oversell. Never upsell.
I know my product line like the back of my hand. So, I’m able to examine test results and offer several options to clients at different price breaks. I also believe that honesty is the best policy so I’m straight-up about the pros and cons of each model.
This one is less expensive but doesn’t have as many convenience options. This is a five-channel device; this is a 22 channel device. What’s the difference? I explain it in terms the buyer can understand. And again, I don’t pitch one device over the other. I ultimately believe the customer knows best what she wants with regard to profile, type, cost and other factors so, at this point, I’m just a guide.
Fitting and Tuning
Your job as a hearing aid practitioner has just begun once the buyer has selected the device to suit his needs. I engage the buyer in the tuning process by showing the individual what the inside of a hearing aid looks like. Complex circuitry. Water resistant membrane, amplifier, microphone – the better educated the customer is the better the listening experience that customer will enjoy.
Now, before I send the buyer off with new ear gear, I explain the care and maintenance procedures, the dos and don’ts (open the casing at night), provide the buyer with a few display wraps of hearing aid batteries and a hearing aid cleaning kit.
I go over every detail: how to swap out a battery. How to clean a hearing aid. How to protect that expensive little ear computer.
And at no time do I sell. Selling is a turn-off when it comes to hearing aids, eyeglasses and other adaptive living devices.
People don’t come to you to purchase a hearing aid. They come to you for solutions to hearing loss, they come to you for an improved quality of life, they come to you because their next-door neighbor highly recommended you.
WOM – if you treat the customer honestly and fairly, if you educate rather than sell, if you engage the buyer in all phases of the sales arc, and if you offer free after care, that positive WOM will spread.
And your appointment book will fill up faster. Think of WOM as the best friend you have. Then, cultivate positive WOM with the best service, the most professional approach and hearing solutions that best serve the needs of those who walk through your front door.
Positive WOM follows organically, and you’re on your way to improved sales numbers and a larger, more satisfied client base. And that’s good for all.
John M. Adams III
hearingtutor.com
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment