We do a lot of RV traveling. This year we decided to spend the summer in the Sonoma area of California. My first observation (see photo) is that you can not die of thirst in this area. There are signs like this at every significant crossroads pointing to local wineries. If the land isn’t vertical, which a lot of it is, there are grape vines growing on it.
Every road has a few wineries, but this is ridiculous.
After settling into an area, I always make a point of checking out audiology and hearing aid ads in the yellow pages. The Y.P phone book is losing some of its importance as the Internet grows, but it still gives a good idea of what is happening, vis-à-vis our profession, in any given area. Given the cost of Y.P. display ads and the multiplicity of ways and places to advertise, most of the ads were single line listings. However, one ad did catch my attention. It was a small, tastefully done display ad, 2 column by 2 inches and really stood out against all of the single line listings. It didn’t try to list every service that the offices provided, but what it did do was clearly advertise the names and locations of three independent competitors who had gotten together to share the cost, thereby providing themselves with an ad that was more easily noticed.
This sign is near Geyserville; a town with more tasting rooms than all other business’ combined.
This agrees with several of my philosophies. 1. Know your competitors, and when possible, cooperate with them to your mutual advantage. I firmly believe that having a good relationship with your competitors, even if it is just on a social level can be beneficial to you and your office. And on a professional level, there are many ways that having a good relationship with all of your competitors, Dispensers and Audiologists alike, can be useful. 2. Make the best use possible of your limited marketing dollars. We all agree on this, I am sure, but none of us knows exactly what that “best use” is. Possibly direct mail marketing works in your area, or professional contacts are your thing. Newspaper ads are expensive but frequently pay big dividends, while consumer seminars can also work well.
So I believe that these three offices are using their advertising dollars wisely with a joint ad. This type of cooperation, if properly nurtured, can lead to other larger projects for these friendly competitors.
What do you think?
