Karl’s Blog | Practice Marketing
Writing a good press release that hooks editors and contains all the important information is not always easy. As someone who scours hearing industry news, I frequently see press releases from audiologists, hearing aid specialists, and ENTs who are promoting their hearing care businesses. Today, I saw an exceptional one issued by I Love Hearing in the NYC area and thought I’d share it with other practice owners and managers.
It conveys many of the elements that a private practice should convey—a patient-centric and trustworthy approach to hearing healthcare—while getting in all of the other necessities: location, unique value propositions, special demographic appeal, product/service offerings, staff expertise, etc, into a succinct message. I also think the Apple store event (see below) is pretty brilliant, shows local community involvement, and one could conceive of other similar types of cooperative efforts with local business partners.
Kudos to owner Aviva Tilson, AuD (who I don’t know) and her marketing folks. Here is the press release:
Long Island “Hearing Aid Disruptor” Announces Expansion into East Meadow
Top-of-the-line hearing aid service and care is coming to Hempstead, Long Island.
EAST MEADOW, NY, October 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ – I Love Hearing, a company offering complete hearing healthcare, is opening its fifth location in East Meadow directly off the Meadowbrook State Parkway this month. The grand opening and ribbon cutting is scheduled for October 17, 2019.
“Our practice changes the way people have been fit with hearing aids for the past 70 years,” said Aviva Tilson, founder of the practice. “It’s impossible to look at a patient and assume a certain brand will work for them; hearing aid fittings have been brand-specific for decades. By offering many hearing aid brands at our practice, we can find the perfect fit for every patient.”
Tilson said East Meadow was chosen because it’s near many people who need access to high-quality hearing healthcare, including the Bristal Assisted Living facility.
“We want to be convenient to the people we can help,” Tilson said.
According to Tilson, choosing a hearing aid is not unlike choosing between an Apple or Android mobile device—there are many quality models on the market, and user preference is a large part of that choice.
“A model that works incredibly well for one person may not work on someone else, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad hearing aid—it simply means it’s not the best match, and we want our patients to walk away with the right fit,” Tilson said. She added that “it’s very important to keep this in mind when reading reviews from other patients or hearing other people’s experiences.”
At I Love Hearing, patients go through a proprietary process which measures hearing, charts the results, and matches that patient with the hearing aid make and model that best addresses his or her issues.
“As soon as new patients walk into our office, they feel they can trust us because we are not selling them anything—we will not offer something to a patient that won’t help them,” Tilson said.
Patients can try out the hearing aid before committing to a model. Tilson added that her staff attends quarterly training with each hearing aid brand so they are up-to-date on the latest programming and software changes.
In addition to their unique process, I Love Hearing hosts events to educate patients on hearing aid use, recently partnering with Apple to teach customers how to connect their devices with iPhones and other Apple products. In fact, locals can visit the Apple store at the Roosevelt Field Mall on October 27 for a tutorial on how to seamlessly sync their iPhone with their hearing aid—even if they got their hearing from someone else.
“Our job is to educate our patients so they can make the best decision for themselves,” Tilson said. “When patients are not educated on hearing loss, the causes of hearing loss, and how hearing aids work, they cannot make thorough, sound decisions. Selecting the right model— and learning how to use that model correctly—has to be an education-based decision.”
I Love Hearing’s newest location is located at 30 Merrick Avenue, Ste #109, East Meadow, NY. Hours are by appointment. For more information, to book an appointment, or sign up for the Apple event, visit: www.iLoveHearing.com.
I Love Hearing offers hearing testing, fitting, service, verification, and repairs for all makes and models of hearing aids regardless of where the hearing aid was purchased. I Love Hearing offers nearly every brand, including Widex, Starkey, Oticon, Siemens, Signia, ReSound, and more. Locations include Manhattan and four on Long Island: Port Washington, New Hyde Park, Great Neck, and East Meadow. For more, visit: www.iLoveHearing.com.
Source: I Love Hearing
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Image: © Sandyche | Dreamstime.com
Karl Strom is editor-in-chief of The Hearing Review and has been reporting on hearing healthcare issues for over 25 years.