Tell me, is there only one persona in this hearing care industry?
Almost all hearing clinics target the young, grey-haired, hip, fun, life-loving grandparent whose grandkids think they are cool. Where are the adult kids? Hiding – that’s right!
These older adults appear to be the only hearing aid buyers on this planet.
Sure, older people don’t want to feel or look old, and you need to reflect that in your ads. I get it. You are probably trying to convince yourself that you must show them what they want to see.
But have you ever spoken to a new twenty-year-old or thirty-year-old? News flash! They, too, say they feel old. Yet, we never see ads showing 20 or 30-something-old images of puberty or awkward-looking teenagers to entice them to buy.
Old is all relative.
As hearing clinic owners or business developers, we should do better. We need to do better to keep our industry thriving and with the purpose of providing the best care for all.
One of the common things I notice about marketing is that people selling hearing aids do not have a clear user persona for their marketing content.
If you don’t know what a user persona is, it’s simply a description of a person based on their habits, lifestyles, and hobbies.
When someone says, he reminds me of Austin Powers. They are referring to how this person’s personality (or maybe their looks? -sorry) reminds them of a particular person. User personas have distinct, recognizable and consistent personalities across all your customers.
Regarding my marketing persona in hearing care, I don’t agree with getting so specific about the lifestyles and hobbies. It creates biases and causes me to make assumptions about who these people are and what they are capable of.
I’ve noticed that hearing loss affects many people’s social and economic statuses and lifestyles. There are so many people with hearing loss from all walks of life.
I prefer a high-level, similar to what a major grocery store chain would create, a persona. Everyone needs to eat and buy food, regardless of whether they are horse riders or teachers.
The three dimensions of hearing loss personas
There are personas that follow three dimensions: personality type, hearing loss onset type, and stigma-acceptance spectrum type. Let’s examine each one.
The personality type personas
Personality type #1 – Detail Dynamo
They know hearing aids. They could write a book on it. They can recall the names of all the top major hearing aid brands and their models. They probably know all the up-and-coming brands.
They probably read somewhere about the latest model, which hasn’t been released yet. They’ve done their research.
When they meet with you, they seek to confirm what they already know or to get more insider info they can’t find anywhere else. They are looking for you to do your part in configuring and setting them up. They may have already decided on what they want or need your help to narrow down to a few choices.
You speak to them with facts and show off your expertise, and they love you for it.
Personality type #2 – Insightful Insurgent
This person knows what she wants to experience. They might have good knowledge and understanding of hearing aids and some brands.
They might also be stubborn about what they think they know. They feel confident they know enough and probably think they know more than you do.
But they are engaging you secretly and come from nowhere when making an appointment is time.
You have to surprise these types with facts they might not know. Unique insight that will delight them will make them turn their heads and pay attention.
They have expectations of how hearing aids should operate, and they have a benchmark of what they are willing to accept. If you can exceed their expectations, you win them over.
Personality type #3 – Heartfelt Seeker
This person is all about feelings. They just want to be understood and appreciated. It’s less about the hearing aids than how you made them feel.
If they were to give you a good review, it would be about how kind, caring and attentive you are.
They will not do any research on hearing aids. They are quick to buy without doing too much in-depth research. They trust you to give them the right solution.
When you speak to this type, you connect everything you say to their emotional challenge and demonstrate empathy for what they are going through.
Personality type #4 – Connection-Conscious Prioritizer
Then there’s the I care what other people think type. This type needs to be good in the eyes of others, whether their spouse, friends, or society in general.
They value their relationships and don’t want to change the dynamic or be concerned about how others think.
They will typically make decisions with them around. They are emotionally driven not by what you say or how you make them feel but by how others feel about them.
You can allow them to bring their spouse to the appointment, give them space and time to decide with others at a later time, or when you are having a follow-up appointment, for these types, you ask what their friends or family think.
Onset types of personas
There are two major camps. Those with hearing loss since childhood and those with hearing loss later in life, or new to experiencing hearing loss.
Most people with hearing loss since childhood are assertive and analytical. They have had years of practice living with hearing loss and have reached a comfort level with how they want to live. They do not want to regress or appear to be regressing.
People with hearing loss later in life, such as newly deaf or hard-of-hearing teens or adults, tend to lean more towards the emotional side. They want to be understood and heard.
Stigma-acceptance spectrum type
Then the last dimension is people’s level of acceptance of their hearing loss.
Anyone can experience a high level of self-stigma or a high level of acceptance of their hearing loss.
Some people are high on the ashame spectrum. Some people are confident in who they are.
You can have people who are analytic and assertive with a high level of stigma. Their goal is to find a product that will help them hide from their hearing aids.
Watch for how they show up. Are they intentionally hiding their hearing aids, not wearing them at all, or wearing them out and proud?
So, which persona is showing up at your clinic?
You can meet any of these people at any time when engaging with your content. Being ready to capture their offline and online attention is critical to building trust and visibility in their eyes.
Think about your clients and ask yourself which persona they fit into.