Event places the patient and practice growth at the center of the conversation.
October 07, 2014 - Kitchener, Canada – Unitron, a global innovator of advanced hearing solutions, welcomed more than 120 hearing healthcare professionals and company executives from Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Russia, Spain and the UK, to a two-day customer conference, held in Vienna on September 25 and 26. The event was designed to put patient care and practice growth center stage. The conference dialogue ranged from the role of the manufacturer to business opportunities arising from enhancing patient experience.
“We developed this event in order to generate a meaningful dialogue between ourselves and our customers in the context of today’s changing marketplace,” said Jan Metzdorff, President at Unitron. “We believe practice growth is a direct result of the in -clinic experience. This is where hearing aid advocates are born and there is no doubt in our minds that we have a role to play in creating greater business opportunities for our customers by looking at what can be done to support an enhanced patient experience.”
Delivered simultaneously in four languages (English, French, German and Spanish), the event featured expert keynotes and breakout sessions that encouraged knowledge sharing and collaboration. Highlights included:
- New customer relationship trends
- In-clinic, patient-centered care
- Best practice exchanges
- Live interactive survey of attendees
- Findings from a global study on barriers to care
“While our industry has made great strides in the areas of product innovation, development and design, we believe there are substantial growth opportunities for us by focusing on the human side of the equation,” said Metzdorff. “Barriers to the acceptance and use of hearing aids remain. In fact, the majority of those in our society who could benefit from hearing aids never get fitted for them. We are committed to finding innovative ways to work with our customers t o drive greater adoption and, ultimately, practice success. Unitron’s Flex™ program is a good example of how we are thinking originally on these issues.”
Unitron is the first in the industry to introduce an entirely risk-free and obligation-free option that allows new patients to ‘test drive’ personalized hearing instruments. The Flex™ program has been developed to overcome patient insecurities when seeking the help they need.
During a live and interactive survey conducted at the conference, participants confirmed findings from a recent independent global survey that showed product trial is a key driver for practice growth. In fact, more than 80 per cent of hearing healthcare professionals achieved an improved customer experience and higher sales percentages when the flexibility that comes with trial was introduced into the consultation process.
“It is clear from my direct experience t hat Unitron’s approach with Flex is spot on,” said Pádraig MacGinty, conference participant and multi-clinic owner from Ireland . “Taking selling out of the process during an initial consultation allows trust to develop between the patient and t he hearing healthcare professional. It also allows the patient to immediately experience the full benefit s of a hearing aid in their everyday listening situations. ”
Unitron’s independent global survey, also, shows that the company’s customers are incorporating Flex™ into their practice in a number of important ways:
- Allowing patients to listen to different levels of technology before they make a purchase decision (79%)
- To start patients with amplification in their first appointment while ordering their new hearing instrument (67%)
- In marketing campaigns to attract more patients to try hearing instruments (28%)
Full details of the Flex™ program can be found https://unitron.com/unitron/global/en/professional/hearing-solutions/flex.html
About Unitron
Unitron is a global company that understands the hearing healthcare business is built on strong, personal relationships. We work closely with hearing healthcare professionals to improve the lives of people with hearing loss. A member of the Sonova Group, Unitron has a proven track record of developing hearing innovations that provide natural sound with exceptional speech understanding. Headquartered in Canada, Unitron distributes its full line of hearing instruments to customers in over 60 countries. For more information, please visit us on the web at unitron.com or the Unitron Expo Page on AudiologyOnline.
