Hearx will be running a number of commericals in NY area for the next three weeks.
This is part of an attempt to grow their walk-in market share (i.e., take customers away from BellTone and Miracle Ear). They ran a similar campaign in Florida prior to NY, and it produced good business. Therefore, they have begun the same campaign in NY.
Commericals will center on various themes: what Hearx is and offers; how managed care offers hearing aid benefits while Medicaid doesn't.
After three weeks, they will assess the affects and decide if they will run more or not. I think this is a great idea. They have the managed care market already sewn up, but many HMOs are only just beginning to penetrate the Medicaid market. In the meanwhile, lots andlots of hearing aids are being sold via Belltone, etc., and until recently, Hearx was getting very little of that large business.
I think moving aggressively into marketing could yield big results. Many people are very unhappy with the commission-oriented nature of a Miracle Ear, along with its high pressure sales tactics, etc. As a salary-only shop, Hearx puts patient interest first. Once this message gets out, I think we will see a bigger share of walkin business than maybe even Hearx expects. I hope so! |
