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. 

Why Should A Customer Buy A Hearing Aid From You?

Two million people in the U.S. currently wear hearing aids, and while we expect that number to grow as the Baby Boomers start looking for hearing solutions, the fact is that many hearing aid retailers are operating in highly-competitive markets.

OFFER HEARING SOLUTIONS, NOT JUST HEARING AIDS

If you have a few shops in a metropolitan area, you know that the competition is fierce. There are a half-dozen other retailers operating in your service region. Some may be eating your lunch. This creates a narrow, “vertical” market where numerous outlets provide the same services and sell the same products.

Even in rural areas where you had a territory to yourself, if a single competitor moves into the region, you’ve got competition, you’ve got a problem. And, what if your new competitor is also a Phonak dealer or a Starkey outlet. Now you have the potential for price cutting, which always hurts business.

All of this leads to one question: why should s prospective hearing aid consumer buy a hearing aid from you and not your competitor across town – or your six competitors within a 20-block territory?

The answer? Word of mouth advertising you develop through client care that beats the pants off the competition.

 

First, Study the Competition

Start tracking what your competitors are doing to market products and services. You can determine how successful a particular marketing channel is simply by watching to see if the competitor continues to use it.

Here’s an example: let’s say a couple of your heavy-hitting competitors run half-page ads in the local newspaper. Very expensive, even in these times of declining readership and ad revenues. Newspapers are still a main marketing channel for local businesses.

Okay, if the competitor’s ads continue to run week after week you know it’s a viable marketing outlet for you. Why? Because if the competitor wasn’t seeing a good ROI on those half-page advertisements, s/he wouldn’t keep spending the money for the weekly placement.

Competitor ads tell you what works. A half-page ad enables you to provide a map to your stores, announce hearing aid seminars, offer free consumers’ guides and, of course, plenty of product literature. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Follow the successful competitor. You can’t copyright an idea so steal from the best and design your ads with the same features your competition employs.

Conversely, if a competitor drops the half-page advert and goes to a classified, watch that classified. Maybe the big ad didn’t pay for itself but that classified is pulling them in if it runs every day or every week.

What makes you so special?

Work in two areas, here. Offer more hearing solutions and expand your service offerings.

In the area of product offerings, become an outlet for quality name brands for those buyers seeking the best hearing experience possible, but also offer entry-level models for those buyers who place cost as the number one buying consideration.

Offer assisted listening devices for buyers who “just want to hear the TV.” Okay, this device will do the job but take the time to explain the proper use of ALDs and how to prevent additional hearing loss because these user-controlled devices lack any limiters or filters. It’s up to the user to take the necessary precautions to eliminate further hearing loss.

Disposable hearing aids are also available. Now, some dispensers may not approve of these devices but, for some consumers, they’re the perfect solution. Some people experience hearing loss that requires the occasional hearing boost. They don’t need a hearing aid all their waking hours. And, because these disposable hearing aids are so inexpensive, they may be the perfect solution to some consumers’ hearing loss problems.

Go over your pricing tiers and add devices at price points that you currently DON’T hit. For example, you may have a device at $1,000 and one at $1,400 – but nothing in between. You need to find a device that sells in the $1250 range to hit as many price points as possible.

Services

Review the competition’s service offerings. Then go them one better.

For example, you’ll pick up business by adding in-home testing and fitting to your list of service offerings – especially if the competition requires buyers to come to the store. NO! You go to them.

How about expanding your hours? If the competition is closed on Sunday, guess what? You’re going to pick up every Sunday shopper. Everyone because you’re the only outlet open on Sundays.

Arrange for hearing evaluations in long-term health care facilities to simplify the process of fitting a bed bound patient with adequate hearing gear.

Refurbish older units and donate them to service clubs like the Elks or Lions. These organizations will ensure these refurbs get to the people who need them most.

Offer free after care. Free batteries for life. Free maintenance and cleaning. Free hearing tests – the whole nine yards. This will grow your client base quickly, creating loyal buyers who come to you when they want to upgrade their hearing aids.

Provide hearing evaluations as a free service to schools. Work with school administrators, get permission slips and check the kids for hearing loss. And while you’re there, tell them to turn down those darned MP3 players. A little one-on-one education may save a young person’s hearing.

You get the idea. First, study what your competition is doing. Then, do it better. Offer lower prices, unlimited benefits, outreach programs, more hearing solutions – all part of carving out your dedicated, loyal band of hearing aid wearers.

And this dedicated band is the best advertising available to small business owners. Word of mouth spreads fast and that happy, satisfied buyer is going to tell six other people about why they should buy a hearing aid from you rather than the store around the corner.

Word of mouth is your best, most effective advertising. And you develop good WOM by providing not hearing aids but hearing solutions.

John M. Adams III

jma3@hearingtutor.com

Using Direct Mail To Drive Store Traffic

Your Graphic Artist Will Point You To a Low-Cost Printer

Direct mail – post cards, self-mailers, letters, brochures, aka junk mail – has always been a staple of the hearing aid practitioners’ marketing effort. Some of these mailings really pull in traffic while others don’t even pay for themselves – at least right away. 

So, what can you do to improve the pull of your direct mail campaigns. A few things come to mind based on my own successes and failures. Oh, and BTW, those failures? Yeah, they’re expensive. So, get the most for your indicia.

Start With the Mailing List

If your beautifully written prose is being mailed outside your service region or to kids under 12-years-old, you’re wasting time and money. The list – your Golden List – may take some time to develop.

If you’ve never done a direct mail campaign, it starts with a list house – a company with giant databases loaded with names, addresses, telephone numbers and other personal data. You can conduct searches by everything from annual household income to number of geriatrics within the home.

Big Brother isn’t watching. LOTS of Big Brothers are watching and collecting data on the buying habits and lifestyle habits in your household and millions of other homes just like yours.

So, step one is to eliminate all addresses outside certain zip codes. In other words, pick geo-specific regions within an easy drive to one of your retail outlets.

Step two: target areas where wealthy people live – zip codes of the best towns in your area. These population centers (1) have the resources to purchase hearing aids and (2) are more likely to address a hearing loss with a hearing aid purchase.

Step three: Check the currency of the list. I still get junk mail addressed to my mother-in-law who died in 1993! And some sucker paid 50 cents for that address. You don’t want just any 25,000 mailing addresses – you want people who still live at those addresses. Current information.

Step four: Seed the mailing list. Add a couple of friends’ names to the list as a check that the mail is getting through. We’ve all heard horror stories of entire catalogs disappearing before delivery and the business owner who mailed those catalogs is just plain out of luck.

A reputable list house guarantees the quality of the data it sells.

Next, the Mailer Itself

Have your mailer professionally designed by a graphic artist with the text written by a proven sales copy writer. You can find these creative types all over the web. Try Elance.com. oDesk.com and Guru.com for starters.

Think about the printing costs. Obviously, a straight black-and white letter will cost less to print but, if it has to be folded and slipped into an envelop, that extra step may cost more.

A one-color mailer is just that – it’s black-and white with one additional color. It’s a little more expensive but it also creates the illusion that the mailer is more colorful than it actually is.

The most expensive design is the four-color mailer. This is the full color mailer most of us are used to seeing. If the mailer includes photos, for example, four-color is a must. But, if you’re sending out a professional letter, black-and-white is expected.

BTW, the big box stores that sell office supplies can print up thousands of b&w to full-color mailers at a very low cost.

Postage

Yep, the PO ain’t delivering your mailer free.

Two ways to go, here. You can visit your local postmaster and purchase what’s called an indicia – that little bulk mail symbol you see in the upper right hand corner. The indicia is printed directly on the mailer making things simple.

Or, you can purchase bulk mail stamps. This is actually a good idea if you’re going to do mail blasts in different test markets. No additional indicia required.

Test Market

Which mailer pulls in the most store traffic?

What zip codes deliver the lowest CPS – cost per sale?

Does the letter drive more traffic than a post card?

You won't know until you do a little test marketing. With each test mailing you do, track results with absolute precision. The goal?

To develop the Golden List – the best list with the best prospects at the lowest per unit cost of delivery.

Conducting simple A/B tests over a period of several months will give you the empirical data required to start refining your mailing list.

Project Management

You can hire a local ad agency to do all this leg work but you’ll pay for that leg work. There’s nothing in this list that you and/or an administrative assistant can’t do in-house.

Your graphic artist will be able to recommend a printer who’ll do a short run for cheap. So, use all of your company assets and save on your direct mail campaign.

You may not WANT to do all of these chores but you’ll save 40-50% of your expenses by DIY.

Finally, consider your pull rate. Anything over 5% is fabulous. So, if you mail 20,000 pieces in your service region and drive 1,000 new customers to your hearing aid outlet, you’re going to be one happy store owner.

The key is to develop the Golden List, seed it, choose the best, most eye-catching design and conduct test mailings to refine your list further.

So reach out and touch someone. Someone looking for your hearing health services and products. Those prospects live in your town.

Drop them a line.

John M. Adams III

jma3@hearingtutor.com

 

 

Transitioning to a Hearing Aid: Preparing Your Clients

Wait 'Til You Hear 

What You've Been Missing

As I meet with independent hearing aid retailers across the country (13,000 strong), one “problem” that keeps coming up is the transition phase that takes place after the client has been fitted and is wearing hearing aids regularly.

“ My voice sounds funny.”

“It sounds tinny.”

“I hear feedback whenever it comes near my watch!”

Common complaints and just a few among the many you’ll hear from clients after they’ve made an expensive purchase. It’s important for the hearing aid dispenser to prepare the new hearing aid wearer for the new facts of life.

 No hearing aid replaces natural hearing.

 The most common complaint during the transition phase, depending on the extent of hearing loss, is that the sound isn’t “natural.” Even open-ear, BTE wearers complain of a processed, unnatural sound – “like listening to a radio” – is a description I’ve often heard.

Early in the discovery phase of your discussions with clients, it’s important to prepare the client for the new reality. No hearing aid, regardless of price, truly replaces natural hearing, though some deliver a more natural listening experience, most often depending on number of channels which, in turn, translates into retail price.

Clients should have realistic expectations from the beginning and understand that a hearing aid is just that. It’s an aid, not a cure for hearing loss.

Before the purchase, I discuss the client’s priorities, which are pretty far-ranging. Most consumers are naturally concerned about price, and it’s at this point that I urge the buyer NOT to use cost as the number one factor in choosing hearing devices.

It’s here the education process begins. I discuss hearing comfort, wearing comfort, conveniences, organic sound options and, if the consumer is plugged into the grid, I introduce wireless connectivity. A short examination of lifestyle and the associate activities will better equip you to fit the right hearing device to the right consumer.

I had one client whose number one priority was to be able to hear his grandkids as they all swam in the pool. Made my job easy. I introduced him to several waterproof and water resistant hearing aid models. Problem solved. So, during this phase of the sale arc, educate the consumer on the various considerations other than price.

Guaranty Every Hearing Aid Your Store Sells

This is a win-win.

The client wins because s/he can be certain that if “this doesn’t sound right” no worries. A full refund is part of the arrangement, as it should be. Any qualified hearing aid practitioner wants a satisfied customer who enjoys a satisfying listening experience every day.

Thanks to you.

Tweaking

The new hearing aid wearer should expect some tweaking during the first few days and weeks, and this should simply be a part of your service offering. Tweaking channels to deliver a better listening experience is part of the transition process and your helpful understanding and knowledge to answer questions helps the client through this period of adaptation.

I ask my customers to keep notes for a day or two: too loud, too soft, feedback, echo – what’s going on in there and under what circumstances. And usually, after a visit or two, we strike that perfect balance of hearing ability and the most natural sound possible.

Go Proactive

When the customer leaves the store your job has just begun.

Follow up the next day with a telephone call to discuss any serious problems, discomfort or complaints. You can also be sure that the new hearing aid wearer will have a long list of questions so I usually grab a cup of coffee and settle in to listen and hear what my customers are saying. I’m the guide during this period of transition and I want to be there to help the client achieve the greatest improvement in hearing possible.

I also schedule an in-office adjustment within seven days of purchase. This allows me to adjust fit as well as tweak the channels according to the wearer’s list of problems.

Make the customer a stakeholder in his or her hearing by teaching these customers their roles in settings and maintenance.

And speaking of maintenance…

..a lesson in hearing aid maintenance will save service calls, it will save the client money in repairs and it’ll improve the customer’s daily listening experience.

Provide a cleaning kit and demonstrate how to clean a hearing aid and how to perform a battery swap out. Today’s battery packaging has made the process nearly mistakes proof, though I often hear stories of “watching the last battery slide down the bathroom sink drain.” Be prepared. Always carry a spare.

Over time, clients adjust to their new hearing experience, in large measure, because of your preparation and guidance during the transition process.

It’s a benefit to each customer and it cuts down on the number of returns.

Win – win.

John M. Adams III

jma3@hearingtutor.com

Good Deeds = Good Business

The local hearing aid practitioner, with one or two outlets, relies on community trust to build a successful business. This isn’t just trust among existing customers. This is the business’ reputation as a good community citizen. 

And the best way to create trust and demonstrate your community citizenship is to perform good deeds that help those living in your service region.

 Good deeds = good business.

Hearing Aid Practitioner 

and Business Development Consultant, 

John M. Adams III

 Speak at Schools

You’re the hearing expert. Visit schools and teach the hearing process and provide the means to protect the delicate workings of the inner ear.

Some practitioners use a large, cut-away visual aid showing the various parts of the middle and inner ear. It’s perfect for explaining how sounds are captured and processed – highly recommended for younger students, grades 1-6.

With younger students, explain how we hear, explain how fragile the human hearing mechanism is and provide a short warning about protecting the hearing mechanism and the dangers of MP3 players and long-term exposure to loud noise of any kind.

Older students – high school aged – are more prone to hearing loss caused by exposure to the ubiquitous ear buds. Here, you can make a stronger case for hearing health and spend less time on the actual mechanics of hearing. Use your visual aids to give your audience the once over lightly before shifting gears and defining the dangers to hearing that surround us today.

Conduct an Adult Education Class

Two or three hours of solid, pragmatic information on when to buy a hearing aid and the current state of hearing technology provides a valuable service to the community. Donate your time and keep the sales pitch to a minimum.

Again, describe, in detail, the hearing process. Provide the names of the parts of the ear and, if possible, make handouts of the inner ear for take-aways.

Spend more time on the causes of hearing loss at various ages – traumatic hearing loss, hearing loss caused by exposure to loud noise and nerve deafness – one of the unpleasant aspects of the aging process.

Be sure to cover the features and costs associated with hearing devices. In short, educate the consumer so that when s/he walks in to your store in a week or two, you don’t have to repeat what the consumer learned in your class.

In your class description, call your program A Consumer’s Guide to Hearing Aids and go through the various considerations a consumer should weigh when making a hearing aid purchase. Be sure to cover pros AND cons. You’re a teacher in this role, not a salesperson.

Donate Your Time, Talents and Re-Furbs

Donate your time by conducting hearing tests on the road. Go to the client who’s house bound, for example. Simplify the buying process and do something nice for a neighbor.

Take your customers old units and clean them up. Donate these re-furbs to community organizations for distribution. Also donate your time tuning these devices for the recipients to provide a satisfying listening experience.

You have old units. You can get old units. So, fix them up and let someone else enjoy a better quality of life.

Sponsor Local Activities

A health fair? You’re in. You’ll spend a little to defray expenses but you’ll have the opportunity to do something nice for the people in your service region. A free hearing evaluation.

What about sponsoring a local sports team? The costs are minimal (uniforms and equipment) but the benefits keep on giving. And again, you demonstrate your commitment to being a good commercial citizen.

Take an ad in the year book. Donate earplugs to the band. Perform pro bono whenever and wherever the opportunity arises. Cast bread on the waters.

Maintain Your Outlet’s Appearance

Paint it, power wash it, clean the windows, hire a cleaning service for the interior. Part of being a good community citizen is to present the best appearance you can – even if you have to pay for these services out of your own pocket. Consider the money spent an investment in the reputation and growth of your business.

Join a Service Organization

As a member of the Chamber of Commerce you demonstrate commitment to the highest standards of service and business ethics. As a member of the Elks or Lions, a commitment to the betterment of your town.

Here’s the point, and it’s a simple one: good deeds come back to you in ways you can’t imagine. By doing good deeds in your community, you not only help your neighbor, you also help grow your business and everybody wins.

Good deeds do equal good business.

John M. Adams III

jma3@hearingtutor.com

Use Marketing Collaterals to Help Consumers AND Make The Sale

It’s not at all unusual for an astute consumer to make an initial foray to your retail outlet. These prospects aren’t ready to be tested. They don’t want to look at product options. They’re after a few simple facts on their reconnaissance mission:

 

• Are you the right professional?

 

• What does a hearing aid cost?

 

• What are my product options?

 

• What do I need to know to make my own decision?

 

I like these buyers. They educate themselves, they do their homework and they know what they want and need. So, when these first-timers walk in to one of my stores, I determine quickly what these shoppers want: information. Information on:

 

• services

 

• costs

 

• options

 

• benefits

 

• professionalism

 

So, I don’t spend a lot of time educating these prospects. Instead, I provide information in print form – everything from sell sheets to product literature to a tri-fold brochure that covers our service offerings, product lines, contact information and directions to the store.

 

Using marketing collaterals – take-aways – keeps your business’ name before the prospect. You provide the literature and impartial information required to make an informed decision. You provide easy, postage paid return cards to arrange an appointment for a complete hearing evaluation.

 Know What Your Customers Need to Know

Sell Sheets

These are designed to provide accurate, impartial information. No hype or hard sell. In fact, the only commercial reference on a sell sheet is your store’s name and contact information.

 

So, for example, you might print up a sell sheet on what a first-time buyer should consider before purchase, or maybe write up a 20-page consumers’ guide on the hearing aid purchase cycle – from initial contact to on-going aftercare.

 

Sell sheets should be printed on lacquered paper, professionally written and accurate without any hard sell. If writing and graphics aren’t part of your skill set, visit hearingtutor.com for low-cost, license-free downloads that you can take to the local office store and print up and give away. As many as you’d like.

 

Direct Mail

Two critical parts to a successful direct marketing campaign: (1) the quality of the mailing list and (2) the quality of the mailer.

 

You can purchase mailing lists of individuals who’ve opted in on the web for information on hearing aids or you can do a direct e-mail blast of every resident over 60-years of age within a 30 mile radius of your zip code – much more cost effective.

 

BTW, in difficult economic times list brokers (there are a ton of them) are hurting. So, in your initial conversation with a list broker you may be quoted a price of five cents a name. Negotiate. That information is worthless unless someone is willing to pay money for it and that’s you. Chances are, you can negotiate down to 3.5 cents per name.

 

Also, seed your mailing list with known recipients – yourself. Add your name and your brother-in-law’s name to the mailing list just to make sure that the mail is, indeed, getting through.

 

Newspaper Advertisements

Though newspaper circulation continues to dwindle, it’s still a great resource for reaching local populations – especially older senior populations who still subscribe to the morning news to read over coffee. Wouldn’t be a morning without it.

 

Newspaper and other periodical advertising are opportunistic. The same reader can see your advert for years and not react because s/he didn’t experience hearing loss – until a few months ago! So today, your store’s advertisement is an opportunity to drive that reader to visit your store.

 

Use coupon advertising in local newspaper placements to capture the attention of those seeking aftercare and first timers.

 

Card Decks and Co-op Advertising

I don’t recommend card deck mailers (bundles of post cards) or any kind of cooperative advertising. I just don’t think you get enough bang for your marketing dollar when your card is one of 50 in a shrink-wrapped deck or a square column inch in the  “OUR LOCAL MERCHANTS” section of the newspaper.

 

These may seem like low-cost alternatives to the expense of your own direct mail campaign but you get what you pay for.

 

Letter Campaigns

Perhaps the most productive of all direct mail campaigns.

 

A letter campaign is simply a follow-up letter sent after some other form of introduction. These aren’t hard sell. They’re soft sell reminders of that round of golf or that get-together last month at your mutual service organization.

 

These letters should be printed out on high-quality stationery with your company letterhead and matching envelops. They should be addressed directly to the recipient: Dear Bob, Dear Ms. Smith, Good day, Dr. Jones.

 

Either purchase the highest quality print paper you can or have these letters printed up at the local office big box store. This contact should stress your: (1) desire to assist and (2) a short listing of beneficial services, specifically targeted at the reader if possible.

 

Indeed, the W3 has changed the way hearing aid practitioners market products and services. But, it’s the print materials that prospects use to actually make that buying decision.

 

So provide print collaterals – sell sheets, product brochures, consumer tips – your counter tops should be covered with neat stacks of this promotional information, customized with your business name and contact information.

 

Remember, some buyers are methodical in their decision-making processes. Simply provide them with the best information in the most personal format, demonstrate your professionalism in the quality of the content and its look and feel, and help more prospects become customers.

 

Customers enjoying a better quality of life.  

John M. Adams III

jma3@hearing tutor.com

Smart Marketing for Hearing Aid Practitioners

When it comes to marketing, follow the money.

 Virtually all ad revenues for print media – newspapers, periodicals, telephone books, directories – are expected to decline in 2009. You want empirical evidence? Is your morning newspaper as thick as it used to be? Mine isn’t – especially on Mondays.

Prospects want information not a sales pitch and the best way to give it to them?

An interactive website.

Build It And They Will Come

I’ve mentioned the importance of a website in previous blog posts so I’ll keep it short.

A website is the most valuable tool a small hearing aid business has – even if the service area is only 50 square miles! Local search and personalized search – now in common use by most search engine users – drives web traffic to your locally-optimized website. In turn, the website drives visitors to your retail outlet.

That’s why the world wide web (W3) is expected to see an increase in ad revenues estimated at 15% for the current fiscal year.

Go where the money is going.

A Website Is NOT Your Marketing Strategy

It’s the centerpiece, most certainly. Your website is the place to detail services and stress your professional credentials. It’s also easy to show a map of your retail outlet(s) and provide a printable set of directions to get them there.

Add a picture of the store’s exterior to make it easier for Walk-Ins to walk in. “Hey, there it is!” The website is the bull’s eye of your marketing campaign but it is not the end of your marketing efforts.

Use Your Web Site to Capture Local E-Mail Addresses

Visitors aren’t going to give you an e-mail address unless you offer something in return – an e-book buyer’s guide for hearing aids, for example. Write it yourself or hire a writer on a website like Elance.com.

Use the e-book to capture e-mail addresses. Those who “opt-in” for the free download can be contacted by e-mail through a series of auto-responders – automated e-mails sent out periodically to your expanding opt-in list. And remember, these are local prospects looking for your hearing aid services. Hot leads.

Use Auto-Responders to Obtain Mailing Addresses

Don’t backsell the poor prospect to the grave but periodically send an auto-responder (maybe once a month) providing good, practical informational content and not a lot of sell. Let the quality content sell the professionalism of your services.

One tactic is to offer free testing, free demonstrations and free product brochures and good, informational content on hearing health by e-mail and by snail mail. This enables you to capture a prospect’s name and address.

Deliver quality content to your opt-ins. These men and women are thinking about a hearing aid purchase and the more helpful information you provide to further the buying process, the better product fit for the customer and the more customers walking in to your store.

Keep your business’ name in front of prospects via e-mail and regular mail.

Use Direct Mail In Conjunction With E-Mail

Once you’ve captured a name and address, follow up quickly – immediately – with a direct mail letter and/or post card. A coupon also drives store traffic. Depending on the number of product lines your store carries, there’s usually one or two manufacturers with preferential pricing.

Pass these savings on to buyers and let them know by direct mail. Also, post sale information and new product or service offerings by e-mail and by regular mail. Why?

The purchase of a hearing aid is a psychological/emotional decision as well as a financial decision. These means it may take an individual with hearing loss several months or longer of regular reminders that solutions to that hearing loss are available through your store.

In difficult economic times, those who would benefit from a pair of hearing aids are putting off the purchase and turning up the TV instead. It’s a difficult sale when prospects are worried about losing their jobs.

Integrate All Marketing

For greatest impact, make sure all information sent by direct mail also appears on the website or on a separate blog. And don’t forget to include your website URL – your web address – on all printed marketing from direct mail to newspaper adverts to ads in local periodicals.

Also, add that URL to business cards, take-away promotions from the store and other printed promotions like brochures and letters. Your URL is the center of your marketing campaign.

Use it or lose it. (The sale, that is.)

John M. Adams III

jma3@hearingtutor.com

Hearing Aid Practitioners: Six Tips to Lower Operating Expenses

Hearing aid practitioners, whether owners of a single outlet or a chain of stores across a geo-specific service area, are feeling the pinch, just like all small business owners.

So, where can you cut back? Well, cutting back on services creates backlogs of evaluations and unhappy customers. Cutting back on marketing, which may seem like a natural, is actually the worst thing any small business owner can do during difficult economic times. This misstep will actually bring even fewer customers through the front door.

IS THIS CALL NECESSARY?

So, where can the hearing aid practitioner, or any small service provider, turn to cut some costs while still delivering the highest quality services. Time to pull out the company books to scour your operating costs. Guaranteed, you’ll find places to cut corners that clients won’t even see.

HVAC Tune-Up

What’s it cost to heat and cool your store? Well, depending on square footage, I’ll bet it’s a few hundred bucks a month, 12 months a year. A store that’s too hot or too cold isn’t inviting so creating the right environment is critical to keeping clients on site and comfortable.

A simple heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) tune-up can save hundreds, even thousands, of dollars annually. Caution: hire a company with HVAC certified technicians to make sure you’re getting the job done correctly.

Depending on the technician’s analysis, it may actually pay to replace the wheezing air-conditioner on the roof or the clanky old furnace in the basement. However, before you write the big check, get a second opinion and a second estimate from another HVAC professional.

Update Signage

Your outlet signs, seen from the street, are a constant reminder of your store’s presence for all of those vehicles that pass by each day. And sure enough, some of those drivers will be looking for a hearing aid  - and soon.

The signs visible from the street are excellent tools for driving store traffic. Of course, your signs must be in compliance with local zoning regs so check them out. Also, your signage should announce special services like “Walk-Ins Welcome.”

Clean, professional, compliant with local zoning regulations and eye-catching – never under-estimate the importance of signs, visible from the road, to pull in foot traffic.

Renegotiate Your Lease If You Rent Your Store

If times are tough, call the owner of your store and explain the situation. Offer to renegotiate the lease to keep your business viable.

Here’s the thing: if your store is in a strip mall or professional office building, the landlord would rather have some rent coming in than having to face the expense of finding a new tenant. A FOR RENT sign on a retail outlet is also bad for other businesses that make up the complex.

Don’t expect the store owner to do back flips but at least see if there’s some wiggle room. For example, renegotiate the lease with increasing rents so in the first or second year you’re paying less but as each year goes by, the rent increases and the property owner breaks even after six or seven years.

It’s important to avoid painting yourself into a corner, and in fact, don’t expect much negotiation from the landlord. However, consider cost-cutting options – handling your own trash pick-ups or window cleaning, for example. If you can save a few bucks here and there, it adds up, and may enable you to keep a valued staff member on payroll.

Telecommute the Staff

The back office – your bookkeeper, administrative assistant, hearing aid tech and others who don’t work directly with customers can often work from home simply by adding software to your in-store system.

Repairs can be done at the tech’s home and paperwork – most of which is digital – can be done anywhere there’s a high-speed digital connection. Offer up this benefit instead of a cash raise. You won’t have any trouble convincing store workers that missing the morning traffic jam is an improvement in quality of life.

Rotate Practitioners’ Schedules

If it comes down to letting go a valued professional, offer the option of sharing a position with other practitioners. Most co-workers will accept a small cut in their hours to enable you to keep a friend and co-worker on staff.

Cut Communication Costs

If you’re paying for a bank of cell phones, unlimited long-distance and caller ID on a business telephone, you’re spending money you don’t have to. Why pay for caller ID on a business phone? You’re going to answer any way, right?

If you’re paying for unlimited long-distance, but your service area only covers 25 square miles, you’re paying more than you have to for telephone service – even if your wholesaler is  a couple of time zones to the west.

Today, with the use of email, you can conduct a lot of business digitally and cut the costs of your telephone bill. Oh, and get rid of the cell phone – especially if there’s always someone in the store! Why pay the extra $100 a month so you can call a tech when you can email her free?

Think and save.