From Customer Satisfaction to Customer Bliss Optimizing Your Customer’s Experience

1. From Customer Satisfaction to Customer BlissOptimizing Your Customer’s Experience Sergei Kochkin, Ph.D. Better Hearing Institute

2. Topics to be Covered • Defining consumer satisfaction • Importance of consumer satisfaction • What's important to the end user • Actions to improve customer satisfaction

3. Defining Customer SatisfactionWhat is customer satisfaction & what is benefit?

4. Aim of Marketing The aim of marketing is to acquire, retain and satisfy customers. Those firms (practices) which understand the needs of their customers and seek to satisfy them tend to be more successful than those which do not.

5. Meaning of Satisfaction & Benefit • Benefit: • Enhance well being • To be helpful or advantageous to • To improve or gain advantage • Satisfaction: • To gratify the need, desire or expectation of • To fulfill a need or desire

6. Fulfillment Fulfillment Comfort Comfort Adequacy Adequacy Serenity Serenity Happiness Happiness Acceptability Acceptability Peace of mind Peace of mind Gladness Agreeability Gladness Agreeability Keen pleasure Keen pleasure Sufficiency Sufficiency Gratification Gratification Cloud nine Cloud nine Delight Delight Contentment Contentment Ecstasy Ecstasy Euphoria Euphoria Well being Well being Bliss Bliss Amusement Amusement Elation Elation Exhilaration Exhilaration Relief Relief Cheer Heaven Cheer Heaven Rapture Rapture Some Synonyms for Satisfaction

7. What is Customer Satisfaction? • Whatever the customer says it is. • The extent to which hearing aid benefit meets consumer needs. • Clinical definition (Vanderbilt Report II): • "a change between unaided and aided speech communication ability"

8. What is Customer Satisfaction? “Customer satisfaction not only involves assuring the quality of the product or service provided, but also meeting the consumer's need as an individual.” Douglas Heath - consultant

9. The Key to Growth & Competitiveness • To Satisfy is to meet consumer needs: • Consistently generate satisfied customers. • Will give you their repeat business. • Will promote your business for you. • To accelerate growth we need to create "blissful" customers • "Blissful" customers will become apostles for your business.

10. Importance of Customer Satisfaction Business is made up of the largest group of volunteers in the world......customers!

11. Consumer Satisfaction is Important to Health of Hearing Aid Industry

12. Consumer Satisfaction is Important to Health of Hearing Aid Industry

13. Consumer Satisfaction is Important to Health of Hearing Aid Industry

14. Reasons for Non-purchase of Hearing Instruments

15. Deming proved that a dissatisfied customer tells 16 other people but a satisfied person only 8 others. Negative word-of-mouth has blocked close to 4 million from purchasing our product in the U.S. Potential $19 billion loss to dispensers. Impact of Dissatisfied Customers

16. Impact of Customer Dissatisfaction • No initial sale of the product • No repeat purchase of the product • Negative word-of-mouth advertising • Less referral business • More bad debt write-offs

17. Impact of Customer Dissatisfaction • Higher employee turnover & absenteeism • Lower staff morale • Lower compliance with instructions • More malpractice suits • Lower profitability

18. What Customers Want

19. Relative Importance of Factors on Overall Consumer Satisfaction

20. Impact of Improving Multiple Environmental Listening Utility (MELU) on Overall Satisfaction(All hearing aid owners n=2,572)

21. Relative Importance of Factors on Overall Consumer Satisfaction

22. Summary of Consumer Needs – Four Methods • Factors </= 40% satisfaction. • Factors most related to overall customer satisfaction. • Improvements sought in hearing instruments. • Reasons why hearing instruments are in the drawer.

23. Factors < / = 40% Satisfaction • Hearing in noise • Hearing instrument usage in large groups • Hearing instrument usage on telephones & cell phones • Hearing instrument usage at concerts and movies • Whistling, feedback and buzzing • Comfort with loud sounds

24. Factors Most Related to Overall Customer Satisfaction • Benefit at a good value • Better sound quality • Better Reliability • Multiple Environmental Listening Utility (MELU)

25. Hearing Aid Improvements Sought by Current Hearing Aid Owners (n=2,428)(Highly desirable scores =4-5 on 5 point scale)

26. Hearing Aid Improvements Sought by Current Hearing Aid Owners (n=2,428)(Desirable scores =4-5 on 5 point scale)

27. Improvements Sought in Hearing Instruments • Speech intelligibility in noise • Better sound quality • Less whistling & buzzing (feedback) • Lower price • More soft sounds audible

28. The Consumer’s Perspective:“Why My Hearing Aids Are in the Drawer”

29. Methodology • National surveys of U.S. Hearing aid Market since 1989. • National family opinion panel • 80,000 households • 13,492 hearing-impaired households • Detailed questionnaire 2,720 hearing aid owners. • Response rate 83%

30. Methodology • Consumers who own a hearing aid but NEVER wear it = hearing aid in the drawer. • Hearing aids in drawer = 16.2% respondents. • Told to explain why non-use in MarkeTrak survey. • Received 348 letters. • Content coding yielded 567 comments.

31. Hearing Aids in the Drawer are Related to Age of the InstrumentBut a third are New Hearing Instruments 325,000 1-4 years

32. What are the top 3 reasons why hearing aids are in the drawer?

33. Reasons for Non-Use • Poor benefit (30%) - 268,507

34. Reasons for Non-UsePoor Benefit “I threw it away it was worthless to me” “I don’t see much difference with them. I feel I was sold one under false pretense. Don’t feel I really needed one” “There is no improvement in my hearing with the aids. Where there is a slight improvement in my hearing, it is minimal.”

35. Reasons for Non-UsePoor Benefit “I don’t wear the aids at all. The problems appears to be clarity of words. Volume is OK but I can’t distinguish words” “I have not been able to wear the H.A. since the day I received it. It was made wrong and the Company said there was nothing wrong with it.”

36. Reasons for Non-UsePoor Benefit “It is not worth the trouble or expense for the small difference in hearing. I wish I had my money back.” “_____ aims at taking old people’s money for little value.” “All the aids do is amplify the sound that I can’t discriminate with an aid in the ear.”

37. Reasons for Non-UsePoor Benefit “When ______sold me the H.A., I was confident it would help me hear better. When I received it and wore it every day, it did not make my hearing any better. So, I don’t wear the HA and feel like I wasted my money. I tried to return it and the person did not seem to want to help me. I am quite dissatisfied with the whole experience.”

38. Reasons for Non-UsePoor Benefit “I can’t hear high pitch sounds with the behind the ear model.” “H.A.s amplify everything but human voices which is what you need to hear.” “____plugs are not worth the price.”

39. Reasons for Non-Use • #1. Poor benefit (30%) - 268,507 • #2. Background noise (25%) - 229,383

40. Reasons for Non-UseBackground Noise “I will not wear my H.A. because it increases background noise. And therefore, after a while I get a headache and get somewhat nervous.” “It catches all the sound on the road, TV, etc at the same time.” “Background noise is distracting.”

41. Reasons for Non-UseBackground Noise “H.A.s don’t work when there is a lot of background noise. This is when you need them to work.” “Background noise really drives him crazy.” “My problem is with background noise. All my H.A.s do is amplify so they are of little help.”

42. Reasons for Non-UseBackground Noise “I don’t wear my H.A. because I need it at a dance, restaurants, and large groups. All the H.A. does is increase all sound including background sounds. No help.” “Sudden loud noise is a killer.” “H.A. amplify other sounds so much that I actually feel pain.”

43. Reasons for Non-UseBackground Noise “If someone drops a spoon on the table it is like a rifle going off.” “Hate them. They don’t work for me. All sounds are amplified. Never knew there were so many. I can’t adjust the H.A. constantly to every noise.”

44. Reasons for Non-Use • #1. Poor benefit (30%) - 268,507 • #2. Background noise (25%) - 229,383 • #3. Fit & Comfort (19%) - 169,431

45. Reasons for Non-UseFit & Comfort “My hearing aids are too big for my ears.” “It is uncomfortable and my wife says I don’t listen to her anyway.” “It hurts my ears.” “I do not like the feel of it in my ear.”

46. Reasons for Non-UseFit & Comfort “I don’t wear my H.A. because they plug up my ears and feel uncomfortable.” “My H.A. has the tendency to fall out when I am working hard in hot weather.” “It’s hard to keep it in my ear. I travel for business a lot and can’t risk it falling out of my ear.”

47. Reasons for Non-Use • #1. Poor benefit (30%) - 268,507 • #2. Background noise (25%) - 229,383 • #3. Fit & Comfort (19%) - 169,431 • #4. Negative side effects (11%) - 99,048

48. Reasons for Non-UseNegative Side-effects • Ears that hurt • Too much pressure in the ears • Blisters in ears • Rashes in ears • Itching ears • Dizzy • Nervous

49. Reasons for Non-UseNegative Side-effects • Ears that sweat • Builds up wax in inner ear • Headache • Hair gets caught in hearing aid • Infections in ear • Problems chewing or swallowing • Plugs up ears

50. Reasons for Non-Use • #1. Poor benefit (30%) - 268,507 • #2. Background noise (25%) - 229,383 • #3. Fit & Comfort (19%) - 169,431 • #4. Negative side effects (11%) - 99,048 • #5. Price & cost (10%) - 93,839