Tag: Hearing aid market

MarkeTrak VI indicates that one in five (39%) consumers visit multiple offices prior to purchasing a hearing aid. The top influencing factors in choosing a dispensing office are professional staff, convenient location and hours, and price. Professional advice and positive word-of-mouth advertising dominate reasons for brand choice. Few consumers of hearing aids are interested in purchasing the aids online (3%), and less than one-third use the Internet for anything more complex than email (34%). Use of assistive listening devices (ALDs) ranges from 10%-27% of hearing aid owners, depending on ALD type. This is the fourth installment of a multi-part series covering significant trends in the hearing instrument market. Previous publications in this series covered 17-year demographic trends,1 10-year customer satisfaction trends2 and improvements sought in hearing instruments by current owners.3 The major purpose of this paper is to report on consumer factors impacting distribution and brand choice in the hearing instrument market. In addition, the following ancillary marketing topics will be covered: the extent and impact of dispenser counseling and post-fitting follow-up on customer satisfaction ratings; the number of dispensers visited and number of brands concurrently tried before their most recent hearing instrument purchase; the use of assistive listening devices (ALDs) among hearing instrument users; and the use of computers in the hearing health market. Methods For the detailed methodology used in this study, the reader is referred to the first publication in this series.1 After an initial screening survey using the National Family Opinion panel in January 2001, an extensive customer satisfaction survey was sent to 3,000 hearing instrument owners with tabulation of the data occurring in April 2001. The response rate for the hearing instrument owner survey was 87%. As part of the extensive Knowles Electronics MarkeTrak VI survey, consumers were presented with a list of 11 factors and asked the importance of each in choosing the specific location where they purchased their current hearing instruments. In addition they were given a list of 19 sources of information “which may or may not be helpful and/or reliable when choosing a specific brand of hearing instrument.” For each source they were asked to indicate “how helpful” the source was for them in choosing the right brand of hearing instrument. The 19 factors were presented in three broad categories: 1) written material and advertising, 2) recommendations, and 3) computers. With respect to the ancillary topics covered, current hearing instrument owners were asked to indicate their usage of five assistive listening devices (yes/no scale); to rate their pre-purchase knowledge of hearing instrument technology (good/some/no knowledge) and hearing instrument styles as well as pre-purchase brand knowledge (yes/no/not sure). Consumers also indicated the amount of counseling time their dispensing professional spent with them, whether a post-fitting survey was administered, the number of brands they were sent home with by the same dispensing professional to try prior to choosing their current hearing instrument, and the number of dispensing offices visited prior to choosing their current hearing instrument brand. Choosing the Dispenser Referring to Figure 1, in the process of choosing their current hearing instruments only about six in 10 (61%) owners visit one hearing health care provider (defined as audiologist or hearing instrument specialist), nearly three in 10 visit two, and slightly more than one in 10 (10.4%) visit three or more. Figure 1. Number of hearing health care providers visited prior to deciding on current hearing instrument purchase. Figure 2. Factors impacting choice of dispensing practice (n=2,251). Hearing instrument owners rated the relative importance of 11 factors in choosing their dispenser (Figure 2). Nearly eight out of 10 (77%) indicate that professionalism of the dispenser is highly important in the decision process. About six in 10 indicate that convenient location and hours, price and a free hearing screening motivated them. About half rated “range of hearing instruments”, physician referral and insurance coverage as key factors. Finally four in ten indicate a previous purchase motivated them and about a third indicate they chose the dispenser due to the recommendation of a friend. In Table 1, the 11 factors are presented in rank order of importance for the total hearing instrument owner population followed by segmentation results by gender, age group, income level, hearing loss level, and new versus experienced user. Significant differences within each segmentation category are presented in the right-hand column within each category. With a few minor exceptions, the rank ordering of reasons for choosing the dispenser is the same. There are a number of significant differences within each of the major segments worth mentioning (Author’s Note: I will focus on factors where there is a 10% point difference in the category and the differences are statistically significant using a chi-square analysis). Females rate nearly all categories “more important” than males. They are more likely to be motivated by a convenient location and hours; they also would appear to be referred more by physicians. Older individuals are more likely to be motivated by free hearing screenings while younger consumers (<44 years) are more motivated by insurance coverage and a referral from a physician. Household income is highly related to importance ratings. High-income individuals ($80,000+) are more likely to put primary emphasis on the professionalism of the individual. Lower income individuals are more likely to rate convenience, price, and free hearing screenings equally (70% +). Lower income individuals tend to be more interested in a wider range of hearing instruments (eg, probably lower price hearing instruments), insurance coverage, and live demonstrations of hearing instruments. Severe and profoundly impaired consumers are more motivated by the range of hearing instruments and the fact that they previously purchased at that location. There are only minor differences between new and experienced users (eg, range of hearing instruments). Computer Use in Hearing Health Care Internet use has grown exponentially with the development of faster computers, modems, and phone/cable lines. Currently about a third of hearing instrument users utilize email or conduct Internet searches. Only about one in four visit specific web sites, and a small minority use the Internet for research or to purchase products (16% and 13% respectively). However, more than half of current hearing instrument owners indicated a definite interest in online hearing tests and the ability to adjust their hearing instrument online. A negligible number would be willing to purchase hearing instruments online or to purchase hearing health/aid products over the phone. The following general conclusions can be made by segment: Females tend to use the computer less but are equally interested in hearing tests and hearing instrument adjustments by computer; The elderly, who are the majority of our customers, are less likely to use the Internet and to show interest in hearing health care services via the Internet; Computer usage is highly related to the level of household income; Degree of hearing loss and user experience are unrelated to either usage of computers or interest in hearing care services via the Internet. Dispenser Counseling and Post-Fitting Surveys In the previous MarkeTrak VI publication on customer satisfaction trends2, it was generally concluded that dispensers of hearing instruments receive very high customer satisfaction ratings (90%). The exceptions noted were post-fitting service (81%) and counseling on expectations (83%). Referring to Figure 3, the amount of “counseling” time spent with the consumer is graphically portrayed for new and experienced users owning hearing instruments less than 6 years and also for all users with new hearing instruments (<1 year). The modal (most frequently mentioned) time spent counseling the client, according to consumers, was one-half hour; one in five indicate they received 45 minutes of counseling, and another one in five indicated they received an hour of counseling. Less than 10% indicated they received 2 or more hours of counseling. Figure 3. Amount of counseling time spent with new versus experienced users during last hearing instrument purchase (hearing instrument less than 6 years old compared to hearing instruments less than 1 year old). Figure 4. Percent of consumers receiving follow-up customer satisfaction survey (hearing instruments less than 6 years old compared to hearing instruments less than 1 year old). About six in 10 consumers indicate they received no follow-up customer satisfaction survey (Figure 4). Of those receiving a survey, about half were verbal surveys conducted in the dispenser’s office. Only about one in 10 consumers report they received a survey either through the mail, by computer, or over the phone. As Figures 5-7 demonstrate, the amount of counseling time and post-purchase surveys are positively correlated with improvements in overall customer service ratings. Consumers receiving no counseling time report customer satisfaction ratings at around 40% (Figure 5). This should be compared with consumers receiving two hours of counseling (mid-high 60% overall customer satisfaction ratings). After two hours of counseling, ratings fall slightly, perhaps indicative of service issues or problems in the fitting. Figure 5. Overall customer satisfaction ratings as a function of counseling time spent with new and experienced users during last hearing instrument purchase (hearing instruments less than 6 years old compared to hearing instruments less than 1 year old). Figure 6. Overall satisfaction with hearing instruments as...

Tag: Hearing aid market

All

US Hearing Aid Sales Increase by 5.3% in 2018; Approach 4-Million Unit Mark

Top ‘Hearing Review’ News Articles in 2018

Top 'Hearing Review' News Articles in 2018

Will Hearing Aid Sales Top 4 Million Units in 2018?

Staff Standpoint: A Growing Hearing Aid Market, Despite Turmoil

Staff Standpoint: Hearing Aid Sales Remain Strong

Staff Standpoint: Diversifying Offerings; Emphasizing Expertise

All

Blog Page: How Do We Increase Hearing Aid Adoption Rates?

SamMobile Hints at Samsung’s Launch into Hearing Aid Market

An Introduction to MarkeTrak IX: A New Baseline for the Hearing Aid Market

MarkeTrak VI: Factors Impacting Consumer Choice of Dispenser & Hearing Aid Brand; Use of ALDs & Computers

All

Sorry, No Posts Found

Sorry, No Posts Found