This is a copy of E-Mail received from Tom Watson, a writer for the Seattle Times on ecological matters. This e mail was response to Ray Loercher who was doing research on button cell zinc-air batteries. We think it is timely and of concern for hearing aid dealers who sell zinc-air batteries in their practices when there are viable alternatives to selling strictly zinc-air batteries.
Ray Loercher - Sorry it has taken awhile for me to respond on this - I
have been out of the office.... Zinc-air hearing aid batteries do
contain added mercury. For details, see this Maine Department of
Environmental Protection report from March 2005:
http://www.maine.gov/dep/rwm/mercury/button_battery_report.htm
Here is a quote from page two of the main report text: "In button
batteries, small amounts of mercury still are used to prevent the
formation of gases. There are three separate button battery chemistries
that typically contain added mercury. These include the zinc air
batteries used mainly in hearing aids; silver oxide batteries, most of
which are used in watches and cameras; and alkaline manganese batteries
used in digital thermometers, calculators, toys and a myriad of other
products requiring a compact power source."
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Hear and There
Hear and There
Batteryjac.com
The piece last week on banners and top of page sponsored links certainly drew many comments and questions which were all answered individually. The major question from dealers was how to make their web sites more pertinent for search engines and how to capitalize on brand name advertising within the web site itself.
Most, if not all dealer websites come under a category called “business card” web sites and they have not been designed for search engine optimization. That does not mean that your web site can’t have more drawing potential than it has or that you can’t capitalize on popular searches without using banners or top of page sponsored links.
Many search engines rank sites according to the titles used on web pages within your site. Your titles should correlate with the “keywords” that your potential audience would most likely use in the “search box” of their favorite search engine, Google, AOL, Yahoo, etc. Using the examples from last week, you could have pages for Savia Hearing Aids; Delta Hearing Aids so on and so forth. Of course, the pages will contain the necessary information regarding those aids. You should have permission from the manufacturer to do this as these names are probably trademarked. If you’re a multi-line dealer this should not present any problem. A title should start with a keyword or phrase and it should not contain more than five to seven words. The point is that you want to capitalize on the brand name and the manufacturer’s advertising.
As a Batteryjac dealer you would certainly have a page for rechargeable hearing aid batteries. This way whenever someone within your marketing area uses the search term rechargeable hearing aid batteries your web site should pop up. Even better, use a top of the page sponsored link. Remember with top of page links you only pay for “click through.”
Again, the overall objective of your web based marketing strategy is to tell the right message to the right audience. You will want to use your keywords throughout the web page without being boring. Your copy should flow. In order for the search engine to place you in the proper placement, it indexes your keyword tags. A simple way to view examples of tags is to go to any web page, right click on your mouse and select “view source.” Do this several times at different commercial URLs and you’ll get the idea very quickly. Talk to your webmaster about upgrading your site to make it more of a commercial enterprise rather than just a “business card” site. You’ll be rewarded.
If you want to search for the most popular hearing aids being searched by web users go to www.wordtracker.com. This is a commercial site that allows free trials and has several options available for membership. Also, it will also help you to determine how best you may set up your site. Try different keywords, phrases and even perhaps misspellings. Use your Thesaurus for possible alternates.
An excellent source of information on the development of Web sites is Search Engine Optimization for Dummies by Peter Kant. You should find it available at any major book outlet.
Please feel free to post your comments on this Hear and There or past issues at www.batteryjac.blogspot.com. Any posting can only help to further the cause of hearing healthcare. Let us know how some of our suggestions have worked for you.
And please visit our website www.batteryjac.com
If you wish to discontinue receiving Hear and There please hit your reply button and tell us to delete your name.
Batteryjac.com
Staff
Batteryjac.com
The piece last week on banners and top of page sponsored links certainly drew many comments and questions which were all answered individually. The major question from dealers was how to make their web sites more pertinent for search engines and how to capitalize on brand name advertising within the web site itself.
Most, if not all dealer websites come under a category called “business card” web sites and they have not been designed for search engine optimization. That does not mean that your web site can’t have more drawing potential than it has or that you can’t capitalize on popular searches without using banners or top of page sponsored links.
Many search engines rank sites according to the titles used on web pages within your site. Your titles should correlate with the “keywords” that your potential audience would most likely use in the “search box” of their favorite search engine, Google, AOL, Yahoo, etc. Using the examples from last week, you could have pages for Savia Hearing Aids; Delta Hearing Aids so on and so forth. Of course, the pages will contain the necessary information regarding those aids. You should have permission from the manufacturer to do this as these names are probably trademarked. If you’re a multi-line dealer this should not present any problem. A title should start with a keyword or phrase and it should not contain more than five to seven words. The point is that you want to capitalize on the brand name and the manufacturer’s advertising.
As a Batteryjac dealer you would certainly have a page for rechargeable hearing aid batteries. This way whenever someone within your marketing area uses the search term rechargeable hearing aid batteries your web site should pop up. Even better, use a top of the page sponsored link. Remember with top of page links you only pay for “click through.”
Again, the overall objective of your web based marketing strategy is to tell the right message to the right audience. You will want to use your keywords throughout the web page without being boring. Your copy should flow. In order for the search engine to place you in the proper placement, it indexes your keyword tags. A simple way to view examples of tags is to go to any web page, right click on your mouse and select “view source.” Do this several times at different commercial URLs and you’ll get the idea very quickly. Talk to your webmaster about upgrading your site to make it more of a commercial enterprise rather than just a “business card” site. You’ll be rewarded.
If you want to search for the most popular hearing aids being searched by web users go to www.wordtracker.com. This is a commercial site that allows free trials and has several options available for membership. Also, it will also help you to determine how best you may set up your site. Try different keywords, phrases and even perhaps misspellings. Use your Thesaurus for possible alternates.
An excellent source of information on the development of Web sites is Search Engine Optimization for Dummies by Peter Kant. You should find it available at any major book outlet.
Please feel free to post your comments on this Hear and There or past issues at www.batteryjac.blogspot.com. Any posting can only help to further the cause of hearing healthcare. Let us know how some of our suggestions have worked for you.
And please visit our website www.batteryjac.com
If you wish to discontinue receiving Hear and There please hit your reply button and tell us to delete your name.
Batteryjac.com
Staff
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Hear and There
A very much overlooked method of internet advertising by hearing aid dispensers is the use of “banner ads” on web pages and top of page “sponsored links.”
Banner advertising began in 1994. At that time there were so few banners that click rates were as high as 25%. Today they are a fraction of a percent. Many marketers attribute the decline to “banner fatigue.”
Many advertisers believe the sole function of the banner ad is to persuade Internet surfers to click, but establishing and building brand or practice awareness is also an important aspect of banners and “sponsored links.”
The most popular banner ad is the horizontal which is placed along the top or the bottom of a web page or the results of a search engine Web search. The standard banner size is 468
pixels wide and 60 pixels high. This is about 10% of the viewable page. There is enough room for text, graphics or even animation. The secondary form of banner advertising includes buttons, micro buttons, sponsorships or any other creative forms.
Successful web sites have strategically placed banner ads with the goal of generating qualified traffic to their site(s). However keep in mind how unrealistic it is to drive sales effectively using banners on there own merits. Banners may get people to your site, but then your Website takes over. You must be aware of your competitions Web sites. How does yours stack up?
The most ambiguous aspect of banner advertising is measuring the direct and indirect efforts on the people who saw the banners. Tracking clicks is easy, but trying to measure the impact of someone who takes a later positive action is not that easy.
Web based advertising has become localized. Any of the major search engines, Google, AOL, Yahoo, MSN, etc can limit the display of your banner within a confined area so that you can properly select the geographic that you wish to see your banner or sponsored link.
Have some fun. In a search engine, type in “hearing aids”, “Chicago” and see what pops up. Then perhaps try and capitalize on some manufacturer advertising by typing in
“Delta hearing aids”, “Boston” or “Savia Hearing Aids” “New York” or perhaps “Discovery hearing aids”, “Dallas” Well, soon you’ll get the idea of how you can advertise your Website on the Web with geographic targeting. Google your marketing area.
Have some fun design your own banner. It’s free.
www.addesigner.com
Banner advertising began in 1994. At that time there were so few banners that click rates were as high as 25%. Today they are a fraction of a percent. Many marketers attribute the decline to “banner fatigue.”
Many advertisers believe the sole function of the banner ad is to persuade Internet surfers to click, but establishing and building brand or practice awareness is also an important aspect of banners and “sponsored links.”
The most popular banner ad is the horizontal which is placed along the top or the bottom of a web page or the results of a search engine Web search. The standard banner size is 468
pixels wide and 60 pixels high. This is about 10% of the viewable page. There is enough room for text, graphics or even animation. The secondary form of banner advertising includes buttons, micro buttons, sponsorships or any other creative forms.
Successful web sites have strategically placed banner ads with the goal of generating qualified traffic to their site(s). However keep in mind how unrealistic it is to drive sales effectively using banners on there own merits. Banners may get people to your site, but then your Website takes over. You must be aware of your competitions Web sites. How does yours stack up?
The most ambiguous aspect of banner advertising is measuring the direct and indirect efforts on the people who saw the banners. Tracking clicks is easy, but trying to measure the impact of someone who takes a later positive action is not that easy.
Web based advertising has become localized. Any of the major search engines, Google, AOL, Yahoo, MSN, etc can limit the display of your banner within a confined area so that you can properly select the geographic that you wish to see your banner or sponsored link.
Have some fun. In a search engine, type in “hearing aids”, “Chicago” and see what pops up. Then perhaps try and capitalize on some manufacturer advertising by typing in
“Delta hearing aids”, “Boston” or “Savia Hearing Aids” “New York” or perhaps “Discovery hearing aids”, “Dallas” Well, soon you’ll get the idea of how you can advertise your Website on the Web with geographic targeting. Google your marketing area.
Have some fun design your own banner. It’s free.
www.addesigner.com
Monday, April 9, 2007
Hear and THere
Hear and There
By Batteryjac.com
A process that seems to lack any real thought on the part of most hearing aid dispensers and for that matter other many other types of professional practices as is how we handle new patients when they first visit our offices. We would all pretty much agree that these patients represent an opportunity for us to expand our practices yet we seem to disregard an initial procedure that may make them uncomfortable or at the very least cause some degree of stress.
Every new patient when they enter an office for the first time is asked to fill out an information form. They are greeted, handed a clipboard with an information form, directed to a chair and instructed to fill it out as best they can while balancing the clipboard on their knees and fumbling for their reading glasses. Sounds silly, doesn’t it? Well, it is. The logic given for this procedure is that “everybody” does it. Many times the patients have to start fumbling through wallets or purses searching for physician’s addresses, describe ear or hearing problems, possible medications, filling out names, addresses, telephone numbers (information you already have) and whatever else may be on the form. All this after many dollars are spent in advertising, setting appointments and perhaps sending out practice brochures telling them what friendly and professional service they can expect at your office.
There are at least two simple solutions to make this information gathering a quality practice procedure rather than a chore that most people find disagreeable (just who likes to fill out forms?) regardless of how commonplace it is. The first involves office personnel and the second is electronic communication. The latest statistics show that 55% of the people over the age of 55 have Internet access.
In the office simply have the receptionist sit down with the patient in the reception area and fill out the form for them. The worst case scenario is that someone other than the receptionist may have to answer the phone for five or ten minutes or the receptionist may have to momentarily excuse herself. There are several benefits to this other than making it easier and more hospitable for the patient. Firstly, you would be sure that all the information is correct and perhaps more importantly, the patient would feel more comfortable in the office surroundings having spoken with a staff member prior to the evaluation. Much of the necessity for the traditional “warm-up” done by the audiologist or specialist would be eliminated giving the tester more time to focus on some possible medical conditions.
If it has been determined during the appointment setting process that the patient has an e-mail address simply send the form to the patient, have them fill it out in the comfort of their own home and then have the patient bring it to the office. This accomplishes several things as well. One, you acquire their e-mail address for future communications (newsletter, specials, electronic greetings, check-up reminders, etc,) and lower your cost of keeping in touch with your patient. 98% of Internet users use e-mail regularly. Also, remember that your patients can easily forward your messages to other interested parties. You’re giving your patients an easy method for them to show perhaps other potential clients how well they are treated by your office. This could be a good way to pick up recommendations.
By Batteryjac.com
A process that seems to lack any real thought on the part of most hearing aid dispensers and for that matter other many other types of professional practices as is how we handle new patients when they first visit our offices. We would all pretty much agree that these patients represent an opportunity for us to expand our practices yet we seem to disregard an initial procedure that may make them uncomfortable or at the very least cause some degree of stress.
Every new patient when they enter an office for the first time is asked to fill out an information form. They are greeted, handed a clipboard with an information form, directed to a chair and instructed to fill it out as best they can while balancing the clipboard on their knees and fumbling for their reading glasses. Sounds silly, doesn’t it? Well, it is. The logic given for this procedure is that “everybody” does it. Many times the patients have to start fumbling through wallets or purses searching for physician’s addresses, describe ear or hearing problems, possible medications, filling out names, addresses, telephone numbers (information you already have) and whatever else may be on the form. All this after many dollars are spent in advertising, setting appointments and perhaps sending out practice brochures telling them what friendly and professional service they can expect at your office.
There are at least two simple solutions to make this information gathering a quality practice procedure rather than a chore that most people find disagreeable (just who likes to fill out forms?) regardless of how commonplace it is. The first involves office personnel and the second is electronic communication. The latest statistics show that 55% of the people over the age of 55 have Internet access.
In the office simply have the receptionist sit down with the patient in the reception area and fill out the form for them. The worst case scenario is that someone other than the receptionist may have to answer the phone for five or ten minutes or the receptionist may have to momentarily excuse herself. There are several benefits to this other than making it easier and more hospitable for the patient. Firstly, you would be sure that all the information is correct and perhaps more importantly, the patient would feel more comfortable in the office surroundings having spoken with a staff member prior to the evaluation. Much of the necessity for the traditional “warm-up” done by the audiologist or specialist would be eliminated giving the tester more time to focus on some possible medical conditions.
If it has been determined during the appointment setting process that the patient has an e-mail address simply send the form to the patient, have them fill it out in the comfort of their own home and then have the patient bring it to the office. This accomplishes several things as well. One, you acquire their e-mail address for future communications (newsletter, specials, electronic greetings, check-up reminders, etc,) and lower your cost of keeping in touch with your patient. 98% of Internet users use e-mail regularly. Also, remember that your patients can easily forward your messages to other interested parties. You’re giving your patients an easy method for them to show perhaps other potential clients how well they are treated by your office. This could be a good way to pick up recommendations.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Hear and THere
r and There
By Batteryjac.com
A much discussed topic among dispensers lately is how to handle patients who have purchased hearing aids over the Internet. This is a whole new ballgame for the dispensing industry. We can anticipate that the quantity of hearing aids sold over the Internet will increase in the future rather than decrease. What is needed is a methodology to handle these technologically savvy, price conscious and informed individuals. Hopefully by treating them as a welcomed competitive user rather than as a pariah we can convert them into loyal patients of hearing aid dispensing practices.
The people who purchase hearing aids over the Internet generally will purchase aids that are technologically advanced and require programming to say nothing of those same purchasers who may need some rehabilitative consulting as well. These people know that they require service and know they have to pay for those services. The question is how to charge for initial programming, probable follow-ups and possible rehabilitative consultations when in the past we had all these costs as part of a “bundled” hearing aid price.
In order for us to come up with a pricing model we first have to derive a cost structure by segmenting those costs associated with fitting hearing aids by taking into account those cost associated with “running” the business and the costs of the individual doing the fitting and follow-up. This is not a very difficult process although it may take a little effort. Use your latest year end numbers as base for the analysis. The base can always be changed to reflect more current costs.
Overhead
The overhead costs that we want are those costs associated with running the business. We want to include both fixed overhead and variable overhead costs. The fixed overhead costs would include rent, depreciation, business taxes and the like. All those expenses that do not vary month to month are included here. Next we want to take those variable expenses associated with running the business such as telephone, non-dispensing personnel, postage, stationary,
utilities, etc, these are the expenses that may vary on a monthly basis. DO NOT INCLUDE ANY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DIRECT SALE OF HEARING AIDS. (MAILINGS, TELEMARKETING ETC.) What may have to be done here is to allocate some of the variable costs on a percentage basis between the sale of hearing aids and general business expenses. The purpose is to isolate those expenses NOT associated with the sale of hearing aids.
Profit
This number should come right from your operating statement. This is the pre-tax profit of the business after ALL expenses including those associated with hearing aids.
Fixed Costs + Variable Costs + Profit = Total “Operating” Overhead
To state this differently, these are those items which must be covered if the business is to survive and prosper.
Dispensing Costs
These are the direct costs associated with the dispensing of hearing aids. This number should reflect the total amount of compensation given to dispensers. Where a practice has two or more dispensers the number should be divided by the amount of the dispensing personnel to arrive at an average cost for ONE dispenser.
Now that we have extracted the necessary costs what do we do with them? What we want to come up with is an hourly number on which we can base a pricing model. Let’s plug in some numbers.
Fixed Costs………………….$20,000/52 Weeks
Variable Costs………………$15,000/52 Weeks
Profit………………………….$30,000/52 Weeks
Total “Overhead”……………$65,000/52 Weeks
“Overhead” per week………$ 1,250/40 hours =$31.25 per hour
Dispenser per week………$ 1,346/40 hours= $33.65 per hour
Total……………………………………………….. $64.90 per hour
Base Pricing
By using the above method of analysis it is possible to determine a per hour basis of “consulting” when it comes to the fitting, programming and possible rehabilitative consulting necessary to accommodate the Internet purchaser of hearing aids. What has to be borne in mind is that this pricing will reflect any particular dispenser’s costs. Remember that there are competitors who may have a different cost structure than yours. As with all pricing you have to be competitive.
Always a good way to stay ahead of the competition is with rechargeable hearing aid cells. Just send us a request for more information and we’ll be happy to oblige.
http://www.batteryjac.com
Please feel free to pass this information along to those who may be interested.
By Batteryjac.com
A much discussed topic among dispensers lately is how to handle patients who have purchased hearing aids over the Internet. This is a whole new ballgame for the dispensing industry. We can anticipate that the quantity of hearing aids sold over the Internet will increase in the future rather than decrease. What is needed is a methodology to handle these technologically savvy, price conscious and informed individuals. Hopefully by treating them as a welcomed competitive user rather than as a pariah we can convert them into loyal patients of hearing aid dispensing practices.
The people who purchase hearing aids over the Internet generally will purchase aids that are technologically advanced and require programming to say nothing of those same purchasers who may need some rehabilitative consulting as well. These people know that they require service and know they have to pay for those services. The question is how to charge for initial programming, probable follow-ups and possible rehabilitative consultations when in the past we had all these costs as part of a “bundled” hearing aid price.
In order for us to come up with a pricing model we first have to derive a cost structure by segmenting those costs associated with fitting hearing aids by taking into account those cost associated with “running” the business and the costs of the individual doing the fitting and follow-up. This is not a very difficult process although it may take a little effort. Use your latest year end numbers as base for the analysis. The base can always be changed to reflect more current costs.
Overhead
The overhead costs that we want are those costs associated with running the business. We want to include both fixed overhead and variable overhead costs. The fixed overhead costs would include rent, depreciation, business taxes and the like. All those expenses that do not vary month to month are included here. Next we want to take those variable expenses associated with running the business such as telephone, non-dispensing personnel, postage, stationary,
utilities, etc, these are the expenses that may vary on a monthly basis. DO NOT INCLUDE ANY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DIRECT SALE OF HEARING AIDS. (MAILINGS, TELEMARKETING ETC.) What may have to be done here is to allocate some of the variable costs on a percentage basis between the sale of hearing aids and general business expenses. The purpose is to isolate those expenses NOT associated with the sale of hearing aids.
Profit
This number should come right from your operating statement. This is the pre-tax profit of the business after ALL expenses including those associated with hearing aids.
Fixed Costs + Variable Costs + Profit = Total “Operating” Overhead
To state this differently, these are those items which must be covered if the business is to survive and prosper.
Dispensing Costs
These are the direct costs associated with the dispensing of hearing aids. This number should reflect the total amount of compensation given to dispensers. Where a practice has two or more dispensers the number should be divided by the amount of the dispensing personnel to arrive at an average cost for ONE dispenser.
Now that we have extracted the necessary costs what do we do with them? What we want to come up with is an hourly number on which we can base a pricing model. Let’s plug in some numbers.
Fixed Costs………………….$20,000/52 Weeks
Variable Costs………………$15,000/52 Weeks
Profit………………………….$30,000/52 Weeks
Total “Overhead”……………$65,000/52 Weeks
“Overhead” per week………$ 1,250/40 hours =$31.25 per hour
Dispenser per week………$ 1,346/40 hours= $33.65 per hour
Total……………………………………………….. $64.90 per hour
Base Pricing
By using the above method of analysis it is possible to determine a per hour basis of “consulting” when it comes to the fitting, programming and possible rehabilitative consulting necessary to accommodate the Internet purchaser of hearing aids. What has to be borne in mind is that this pricing will reflect any particular dispenser’s costs. Remember that there are competitors who may have a different cost structure than yours. As with all pricing you have to be competitive.
Always a good way to stay ahead of the competition is with rechargeable hearing aid cells. Just send us a request for more information and we’ll be happy to oblige.
http://www.batteryjac.com
Please feel free to pass this information along to those who may be interested.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)