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.

Reach Out: Help Your Community. Help Your Business.

The independent hearing aid practitioner is faced with numerous business problems in an economy that’s frozen like a deer in the headlights. People aren’t spending. Banks aren’t lending and the small hearing aid business owner must compete with assisted listening devices that sell for $14.95 on TV.

Tough times. But not desperate times – especially if the hearing aid practitioner takes a pro-active stance toward business development. The small business owners who take a passive approach aren’t going to survive these difficult, unprecedented economic times. Those business owners who reach out to their communities will not only survive, they’ll grow through recognition as a good business citizen.

In the case of hearing aid technologists, this means reaching out in to the community to offer services designed to help others and help grow the business.

There are numerous opportunities for those entrepreneurs willing to put in the time and effort – to give to the community.

 

Health Fairs

Many communities offer health fairs, often in the fall after the slow summer season is over. These health fairs include various medical service providers who conduct basic blood pressure, eye exams and, yes, hearing evaluations.

For many, the convenience of all of these health care and service providers in one place makes it easy to move from station to station and leave with a pretty good idea of the attendees’ general health. And, as a hearing health practitioner, you can be certain that many of those who undergo a hearing evaluation will do so for the first time in their lives! It’s just not #1 on most people’s “to-do” list.

As a result, many health fair visitors will discover that they, do, indeed, have some hearing loss – hearing loss that can be corrected, or at least mitigated. So, by participating in these community events you help members of the community and you generate potential prospects. Everybody wins.

 

Assisted Living Facilities

It’s difficult for the owners of these assisted living facilities to get many of their clients and residents in for regular hearing exams and so, in too many cases, hearing loss is neglected in institutional settings. It’s simply too difficult in many cases.

Contact the administrators of these facilities and offer in-house hearing evaluations as a service. In many cases, the ability  to simplify the hearing evaluation process will be welcomed by the administrator. These services should be donated, and evaluation results provided to both administrator and patient.

Schools

Elementary schools, middle schools, high schools and institutions of higher learning need free evaluation services for their students. The earlier a hearing loss is detected the better the long-term prognosis for the child.

Once again, these services should be offered at no charge to the school or the individual students tested.

On a practical note, contact your business insurance agent to discuss your outreach plans. Additional liability coverage may be required to protect against increased risk exposure – a part of any outreach program.

In-Store Out-Reach

Schedule regular events in your store. Many hearing aid manufacturers have speakers who can be scheduled to make a presentation. Offer simple refreshments and advertise well in advance of the event itself.

Finally, always offer free in-store evaluations. Yes, it may be time-consuming but that store visitor will be back in the years ahead, remembering the free, professional service you offered in the past.

The best way to stay afloat in tough economic times is to go pro-active. If your regular print marketing isn’t driving traffic to your store, it’s time to reach out to prospects and help your community and your business simultaneously.

John M. Adams, III

jma@hearingtutor.com

Don’t Sell Your Customers. Educate Them!

Hearing aid practitioners form the interface between manufacturer and consumer. You won’t find a Phonak salesperson working with a customer. You won’t find an Oticon technician administering hearing evaluations at the local hearing aid outlet. Instead, it’s the hearing aid practitioner – the hearing aid dispenser – who interacts between manufacturer and end user – the consumer.

 

And that puts us in a unique position to actually educate prospects, not just sell them a hearing aid or two. I’ve found, over the years, that an informed consumer is (1) grateful for the advice and guidance and (2) becomes a part of my client base. These buyers come back when they need after-sale items or another hearing evaluation. Why? Because I didn’t try to sell them a hearing aid. I taught them about the hearing process and hearing technology.

 

So, what should today’s hearing aid retailer be prepared to discuss? Well, I assume the buyer knows little or nothing about hearing or hearing aids. This way, I start at the beginning and walk the consumer through the process of selecting, fitting and living with a hearing device.

 

How do we hear?

It happens so automatically that most people simply take it for granted. I use a cut-away diagram to explain the delicate intricacies of the hearing mechanism. If the customer has the results of an audiograph I explain how the ear drum picks up and vibrates to different frequencies and how that individual’s hearing loss came about, if I know the reason. (Of course, sometimes we don’t know the underlying cause in which case, it’s best to be straightforward with the buyer.)

 

Any way, once the customer understands the complex procedure that is hearing and interpretation of sound (localization, recognition, et al) they simultaneously recognize the need to address hearing loss to keep the problem from progressing.

 

What is a hearing aid?

I’m amazed at the misconceptions that laypeople have about hearing aids. Most believe that a hearing aid is simply a device that amplifies sound. Maybe that’s why so many buyers experience sticker shock in your showroom after seeing hearing devices for $14.95 advertised on the TV.

 

I always open the hearing aid case to show the buyer the complex digital circuitry and explain how a hearing aid can be tuned by the practitioner to not only boost hearing but prevent further hearing loss caused by adaptive listening devices (ALDs).

 

What should I look for in a hearing aid?

Most buyers don’t even know where to start or what questions to ask. This is the part of my job I love most – teaching the benefits of today’s hearing aids.

The four areas I cover with each customer are:

 

Wearing Comfort

I remind each buyer that s/he will be wearing these devices for 14 hours a day so they should be comfortable. A simple review of the pros and cons of various types of devices – CIC, BTE, etc. – helps the buyer make the right decision for his or her preferences and lifestyle.

 

Hearing Comfort.

I stress this during my initial consultation. Some customers want the discretion of a CIC unit from the moment they walk through my door. That is until I describe the problems of CICs – stuffy ear feeling, distorted voice image and so on.

 

I then introduce the concept of hearing openness provided by BTEs. I explain that BTEs deliver a more natural, less processed sound – an open, airier sound – than a CIC, for example. However, once I’ve laid out the pros and cons, i.e., educated the consumer on hearing comfort and options, I don’t debate. The consumer knows what s/he wants and what the priorities are.

 

Automated Convenience

As hearing aid practitioners, we know the value of automated convenience to quality of life. Automated feedback suppression, automated volume adjustments, data logging – all tools that enhance the hearing aid experience.

 

However, these automated features cost money and hearing aid costs are usually the number one priority for buyers. That’s why I take my time here to explain that the conveniences will be with the buyer every day for years to come while the extra money spent on these conveniences will be forgotten in just days. Now, this may sound like I’m selling but I also believe it’s the truth. I’ve seen too many unhappy buyers return a year or two after buying a low-cost device to buy up and get some of those conveniences that making wearing a hearing aid simpler.

 

Wireless Connectivity

This feature, available from many manufacturers, grows in importance every day as the wireless network expands. Cell phones, MP3 players, laptops – if you want to stay connected to the communications grid today you need wireless.

 

Of course, many consumers don’t own cell phones or MP3 players so they don’t need this convenience. This allows me to show the buyer less expensive units or units that offer features that particular buyer will actually use. For instance, I had a customer who was much more interested in being able to swim each day with his hearing aids in place. That was more important than wireless connectivity so we quickly switched over to water-resistant and water-proof models.

 

What about cost?

This is always a tough point. Who’s got $5,000 to spend on a pair of high-end hearing aids? I don’t and I retail them!

 

There are low-cost financing options available, either through government programs or local financing through your outlet. The point is this: hearing aid practitioners are tasked with fitting the right device to best suit the consumers’ needs, preferences and pocketbook and I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that my customers leave my store with the right device.

 

In other words. I’ll do everything I can to help finance a purchase (assuming a quick credit check delivers the news I’m looking for). Once again, by providing financing options, you’re educating the buyer.

 

Stop selling. Start teaching.

As professionals, our work is client-centered NOT profit-centered. Sure, we have to pay the bills – the rent, utilities, payroll, manufacturers – there has to be good cash flow to be able to offer the quality of service and the broadest array of options available.

 

So, what can you do to better help your customers? In-store demonstrations? How about an outreach program for those people who can’t get to the store? What can you do to be a better hearing aid practitioner?

 

Answer that question and your business grows automatically with good word of mouth – the best advertising there is.

 

Stop selling. Start teaching. Then, watch your business grow.

Hearing Aid Retailers: Selling In A Contracting Economy

No Toy Value?

With cutbacks, layoffs and consumer sentiment at all-time lows, the hearing aid practitioner faces two fundamental problems in maintaining, much less growing, store revenues.

Cash Flow

The first, and most significant problem, independent retailers face is the slowing of cash flow. First, fewer consumers are buying, consumers that do purchase a pair of hearing aids opt for lower-priced models and, with entry-level hearing aids starting at $1,000 per ear, most prospects are smacked with sticker shock.

“But I see them on TV for $14.95!” Thus begins the lecture on tunable devices and the dangers ALDs present to already damaged hearing. The user-controlled device is tuned to higher and higher volume levels, causing further damage and loss of hearing.

However, even after explaining the importance of tunable hearing aids, many consumers opt for a lower priced ALD. In fact, some retailers don’t carry these ALDs, though some are useful and of decent quality. However, the hearing aid practitioner must explain the proper use of an ALD and point out their potential dangers.

Hearing Aids Are Discretionary

Unfortunately, as the economy contracts and people fear for the security of their jobs and even their homes, hearing aids quickly fall into the “discretionary purchase” category – most certainly after a big-screen, HD flat-screen TV with surround sound. Now that’s got “toy value!”

A hearing aid has no toy value. In fact, most consumers think of them as beige and blah. So, potential consumers learn to “live” with hearing loss. They learn to position themselves to receive visual cues from the speaker and they ask “What?” a lot. Seems like a small price to pay for that HD TV with surround sound.

The point, here, is that the hearing aid practitioner’s marketing shouldn’t target prices and features but quality of life issues. This is what the consumer fails to recognize: loss of hearing is a quality of life issue, but because nerve damage often happens gradually, the individual is able to compensate with adaptive behaviors.

 

But the sound of the birds, or a grand child’s whisper – these are the quality of life issues that individuals with hearing loss fail to consider when weighing a hearing aid purchase.

 

Free Demonstrations

Organize and strongly promote a night of free demonstrations with refreshments, hearing aid practitioners available to answer questions and, of course, free hearing evaluations.

 

 

 

 

Create a celebratory atmosphere and hold these events monthly, using print media and your localized website to keep the events before the prospect.

 

Be sure to ask visitors to sign the guest book and encourage an appointment for a complete hearing evaluation.

 

These Ear Parties (avoid calling them seminars – too boring) are terrific opportunities to create interest in the consumer by demonstrating the advancements in hearing technology. As an additional benefit, you’re able to instruct numerous prospects at once – a cost-saver.

 

Outreach Programs

In these difficult economic times, hearing aid practitioners must find ways to expand services, even in a contracting economy. Often, this can be as simple as creating an outreach program – a service visiting elder care facilities to perform hearing tests, for example.

 

Or, setting up a table at the local community health fair. It’s important to expand your stores’ presence in a contracting economy. For many hearing aid practitioners, this challenge is actually an opportunity to expand both product and service offerings.

 

Marketing In Tough Times

The worst thing a small hearing aid practitioner can do in difficult times is cut back on marketing and services. The key to success is to keep the marketing free and services can expand without adding significantly to the operations accounting line in the annual budget.

 

Contact local service organizations like the Lions Club or Jaycees. These organizations meet monthly and are always eager to find speakers – like you. And you even get a lunch out of the presentation. Not bad.

 

Teach a short adult education class on hearing, hearing aid technology and the hearing purchase cycle. The course should be offered at no cost and product samples should be a part each class.

 

Organize a community health fair and solicit other health care providers to offer free evaluations for the good of the community. Any local newspaper would provide free advertising for such an event and the community should offer the use of town facilities. It’s good for the community and good for the medical community in your service area.

 

 

 

 

 

Offer financing options. This can be done through the local bank or through a credit line held by the business. It offers the option of providing hearing aids when needed while earning interest on your borrowers – another win-win.

 

Join the local Chamber of Commerce and Better Business Bureau. These are worthy organizations that also serve to create consumer trust and establish your business as a good member of the local business neighborhood.

 

Expand after-purchase care service, i.e. free battery swaps. This keeps your client base in tact.

 

As you expand both your store’s service offerings, products and outreach, you’ll see almost immediate results from these no-cost marketing steps, ideal for a contracting economy and a “discretionary” product.

 

Change perceptions, help the community and grow your business. Sounds like the perfect blend for small business success in an uncertain economy. 

John M Adams III

www.hearingtutor.com

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.