Sounding out the market
First there was Kleenex. Great idea - why carry a handkerchief around anymore? Then came disposable razors. Makes sense - when the blade goes dull, toss it out. Later, single-use contact lenses hit the market. How convenient - no more soaking and cleaning.
What’s the next innovation in disposability? Try a hearing aid.
Say what?
You heard right. Songbird Medical Inc., Cranbury, N.J., has introduced the Songbird disposable hearing aid, a $39 device with a battery that’s designed to last 40 days (when used 12 hours a day). When it wears out, you toss it out.
The Songbird may be disposable, but it’s on par with other, more expensive hearing aids, says Fred Fritz, president and CEO of Songbird Medical Inc. “By building it to be disposable we can use designs and materials which are unavailable to conventional hearing aid makers. They have to build it to last for years; we have to build it to last for six weeks, so we can use softer materials and innovative designs which let us make a product that compares favorably to top-end hearing aids at a tiny fraction of the price.”
Most of the space in the front of a conventional hearing aid is consumed by the battery compartment door, Fritz says. The Songbird’s battery is sealed into the device, freeing up space on the faceplate for a bigger microphone, one that’s seven times larger than that of a standard hearing aid. Plus, Songbird’s tip is made of softer rubber than more durable tips of conventional hearing aids so it fits deeper into the ear canal, resulting in improved sound quality. “You’re getting the sound closer to the eardrum. Therefore it sounds louder and the high frequency sounds, which are so important to hearing, are better delivered to the eardrum,” Fritz says.
 |
In another departure, the Songbird can be fitted and purchased with one visit. “You don’t have to go through the fitting process of a conventional hearing aid, which typically takes four weeks and requires multiple trips to the audiologist,” Fritz says.
Crowded market
The Songbird concept came from the Sarnoff Corporation, Princeton, N.J. Formerly RCA Labs, the R&D facility has given us such technological marvels as color TV and the liquid crystal display.
In exploring the viability of creating a high-tech hearing aid, Sarnoff talked with audiologists and others in the industry and learned that such a product would be subject to intense competition, as several firms were working toward the same goal. The crowded market didn’t need another high-priced entrant.
But what about a low-priced, high-tech hearing aid? That would be something new and different. But would it be too different? And how would people respond to the disposability factor?
A look at the potential market indicated it might be worthwhile to find out. Fritz says 80 percent of people with hearing loss don’t use hearing aids, meaning there are 23 million potential customers in the U.S. alone. (He estimates 300 to 400 million people worldwide with some level of hearing impairment.)
Research from the hearing aid industry gave Songbird Medical a better understanding of the demographics of hearing loss and hearing aid usage. “It helped us determine who our audience is. It’s a male Boomer in the 45-65 age group who says, ‘Yeah, I might have some hearing loss but it’s not that bad and I certainly don’t need a hearing aid.’ Our job was to identify how to talk to that guy or his significant others and help change their minds and to get them to try the product.”
Naturally, marketing research was ready to help. Fritz says a “pretty classic array” of research was used, including a combination of quantitative and qualitative. From focus groups and one-on-ones with hearing aid users and non-users, Songbird Medical learned how both market segments talk about hearing aids, how they perceive them, and, in the case of hearing aid users, what are some of the problems associated with hearing aid use. One-on-ones were relied upon more heavily than focus groups because they allow respondents to talk freely about their hearing loss, away from the potential embarrassment of doing so in a focus group setting. The qualitative component of the research also gave the company some ideas for how to appeal to the non-user.
From there, a Market Facts mail panel was used to locate households with a hearing-impaired family member. Through a number of mail panel survey waves, concepts and positioning options were tested using conjoint analysis. Respondents were asked about the importance of a money-back guarantee, brand name alternatives, the believability of certain performance claims, and pricing. “We consistently tested different price points and the ‘under-a-dollar-a-day’ price point was very important for non-users of hearing aids. At that point they felt they could give it a try,” Fritz says.
In-home testing
The first two rounds of research resulted in a solid, well-tested concept. Songbird Medical had a good idea of how to position the product and its price point, so the next phase involved in-home testing. Respondents were introduced to the disposable hearing aid concept and went to an audiology clinic for a fitting. They used the product for two weeks and then completed a post-use telephone survey, which used attribute ratings to measure reactions to the product and purchase interest.
The research showed that the hearing aid industry has to do a better job of educating the public that hearing aids don’t have to be obtrusive. When shown the Songbird, which Fritz says is medium-small compared to most hearing aids, respondents routinely were amazed at how small it was. “That leads me to conclude that they have a misperception of the size of hearing aids today,” Fritz says. “They are remembering the old-fashioned big clunkers of old. Shame on the industry for not aggressively promoting the fact that there are small products widely available.”
Environment, not age
Not surprisingly, the research showed that a stigma surrounds hearing loss and hearing aids. Non-hearing-aid users felt that hearing aids were for the old and the disabled, which presented a huge barrier to reaching the hearing-impaired Baby Boomer audience. “No Baby Boomer would admit to getting older and they certainly don’t view themselves as disabled because they have some hearing loss, so hearing aids aren’t for them. That viewpoint lead us to develop some positioning ideas to get past that perception, to make hearing loss and the product more acceptable,” Fritz says.
Rather than focus on hearing loss as a part of the aging process, the marketing for the Songbird will focus on the effects of years of loud rock music and workplace noise as culprits in creating hearing loss. In other words, it’s not you, it’s the environment around you.
The disposability issue presented another hurdle. But the Boomer target audience was surprisingly comfortable with the idea, while older consumers balked at it. “People who lived through the Depression seemed to be non-disposable oriented,” Fritz says. “Their experience shaped their thinking and lifelong reactions. We in the Boomer generation grew up in the age of disposability; it was kind of the norm. We are used to things that you use for a period of time and discard.
“And disposability no longer means cheap, so this age group is not at all turned off by the idea. They understand that it would be economical and convenient. Our focus is to communicate that it’s also of a very high quality, which may not be immediately clear until you understand the design of the product.”
In the research, non-hearing-aid users said they envisioned using the Songbird in certain situations - at a movie, a play or in a professional situation - but that they didn’t foresee using it around the clock. But experience has shown that once a person hears what they’ve been missing, it’s hard to give the devices up, Fritz says.
Direct-to-consumer
The firm began shipping the Songbird in May and has plans to begin selling it internationally next year. For now, marketing efforts are focusing on direct-to-consumer approaches, including mail, print advertising, and TV. Each ad will have a reference to an 800-number and a Web site where consumers can go for more information on hearing loss, the product itself, and where to buy it. The product will be sold through licensed audiologists and hearing centers.
From Kleenex to a disposable hearing aid. . . can a single-use computer be far behind?