Question
Sonic talks about "Simplicity" as part of their 4S Foundation, but what does this really mean to me as an audiologist and Sonic customer?
Answer
Thanks for your question, I'm glad you asked. The 4S Foundation is the center of all we do at Sonic and stands for: Sound that's natural;Speech understanding in noise;Simplicity in everything we do;and Style that stands out. Simplicity in everything we do touches a broad array of areas.
First, we've always really tried to make our products simple to use from the clinician's point of view and also from the patient's point of view. Our new Flip product is a good example of how we achieve this. In addition to being very easy to use from the patient's point of view, including an innovative new design making battery changes easier than ever before, and controls that are local to the device for simple operation, Flip is easy for clinicians to fit and program. Our fitting software, EXPRESSfit - including the latest version EXPRESSfit 2012 - is designed to create the best fit fast for the patient. Patients don't want to sit around all day having the clinician try to figure out the software, and clinicians want to spend their time with their patients and their practices, not with their computers.
With our sales and marketing programs, especially here in the United States, we've done a major overhaul. We've simplified the way that we price our products, as well as the way that we work with large practices who are buying more products in order to streamline things for them. From a support standpoint, whether that's customer support or technical support or even training support - we try to make that very simple, too. In addition to in-person trainings, we offer up-to-date product and software training on AudiologyOnline so customers can access the information that they need at their own pace and on their own schedule. We also have the ability to access our customers' computers with their permission in order to assist with software installations or system issues that they're having. It may be an issue that isn't even product-related, such as hooking up a Noahlink, but we are happy to jump in and help. What we've found is that when we can hop online with people and solve a problem or provide assistance, it's more efficient. The customer can get the information they need quickly and get back to their practice. It's very efficient and it does not take them away from their priorities - their patients and their practices.
Simplicity in everything we do is about having different strategies based on each clinician's needs, meeting those needs in the best way possible, and above all being very flexible. Thanks again for your question. For more information, please visit us at www.sonici.com or give us a call at (888) 423-7834. You may also visit the Sonic web channel on AudiologyOnline.
Kathy Landon joined Sonic Innovations in 2000. During her tenure with Sonic Innovations, Ms. Landon has been integral to the company's software and hardware product development efforts, and has most recently spearheaded Sonic's new marketing strategies and initiatives. Before joining Sonic Innovations, Ms. Landon held a number of software and product development positions, having come to the company from Network Multimedia, Inc., a spin-off company of Novell, Inc.
