Interview with Markus Hilbert, Au.D., Ear Works, Inc.

Topic: Ear Works Inc. Launches HearingPages.com

Markus Hilbert

CAROLYN SMAKA: This is Carolyn Smaka from AudiologyOnline. I'm speaking with Markus Hilbert from Ear Works, Inc. Thanks for joining today. Can you first give some background about Ear Works?

MARKUS HILBERT: Absolutely. Ear Works was started in 2005 as a practice management software company, and has evolved since then to incorporate various software products for hearing-aid dispensing practices. We provide various services to support those practices from business-plan writing to incognito job searching, as we call it, or reverse head hunting, to turnkey solutions, setting up a new clinic, and much more. Ear Works really has become a one-stop shop for independent clinics to get services and products to help grow their practice.

SMAKA: Super. Let's talk about your latest initiative, HearingPages.com. Why did you start Hearing Pages?

HILBERT: Well, there were several factors leading to the development and launch of Hearing Pages. The main thing was that generally we're an industry looking for more sales, and there are 75 percent of people who should be in hearing aids that aren't, and no matter what we're doing in terms of physical or online advertising, we're not really changing that statistic. We have an important message for a lot of people that can impact their quality of health, but they're just not picking up and acting on that message. That is a concern to me, and I think it's important that as an industry we reach these people. There is a lot of research in MarkeTrak, for example, that shows us how to communicate with these people. But as an industry, we really haven't done it.

We took the best ideas of the best sites, and we have combined them into one single ecosystem, as we call it, or one Web site that includes all players from manufacturers to non-profit organizations, clinics, business-to-business organizations, and, of course, the consumer. So now the consumer has somewhere to go where they can find inclusive information from multiple sources about hearing, hearing aids, hearing loss, and hearing health, and get the message that amplification is a great thing. They can even get that information from their peers and other end-users.

SMAKA: You mentioned there are really good Web sites out there with a lot of information for consumers, like BetterHearing.org, asha.org, and many others. How is Hearing Pages going to be different and actually convert people seeking out hearing information?

HILBERT: Well, the main thing is that these traditional sites are generally what we call top down, so the site is telling the visitor about something they should do. But what is missing in all of these sites is a way to overcome the two major barriers in the adoption process. First, there is denial, and then there is avoidance due to obstacles that we're not addressing through motivation and marketing that can really speak to this population. All of these Web sites are great when somebody is ready to go to a clinic and get a hearing aid, but most of the people out there are not at that point. They're at the point of not even outwardly admitting to having a hearing loss. They are just curious about possibly having a hearing loss, and finding a clinic is not the next step for them yet.

That bridge between "just looking for information" and "now I'm ready to go see a professional" isn't made by a lot of these sites. We need to bring them through that process, and that is what HearingPages.com is about. Now, a good clinician can do that. In clinic they will see somebody who's possibly in denial, who may be at the very early stages of being encouraged by family and friends to get a hearing test, and be able bring them all the way through any obstacles they may be facing, and then through to changing their attitude about hearing aids to actually getting hearing aids. Those are the four steps. A good clinician will do that, but a good Web site can also perform some of those functions very well.

A good Web site will be a resource for that patient before even seeing a clinician. It will guide a person in the privacy of their home before they have to really make that bold step to go to a clinic and face those realizations. The reason why most of these individual sites don't often meet this goal is because there are key elements missing. For example, a lot of them don't have ratings on clinics or products, or the message is from a single source rather than a multisource, or there's no peer-to-peer communication, it's all top-down. Often the message of getting hearing aids and being properly fit, or the message of avoiding auditory deprivation through use of hearing aids, are messages that are generally coming from one source, so it's less believable for the visitor because there is a bias. Chances are the site is trying to promote something.

Because HearingPages.com is part of a community, all players are essentially saying the same thing and encouraging in the same direction, increasing motivation and ensuring adoption by the not-yet user towards hearing aids.

SMAKA: As a professional, how would I get involved with Hearing Pages?

HILBERT: It's very simple. Before the public launch on May 30, the clinician will go to test.HearingPages.com, and at that site they would register and follow the instructions as the system guides you through the registration process. To register as a user, you simply create an organization for your clinic, and then it's just a matter of sharing, creating articles, news blogs, all those kind of details. Clinics will already have a lot of this information in their resource libraries. They can just copy and paste it right into the site, creating content for their channel and the site.

The reason why content is so important is because the more content there is, the more search engines will find their profile or channel on the site. The more visible they will be on the site as well to consumers. So when a consumer asks a question, "I think I might have a hearing loss. What should I do?" that type of question would then be blasted out within their region to all the subscribing clinics. The clinics would then be able to respond to that question in a forum setting and gain the consumer's trust, likely winning them over to becoming a patient. So competition will not just be on price;it will be on value. We need to start developing relationships and building rapport with our end users way before we actually meet them face-to-face.

This is the new online world. Once professionals start sharing articles and news, they can customize their channel, invite colleagues to join, and of course just entertain the various features as they are needed.

Now, the first three months are free, and after that there is a nominal price. A fully-featured channel is $99.00 a month, which is relatively low considering the content and the features that are included over any other online marketing option out there. And there are other lower-cost options as well.

SMAKA: Then how would professionals find consumers in their area on Hearing Pages?

HILBERT: Well, the one thing Hearing Pages does is notify clinicians of consumers in their area who are asking questions on forums. So you already know of an interested party - and this is like the ultimate hot lead. These people are researching, they're interested, they're asking questions, they're motivated, they're ready to be cherry-picked. So at this point, that is the number-one way to find people.

Besides being alerted of the forum activity from users in the area, there is also the traditional way in which people find clinics, a clinic finder. You can list your clinic on the Clinic Finder on Hearing Pages, which is a directory similar to the Yellow Pages, it's just very targeted because everybody on the site is interested in hearing. Once you list your clinic there, you can add ratings and your contributions or benefits. So not only do you have an image, but you have a positive image by basically showcasing your contributions and your skills using the tools in the site. It's a different take on how you market yourself.

Another key aspect is the fact that the non-profit organizations can also be part of the site. Their participation is free, so all the contributions actually benefit the clinics and the industry in general, because now that information is being put to good use to motivate the not-yet users to take the next step and go to the clinic.

SMAKA: What do you mean by participation?

HILBERT: On HearingPages.com, the non-profit organization can create a channel, and then create articles within Hearing Pages, and even create back-links to their own Web sites, increasing the search engine rating of their own organization's site. That's one way they can contribute. And all those articles are already very valuable with high-quality content, which is good for the industry because those publications are considered unbiased as they come from consumer non-profit organizations. The only difference is now it is being presented in a context in which clinics and clinicians are also present. So the information is there along with the tools to take action on the information.

All individual participation is free of charge. Only organizations would pay for their channels, and the fee depends on what kind of features they want in the channel. There are different types of subscriptions, but for each individual, whether backed by an organization or not, participation is free.

SMAKA: Regarding hearing professionals, who exactly could get involved with Hearing Pages?

HILBERT: Any hearing professional can get involved - dispensers, audiologists, etc. There is no exclusivity here, so the entire range of hearing professionals can participate on Hearing Pages and contribute to the knowledge base, answer on forums, contribute with reviews, post news, and create community groups and community events.

SMAKA: Are you targeting North America, or would this be global?

HILBERT: At this stage, we are targeting the U.S. and Canada, so North America. We will expand globally later on.

SMAKA: What are the plans to drive traffic to the site?

HILBERT: There's a very strong search engine optimization strategy that's behind this. Even at this point if you type "Hearing P" into Google, it will come up in the quick recommended sites. It's definitely search engine optimized, and the more content there is, the higher it rises. On the top search engines, we expect it to be in the top three rankings by key search words for hearing in the next six months.

There are two ways of reaching high ranking on search engine optimization. One is when there's quality content and then there are quality links back to the best site entities where most of our effort will go. There will also be ad campaigns and all the other traditional online advertising tools.

SMAKA: Thanks so much, Markus and best of luck with Hearing Pages, scheduled to launch to the public on May 30.

HILBERT: Thank you.

For more information, please visit www.hearingpages.com. You may also visit the Ear Works web channel on AudiologyOnline. /channels/earworksinc.com.asp