When Should Ear Gear Be Offered To Patients?
We did a recent survey of Ear Gear customers to dive deep and find out more about what they think of our products. We asked them, "When did your hearing professional sell or give you Ear Gear?"
HERE'S WHAT THEY SAID!
When I purchased my hearing aids: 16.05%
After my hearing aids were repaired: 6.59%
When I complained: 24.32%
When I lost my hearing aids: 2.70%
Ear Gear was never offered: 50.34%
However, almost 80% said they were extremely satisfied with the product once received and 94.5% would likely purchase again.
So, what can we learn from this information? That means 1 out of 6 Ear Gear customers were offered Ear Gear from their audiologist when they purchased their hearing aid. 2 out of 6 had some sort of bad experience - sweat or moisture damage, wind noise, or loss - and came back to their audiologist to complain and only then were offered Ear Gear.
The remaining 3 out of 6 people had to go searching for Ear Gear themselves. Now, we know that Ear Gear is not a perfect fit for everybody. There are lots of people who are perfectly satisfied with their hearing instrument as it is. But, about 20% of your customers are going to run into some bumps as they are living their life with their new hearing instrument. This 20% will have a bad experience because they're particularly active, live in a humid or windy environment, or may be prone to lose their hearing device.
This is a bad experience for both you and your customer, and we believe that Ear Gear can help. Let's look at how.
How Ear Gear can help your audiology practice grow
In the study above, 2 out of 6 of our survey participants were recommended Ear Gear by their audiology after they started complaining about problems they were having. Not only is this a drain on you and your staff, but it can be a drag on your potential income. Let's be real, would you rather be dealing with moisture damage or selling a hearing device to a new customer? In fact, we've found that the average audiologist who gives out Ear Gear regularly cut their number of unnecessary service appointments in half.
But it doesn't just stop there - wind noise, moisture damage, and loss aren't just a concern after your customer purchased. These problems also rear their head while you're trying to sell the hearing instrument. If your practice offers a trial period, Ear Gear can be a really great way to head off these concerns before they occur. And it works - audiologists who give Ear Gear out earlier in the sales process sell 10% more hearing instruments on average.
How Ear Gear Helps Your Clients
We know that your focus is on helping people and providing the best service possible. We also know that your word of mouth referrals are one of the best ways grow your practice.
So when you provide Ear Gear to a client that could really benefit from it, you are ensuring that they have a better experience, less anxiety around damaging their hearing instrument, and ultimately you are creating a fan of your business.
Who needs Ear Gear?
We know that Ear Gear is a must-have for about 20% of hearing instrument users. Here's what to keep your eyes out for as you're serving your patients.
Kids (nobody wants to have to constantly play 'find the hearing instrument' with their toddler)
Athletes (nobody wants to worry about sweat damage or loss during the big game)
Particularly active people (nobody wants to lose their hearing instrument when hiking in the woods)
People that boat (nobody wants to lose a hearing instrument over the side of the boat)
People that work in hot or windy locations (nobody wants to worry about sweat damage while on the job)
Anyone living in a group or assisted living home (nobody wants to worry about misplacing their hearing instrument while out and about)
Don't just take our word for it - here are a few reviews that have been shared over on our Facebook Group.
"As a runner I use the Ear Gear on a daily basis to protect the aids from sweat and rain. As a cyclist I wear them to help cut down on wind noise. As a homeowner I wear them to protect my aids from dust, dirt, and sweat while doing yard work, or other projects around the house.
Having worn aids for decades I firmly believe these have lengthened the life of my aids, and reduced the need for repairs more than any single other thing.
Maybe I should have ordered more than 2 more pairs..."
- David G.
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"I love Ear Gear for several reasons, #1) I hike and use the ones with the clip to ensure I don’t accidentally lose my aids, #2) the wind reduction is awesome and #3) I live on a small farm in S. Kentucky and I don’t worry about dirt and moisture getting in my aids! Thanks for such a great product!!!!"
- Tracy G.
If you're starting to think that Ear Gear is a good fit for your practice, good - it probably is! To make it really easy for you, we have several ways that you can provide Ear Gear to your customers, from wholesale rates, to a worldwide distributor network, and through the Ear Gear Partner Program.
Let us know if you'd like to learn more about any of these programs! You can reach us at 1-888-766-1838 or [email protected]