Moral of the story: If you don’t advertise what you do, someone else can take your market share.

WHY MARKET YOUR PRACTICE?

Marketing your practice is crucial for many reasons. The most basic reason for marketing is, of course, to grow your practice. Other benefits from marketing and advertising that lead up to practice growth include the following:

▲ Generating new patients

▲ Positioning your practice as an innovative leader in cataract surgery

▲ Increasing credibility with patients and referring doctors

▲ Retaining existing patients

▲ Creating buzz

Advertising does not have to be an arduous undertaking. It all starts with a plan.

START WITH INTERNAL MARKETING

The most cost-effective way to market to cataract patients is by establishing a strong internal marketing program that educates your existing patients. This should include posters throughout the office, an education DVD loop in the waiting room, a customized on-hold message, quarterly patient newsletters, and expanded staff education. Beyond external advertising, internal marketing also gives your practice a solid professional veneer. With the right internal marketing efforts, the ophthalmologist in Mike’s story would not have lost his patient.

YOUR MARKETING PLAN—YOUR BUDGET, YOUR MESSAGE, YOUR PLACEMENT

Although a marketing plan can be quite extensive, any marketing plan consists of a budget, your message (what you want to say), and your placement (where you are going to say it).

A good rule of thumb for your budget is to spend 3% to 6% of your total revenue on marketing. If your practice generates $1.5 million/year in cataract revenue, then plan to spend $45,000 to $90,000/year promoting that segment of your practice. It is important to select a marketing budget you will be comfortable with. Remember, it is an investment, not an expense.

Next, you need to decide on a message. What are you going to say? The simplest message is, “Here is what I have, and here is what it can do for you.” Any number of variations on how you want to say that can help your campaign.

Most patients who are interested in premium intraocular lenses (IOL) want to eliminate the need for glasses, particularly reading glasses. In our society, wearing reading glasses is one of the first signs of getting old, right up there with graying hair and nocturia. Today’s baby boomers want visual freedom, they want independence, they want the best, and they are willing to pay for it.

KEY ITEMS EVERY AD SHOULD HAVE

Honesty

Seniors are turned off by ads that look too much like you are trying to sell something. They like educational ads that are toned down, honest, and authentic.

Value

Seniors spend time researching major purchases and look for value in everything they purchase. Show the benefits of a premium IOL to demonstrate value.

Emotions

Seniors are attracted to ads that use storytelling and emotions to drive their purchase decisions.

Reinform

Older patients may remember their parents’ cataract surgery, which might scare them. Reiterate that modern procedures are fast and effective, with little to no down time.

Contact Information

Make it easy for seniors to find your phone number, website, and physical address.

Radio

Talk radio can work really well for branding a premium IOL practice. I tend to run ads during drive times, which are from 6 am through 9 am and 3 pm through 7 pm. I do this because that is when the majority of people listen. Ideally, your radio representative will give you additional fill spots for free if you spend a decent amount with a station. To get the most bang for your buck, also consider a hybrid message, with the first 30 seconds focusing on another service your practice offers, such as LASIK, and the final 30 seconds discussing cataract surgery and premium IOLs.

Television

Broadcast TV (eg, CBS, NBC, FOX, and ABC) reaches a lot of viewers, especially during primetime, but also tends to be very expensive. The good news is our target cataract market of 55+ tends to watch a lot of daytime TV, which is much lower in cost then prime or evening television.

A great alternative to broadcast TV is cable. You can target specific geographic zones, and you can bombard consumers with tremendous frequency. Cable is great for practices with a smaller budget.

Newsprint

Although newspapers may be a dying medium, they tend to do very well for practices promoting cataract surgery and premium IOLs. For print ads, develop a compelling headline and include text and photos that will draw reader attention. I also like using color as opposed to black and white ads. If your practice has a distinct color scheme, readers will have instant recognition just by seeing your practice colors. Try to keep your ads in sections of the paper that are most read by seniors. From my experience, this includes the weather, lifestyle, and obituary sections. I also recommend using smaller ad sizes with more frequency rather than expensive larger ads with less frequency.

Some research shows readers equate large ads with large businesses and small ads with small businesses. Don’t be tempted to use a large ad to make people believe you’re a large business. They’ll be disappointed when they arrive at your door—and you’ll discover your ploy was all for naught.

Social Media

Finally, it is a good idea to send out a survey to patients once a year. You can do this on your own by choosing 100 or so patients to send the survey to, or you can use a service to take care of it for you. Once the surveys are returned, the surgeon or administrator can use the data provided to make improvements.

TELEPHONES—THE FRONT LINE

For many premium cataract surgeons, the most common first experience a patient will have of your practice is the initial phone call. This is when you will really want to make a great first impression, and it is up to your staff to do so.

Start by having a friendly voice, and listen to what the patient is asking. What are his or her concerns? Is he or she a co-managed patient? How did he or she hear about your practice? For most practices, even those who are fairly successful, the telephone tends to be an area of weakness.

Improve the quality of your phone calls by doing the following:

▲ Use a friendly voice.

▲ Answer within 3 rings.

▲ Never put the patient on hold for more than 30 seconds.

▲ Have empathy.

▲ Use the patient’s first name or something like “Mrs. Jones” to make the call more personal.

▲ Build rapport.

Scripting and Role Playing

Practices should focus on preparing staff members by creating phone scripts. Phone scripts help employees with the flow of how a call should be handled, keep the message consistent, and will prevent employees from making guesses during various scenarios. It is recommended to use these scripts as guides until employees become more comfortable with the flow of conversation.

The best way for a staff member to become effective on the telephone is by role playing. Role playing will make the scripts sound more natural and less forced. During role-play sessions, it is good to focus on various situations, such as, “What if the patient is co-managed?” or “If he or she had LASIK, is he or she still a good candidate for a premium IOL?” The goal is to have your staff discuss cataract surgery and premium IOL options with potential patients just as if they were family members.

Do Not Educate Over the Phone; Just Get Them In

The goal on the telephone is simple: get the patient in for an exam, create rapport and trust, and prepare the patient for what to expect. It is important to listen to the patient’s concerns and address them accordingly, but do not go over all of the premium lens options, cost, and other details on the telephone. Save the details for the exam, because you will find answering questions in the office to be much more rewarding.

SCHEDULING TIME FOR DISCUSSIONS WITH PATIENTS

In general, people are afraid of what they do not understand. Most patients are already under stress because they have been told they need cataract surgery. Can you imagine what they go through when we throw premium IOLs at them?

Using a questionnaire prior to the patient’s meeting with the doctor will help. The questionnaire or survey is a series of questions that the patient will answer prior to his or her appointment, thus helping the surgeon determine if the patient would be better suited for a multifocal, accommodative, or standard IOL.

I have heard complaints from patients ranging from, “I didn’t know it would cost more,” to “I was told I would be able to see like I was 25 again,” to “No one told me I would have to pay thousands of dollars just to wear glasses when I read.” That is why time spent with patients improves overall satisfaction. Teach your staff to set reasonable expectations and not to make promises that can backfire.

Taking the time to explain the benefits of a premium IOL is absolutely crucial. If the patient senses the slightest amount of hesitation or urgency in the surgeon’s or staff member’s voice, he or she will begin to put his or her guard up. On the other hand, if the doctor (or staff) takes the time to explain the benefits and drawbacks and to answer any questions the patient might have, you will find a much higher satisfaction rate among your premium lens patients.

EVALUATING EVERY CATARACT PATIENT

Several years ago, I was visiting a practice that had a very unhappy cataract patient. Did she have a bad result? No. Did she experience some type of abnormal pain? No. Did we put the wrong lens in her eye? No. “So…what’s the problem?” I asked.

The doctor answered, “She was mad because my practice never informed her that she could reduce her dependency on glasses with a premium IOL.” I asked what set her off, only to find out that her neighbor had had surgery just weeks after our upset patient did and was offered a premium IOL. The patient was angry that the option was offered to her friend but not to her. The patient had normal cataracts, normal corneas, and was indeed a good candidate for a premium IOL. When I asked the doctor why she was not asked, he replied, “We don’t evaluate every patient for a premium IOL.”

There is an important lesson to be learned here. Although lens selection can be challenging, deciding whether or not patients should be offered the option should never be the issue.