When you are in the business of offering the same services as five other firms in your small town, you need to take steps to differentiate yourself from your competition.  This is exactly what we did just five short years ago when we started to sell hearing aids in our store.

We started out offering just one brand, Siemens, and the response was very positive.  In fact, sales were up almost 50% the first year and have continued to increase year after year.  It also meant that we created a new job in the community (a hearing specialist) which has made life easier for many of the older residents in town who previously had to drive over an hour to get the same services we offer.

But all good things come to an end and we are no longer the only provider of hearing aids in the community.  In fact, two of our competitors have taken it upon themselves to carry the same models that we carry and they are charging slightly less than we are.

Instead of being afraid of the competition, it has given us the chance to reflect on our own services and find better ways to serve our customers.  So, we are bringing in another five brands of hearing aids to offer our clients a greater selection and I have a hunch that the response will be very positive – I’ll report back with the findings at a later date.

Technorati Tags: Micro Tech, Siemens