STRATEGY AND BUSINESSES
We drive our market leadership through consumer-centered innovation and value-added services.
Sonovaʼs Hearing Instruments business, operating through our Phonak, Unitron, and other specialist brands, is a market-leading developer, manufacturer, and supplier of hearing aids and wireless communication products. We are innovators, continuously advancing the hearing experience through a regular cycle of new technology platforms, each extending to meet ever more consumer hearing-aid needs. We serve consumers through multiple channels, including independent audiologists and ear, nose, and throat clinics, large hearing care chains, and government health agencies. Our goal is to deepen and broaden connections: between the consumer and the world of natural sound, and between the health care professional and the consumer. We harness our deep audiological expertise to achieve this goal through constant efforts to boost audiological performance by enhancing our productsʼ processing power, intelligence, and reliability, through our technology-enabled solutions to complement that performance and improve quality of life, and through our close engagement with our institutional and business customers to help them deliver the best service.
Our strategy drives us to seek excellence in each aspect of our business: in continuous innovation, in extending the breadth of our solutions portfolio, in enriching the experience of our business partners and the consumers they serve, and in improving our processes and expanding market access.
Launched in August 2022, Phonakʼs Audéo Lumity hearing aid set new standards for ease of communication and reduced listening effort. Lumityʼs sophisticated directional microphone technology produces 16% better speech understanding from the front and an average of 15% better speech intelligibility from the back and side, while the SpeechEnhancer feature significantly improves communication with someone across a room.1)
Audéo Lumityʼs customer penetration matches that of its predecessor Audéo Paradise, and its innovative capabilities have now been launched across Phonakʼs product portfolio. Already available in the uniquely waterproof rechargeable Phonak Audéo Life, Lumity has been incorporated into Phonak Slim, a new form factor with a sleek ergonomic shape, launched in April 2023.
And in August 2023, Lumity was extended to all ages of consumer and degrees of hearing loss through the Phonak Naída range of power hearing aids and Sky pediatric solutions. It is also available in a battery model for consumers who prefer multi-day power over daily recharging. All models work seamlessly with our proven Roger wireless systems, and include our unique universal Bluetooth® connectivity to virtually all smartphones, tablets, and laptops.
Our continuous innovation cycle yields substantial improvements, even as we extend established benefits to all consumers: we are always working to further elevate the core audiological performance of our hearing aids by increasing processing power and harnessing sophisticated speech-enhancing algorithms. Each successive technology platform has introduced a significant improvement in the hearing experience – and we are confident that our strongly increased investment in R&D in recent years will deliver important new benefits for our consumers in the very near future.
Continuous, consumer-focused improvement includes commitment to quality, stability, and reliability in our hardware and software. Consumers rely on their hearing aid as a companion that enriches and eases their daily life. Hearing care professionals spend valuable time dealing with reliability issues when they could be delivering personal care. That is why we continue to invest substantially in the reliability of our hardware components, charging technology, software stability, and uninterrupted connectivity – and it is why we are proud of the results: the cumulative return rate for repair of Audéo Lumity hearing aids was 30% better than that of its predecessor, Audéo Paradise. Since the launch we have achieved an additional 30% reduction through continuous improvement. Dependability, added to best-in-class speech clarity, makes Audéo Lumity a trusted and reliable solution for consumers.
We operate in more than a hundred countries: we understand how our business partnersʼ needs differ across our various markets. Our integrated sales and marketing process helps us bring the right proposal for our customers through the appropriate channel. We provide them with marketing help and training, along with a range of hardware and software solutions that add value for their consumers and support the growth of their business.
Commercial excellence is at the core of a good customer relationship and we work hard to further enhance these trustful relationships. Workforce planning and excellence in training of our colleagues help us respond quickly and positively to customer needs: in the US, such initiatives led to a significant improvement in our Net Promoter Score for customer support accessibility since the start of the financial year.
We strongly believe that well-hearing is well-being – and there is evidence to prove this. A recent study2) published in The Lancet found that hearing intervention slowed down loss of thinking and memory abilities by 48% over three years in older adults at increased risk for cognitive decline such as a loss of concentration and recall. Meanwhile, a University of Melbourne study3) found that, comparatively, these abilities remained stable after three years for hearing aid users but declined for non-hearing aid users. We recognize the importance of enhancing cognitive health, and so do our customers – so we have launched a dedicated awareness and training program that aims to give hearing care professionals the knowledge and tools to better integrate cognitive health topics such as memory and concentration into their discussions with clients.