Marketing ideas to connect with your community
By: Shana Chapman, Senior Practice Services Specialist
When thinking about Spring, we think of warmer days, flowers and being outside. This is also when people tend to get active more as well!
You may be thinking of new and exciting ways to bring new patients through your doors. Here are some ideas to tap into local marketing opportunities that not only bring awareness to better hearing, but also don’t cost a thing!
To get started, check your local Chamber of Commerce business members to identify assisted living facilities, senior centers and even businesses in local industrial parks. You can contact the facilities/businesses and offer a free mini-hearing screener to the members/residents/employees.
Create a flyer (including a QR code) that the local business can distribute or feature to advertise the screening date. This gives people the opportunity to get their hearing checked or even inquire how you can help them with their existing hearing aids.
Consider offering a coupon for a free clean and check if they come into the office following the screening. For the people that you end up testing and identify that they need additional help, you can offer them a complimentary full hearing exam if they book an appointment with your practice. I always found it best to bring my appointment scheduling with me to these events to book appointments right away.
Another untapped resource is your local police and fire departments. Most do not regularly test the members on the force. Dropping off some literature about hearing health and getting your hearing tested annually is the first step. You can do this by simply going to their front-desk staff and letting them know you are a business within the community and would like to offer a complimentary exam to the first responders. Leave your business cards as well as a sign-up sheet with the names, email addresses and phone numbers of those who show an interest in getting their hearing tested. You can then go back and collect the sign-up sheets as often as needed to contact the people who inquired. Or better yet, set up a QR code that leads to an online enrollment form.
Offering a complimentary hearing screener on-site for the first responders is also an option. Based on how large or small the departments are, you can schedule multiple visits, if necessary. This is a fantastic way to support your local police and fire departments and promote better hearing as well.
One final option to consider is volunteering your time to do a day of hearing screeners at a charity event. When I was a PCC, we did an annual event with our local Shriner’s Lodge. My practitioner did the mini screenings, and I worked at the booth answering questions, passing out information, even cleaning hearing aids for people! I would book appointments on-site for new patients to come in for further testing all while educating them on the importance of healthy hearing. It was a free and large-scale event, we did not have to pay to participate, we just volunteered our time. You would be amazed at how many people ended up becoming our patients after that!
In closing, put yourself out there in your community and you can really make a difference. The most important thing is to share your passion about helping people hear better every day.
Shana Chapman is Senior Practice Services Specialist for the Phonak Inner Circle team. Previously, she was a Patient Care Coordinator/Medical Biller in the hearing industry for 10 years, and attended Northern Illinois University. Her favorite sound is her niece and nephew’s giggles.