Launching in a Diversified Market


To visualize the opportunity for a new breakthrough hearing aid product, it is necessary to understand this consumer segment. Hearing aid batteries are sold to consumers through three different types of retail distribution channels. One is the professional channel, where consumers buy their hearing aid batteries from audiologists. The second is through major retail stores, where sales are measured by A. C. Nielsen & Co. with scan data. These include most supermarkets, drugstores, and mass merchants . The third is through direct mail or through retailers that dont report their sales to Nielsen, such as warehouse clubs.

There are approximately 12,500 audiologists in the United States, and many older consumers prefer to buy their hearing aid batteries from these professionals. Many of these people had purchased their hearing aids from these audiologists, and they simply feel comfortable going back to them for their batteries. It is difficult to estimate the exact size of this segment of the market because these professionals do not report their sales data to an organization such as A. C. Nielsen.

The 70,000 retail stores measured by Nielsen make up the largest segment of the total hearing aid battery category. This is also the segment that is the best understood because frequent scan data measurements provide very accurate sales information. It is also the fastest -growing segment because as younger consumers enter the market, they prefer to buy from these stores because of their convenience. Consumers who buy from these stores do not believe that there is any difference between the hearing aid batteries bought in these stores and those bought from audiologists.

Most drugstores carry hearing aid batteries, as do the pharmacy departments of most supermarkets and mass merchants such as Kmart and Wal-Mart. Drugstores make up the largest portion of the retail segment. These stores generally have a battery section that includes a selection of different brands of hearing aid batteries. Most stores carry the Energizer and Duracell brands along with private-label batteries. Some also carry the Ray-O-Vac brand, although this brand is more frequently sold through audiologists.

A small but significant segment of the market is the direct mail and Internet business. Seniors do quite a bit of ˜˜surfing over the Internet. They are especially interested in doing medical research over the Internet. Although they tend to look for information rather than buy products over the Internet, the amount of purchases through this channel is significant and is growing. Seniors also frequently buy hearing aid batteries through magazines such as AARPs Modern Maturity . Sales information for this channel is not readily available.




Powerhouse Marketing Plans(c) 14 Outstanding Real-Life Plans and What You Can Learn from Them to Supercharge [... ]aigns
Powerhouse Marketing Plans(c) 14 Outstanding Real-Life Plans and What You Can Learn from Them to Supercharge [... ]aigns
ISBN: 735621675
EAN: N/A
Year: 2006
Pages: 172

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