Selling invisible hearing aids as an attempt to help promote stigmatized products can prolong the issue of stigma within the hearing care industry.
You are not solving the problem of hearing loss; you are solving the problem of helping someone live a discreet life.
Hearing loss can make some people feel that they are not socially acceptable. People who stigmatize hearing aids will feel like they are on stage all the time if they have to wear hearing aids.
While you think adoption will be easier by encouraging someone not to disclose their hearing loss by wearing invisible hearing aids, this can actually hurt the situation and not help.
Encouraging secrecy isn’t in the best interest of the industry
For a long time, invisible hearing loss was thought to be a way to gain more acceptance if others couldn’t tell or know the person has hearing loss. But living in secrecy doesn’t work long term.
Here are three of the reasons why selling the invisible isn’t the best marketing strategy in the long term:
- You will limit opportunities for referrals
There are missed opportunities for others to share their positive experience engaging your business, and the much-needed word-of-mouth marketing becomes harder.
People who are encouraged to hide their hearing loss will not tell anyone about the positive service you provide. Their perception of the stigma is far too great to risk sharing.
- Your brand signifies exclusion.
When you are not encouraging people with hearing loss to be socially accepted, you are decreasing the opportunity for societal acceptance and inclusion of people with hearing loss.
- There will be reduced engagement.
Customers are a business’s lifeline. Promoting activities that encourage dissociation from the true self will decrease engagement. People adopt different behaviours. People are less likely to make repeated visits and take action.
Your marketing message should reflect your values.
Morally, as a profession, it is your best duty to provide good hearing care. Sending the message that you want to help people hide from their hearing loss doesn’t align with providing the best care.
People who see audiologists promoting others to keep their hearing loss discreet also make the prospect wonder, “What does it say about me?” They will continue to think they will not be good enough, and the bias is something I want to avoid.