Running a hearing healthcare business involves more than simply providing outstanding audiological services. One of the most challenging aspects of this profession is finding and acquiring new customers beyond referrals. If you’ve found it difficult to attract new clients, know that it actually is hard.
But first let’s take a look about the current challenges.
Understanding the Challenges
1. Lack of Awareness
Despite the prevalence of hearing loss and the significant improvement hearing aids can provide, many people are still unaware of the benefits of visiting a hearing healthcare provider. Often, potential clients may not realize they have a hearing issue or understand how hearing healthcare services could improve their quality of life.
2. Stigma
Unfortunately, there’s still a stigma associated with hearing loss and the use of hearing aids. Some people view these issues as a sign of aging or weakness, which can make them reluctant to seek help.
3. Competition
The hearing healthcare industry has become increasingly competitive. With the rise of over-the-counter hearing aids and online audiology services, traditional hearing healthcare businesses face growing competition.
4. Price Sensitivity
Hearing aids can be a significant investment, and not all insurance plans cover these costs. As such, price sensitivity can be a significant barrier to acquiring new clients.
5. Population Demographics
The primary users of hearing aids are typically older individuals who have developed age-related hearing loss. The percentage of individuals in this demographic is fairly constant within a population, so while the number of potential hearing aid users can increase as the population grows or ages, it’s limited by demographic realities.
Strategies to Overcome These Challenges
While we specifically can not help you overcome the first 2 as well as 5 (we can’t expand the market by creating a need here, the need – namely having hearing loss – has to be established already) we can definitely help you with 3 and 4. Let’s dive into it a little bit deeper:
Let’s start with competition. Unless you are operating in an geographic area where new hearing aid providers pop up you do not have to worry about your offline competition. The biggest challenges come from the world wide web.
As already discussed earlier, OTC hearing aids do chip away from some of your customer base but mostly it’s people interested in lower tier technology levels who can’t afford a lot in the first place and sacrifice quality for a bargain.
Online hearing aid providers selling big brand hearing aids do cause you harm – here is why:
The newer generations of your target audience is more tech savvy and does research already online (this is what we call top of the funnel). They will research different brands, compare different devices and even ultimately purchase online.
If you are not part somewhere along their customer journey – you will most likely be left out as consideration – truly not ideal if your goal is to grow your business.
With services like our online hearing test and our hearing aid storefront we can participate in both top of the funnel (got aware they have hearing loss) and bottom of the funnel (one step before actually purchasing a hearing aid).
Let’s focus on the hearing aid storefront.
With a hearing aid storefront by Makehear, you will use the most lucrative step in the whole customer journey and leverage it with GEO fencing.
How does work?
The hearing aid storefront is an ecommerce platform, which carries all your inventory you currently sell.
An ecommerce platform is needed to work with Google Shopping – Googles’ very own shopping platform, where people compare prices, discover products and also have a premier listing whenever someone is researching a product.
Here is my favorite example why Google Shopping is such an amazing tool:
So what do we see here on the screenshot?
234 million results and Amazon advertising on the top spot but lots of different brands leverage Google Shopping to be displayed on top of Amazon. It is the first people will see on desktop as well as on their mobile phones in addition to that they have a visual – an image that accurately describes what they are going to see once they click the ad – which means very little waste in advertising cost.
Now imagine if someone was looking for “Phonak Audeo B” and you would get shown as an ad (only if the person searching was within a certain radius of your location) along with information that you’re local.
This would be a no brainer for the potential customer.
Luckily this can be set up. So if you are interested, book a demo call with us and we get to know each other, crunch some numbers and then see if we are a good fit and if we can help you!
learn more about the Hearing Aid Storefront
