How Blamey Saunders disrupted an entire industry.

193 193 – A masterful lesson in how to successfully disrupt your industry with quantum physicist turned entrepreneur Dr. Elaine Saunders of Blamey Saunders hears.

It’s not every day that a successful quantum physicist decides to pack it all in and launch an online hearing aid business, but that’s exactly what Dr. Elaine Saunders did. And since launch just a couple of years ago, the business has skyrocketed, disrupting the entire hearing aid industry along the way.

Not only is Blamey Saunders hears the only custom fitted online hearing aid business out there – it has bucked a heap of business trends in the process. Elaine has successfully got older people buying hearing aids online – so NO more excuses about your client base not being on the web. AND she sells hearing aids at the $3k mark, proving that an online business selling high value products is totally viable.

In my chat with Elaine, she also shares a tonne of marketing GOLD from how get television exposure from day one, through to the benefits of keeping chummy with a tight network of journalists. Let’s get stuck into it, small business owners.

In this session of Small Business Big Marketing, you’ll discover:

How Dr. Elaine Saunders bucked the trend to create a successful online business with many older clients.
Why Elaine chooses to keep a tight network of journalists informed with company and industry trends.
How Blamey Saunders hears managed to acquire major television coverage right from launch.
Why Elaine and her business partner decided to take care of the website development, the storefront for their business, by themselves.
How positive customer testimonials give Elaine and her team the motivational boost they need to keep going.
Why Elaine looks to Richard Branson and the Virgin brand for inspiration with her own company.
How Blamey Saunders hears can offer custom hearing aid solutions at a quarter of the price of competitors in the market.
Why Blamey Saunders hears might have some work to do on their product naming.
How Elaine felt about her husband staying at home with the kids while she launched a successful business.

Episode Timeline

1.30 An update on the 200th episode of the Small Business Big Marketing podcast
3.00 Make sure that you sign up to NetRegistry’s online marketing workshop, happening in Melbourne at a cost of only $49.
4.00 Introducing this week’s guest, Dr Elaine Sanders, one of the founders of the only custom fitting hearing aid business online, Blamey Saunders hears.
7.00 Dr Elaine talks about identifying the need for a more cost effective and accessible hearing aid solution.
9.00 Elaine and I talk about the myth that online businesses cannot work with an older client base.
16.30 How Elaine sold the science story behind the hearing aid, which was picked up by major TV stations right at launch.
17.30 Why Elaine’s husband stays at home with the kids, while Elaine focuses on business.
24.00 Elaine talks testimonials and the motivation she gets from positive customer feedback.
25.30 I challenge Elaine on her product naming strategy.
27.20 How the website, the hub for all Blamey Saunders hears purchases, came into being.
29.00 I talk publicity with Dr Elaine.
35.00 The future of Blamey Saunders hears marketing initiatives – PR and social media.
40.00 Sort out your business’ small design fixes with Swiftly.com.
41.00 My top marketing akeaways from chatting with Elaine.