How do you, as a hearing care professional, keep customer loyal in the long term?

The short answer

A hearing care professional keeps customers for the long term when every fitting, check-up and aftercare visit has a fixed next step and the customer gets a short reminder at the right time. If you just wait for a customer to call on their own, you leave the next contact to chance. With a simple rhythm and a personal message after every appointment, you stay on the customer's mind without chasing them by phone.

Which touchpoints do you need for customer loyalty as a hearing care professional?

For customer loyalty as a hearing care professional, you need four fixed touchpoints after the fitting: the follow-up check appointment, the regular check-up, the service for care and accessories, and a reminder before every appointment that's due. Every touchpoint needs a person responsible and a fixed time, otherwise it gets dropped. You set the intervals based on your experience and the professional standards of your business. The table is a suggestion; all details are examples.

Based on the SmartChat team's experience and recommendation, not a study result.

Why do customers get lost after the fitting?

Customers get lost because after the fitting nobody sets the next step anymore. The customer is happy, has a lot going on in everyday life and only thinks of the business again when something bothers them. Then they may look elsewhere. In our experience, you lose customers through silence rather than through a mistake. That's an assessment, not a study.

How do you make the next appointment the rule?

Make the next appointment the rule by suggesting it at the end of every visit and booking it right away. Tell the customer the reason in one sentence, for example: "I'd like to take another look at the settings in a few weeks." Then the customer doesn't have to plan anything themselves. Once a week, check your records for who has no next appointment, and call or message those customers directly. This one list is a low-cost first step.

How do you get in touch with customers without being pushy?

Get in touch briefly, personally and with a clear reason. Use their first name, say what it's about and offer a specific appointment. Don't write advertising; write something that helps the customer: a reminder about the check-up, a care tip or the news that new batteries are in. Medical statements don't belong in these messages. That's what the conversation in your shop is for.

How does WhatsApp marketing with SmartChat help with customer loyalty?

SmartChat takes the reminding off your hands. Follow-ups in SmartChat keep sending automatically after the customer confirms, without chasing by phone. Messages only go to contacts who signed up themselves and confirmed, for example via a landing page or a QR code in the shop. Unsubscribing works at any time with STOP. Messages are only sent over WhatsApp. More for your industry is under hearing care professionals.

Example. Name and times are examples.

Where do you start this week?

Start with the list of customers with no next appointment, because it costs nothing and shows you right away where you're losing customers. Then decide who books the next appointment after every visit. Only once this routine is in place is automation worth it. Then you collect contacts with a landing page and let SmartChat send the reminders.