When I first started marketing in the hearing care industry, I often questioned the logic of advertising prices for hearing aids. After all, these are sophisticated devices, and prospective clients would have no way of assigning a $$$ figures to hearing aid technology and features that they have little way of valuing. To me, it seemed very far-fetched to imagine someone looking at an advertisement and saying: “Wow that is an amazingly good price on the Widex Moment 220!” (How could they know!?!)
But, my views on the use of price promotion for hearing aids have evolved.
Branding
The world changes. Clients are aware of the high cost of hearing aids before their appointment. They increasingly want to know that they’re going to get a good price. Independent hearing care providers are facing increasing competition from large ‘volume-driven’ hearing care networks and online retailers.
Now I see Price Promotion can be an important branding tool for some hearing care providers.
Advertising ‘’lowest prices across the range’ versus ‘price promotion’
Now, it is important to note that we are not suggesting offering the lowest price across an entire range. That strategy is only possible where huge volumes are involved along with incredibly efficient service and product delivery. Adopting this strategy would send most hearing care providers to bankruptcy.
We are talking about providing seasonal discounts on a small group of popular hearing solutions, across a range of price levels. In this way, profitability can be maintained, as clients consider other options that are more suitable for their individual needs.
Case Study: Australian Audiology Services
Australian Audiology Services has been a fantastic client of Hearing Care Marketing by Spinach Effect over the years. Their hearing centers are located in shopping centers, in direct competition to Specsavers, which strongly promotes the ‘value proposition’ message in their advertising.
Our response?
Every few months, we run a strong price promotion that boldly displays pricing and huge savings on a small range of devices. By running this every few months, we are building a brand position of ‘low prices’, which is promoted in: local newspapers, store signage, Google Ads, and Facebook. So, even though the audience we reach with that advertising may not ever have the knowledge or experience to say: “Wow, that really is a good price for the Widex Moment 220!”, locals with hearing loss have come to associate Australian Audiology Services with affordability and value.
Let's have a chat today.
If you would like to discuss how you can position your organization as "great value", without hurting profitability, please get in contact with use today.
