Marketing: back to basics

It’s a fact. Healthcare marketing is more competitive now than ever. There is still the small group of healthcare professionals that look at advertising as an expense and profess that “legitimate” doctors do not market themselves, however while this may have been true in the past, we now live in different times. Increased competition especially in the field of ophthalmology has deemed it necessary for physicians to aggressively seek market share by advertising. Aside from patient and other physician referrals, many ophthalmologists are now running full fledged ad campaigns through traditional marketing efforts. Executing a marketing plan is determined by several key factors that will ultimately determine the success or failure of your overall campaign.

Commitment

Once a decision is made to market your practice a level of commitment must be adopted by your entire staff. It is critical to have a complete buy-in from every employee including and most importantly your physician (s) and administration.
In order for your staff to get on board, the lines of communication about what you are doing and why will be critical to the success of your marketing efforts.
Imagine a phone operator receiving a call from a “free screening” advertisement and not being aware of any such offer. Embarras-sing to say the least and worse yet is the message to the caller that the practice has no idea of what is going on. A good idea is to make copies of all print ads and distribute to the staff as well as posting a quarterly marketing calendar to keep everyone updated. Along with the commitment to market your practice, is the commitment to spend the money to do so.

Marketing budget

Once a figure is allocated by the practice these dollars should be used for the sole purpose of marketing and advertising. For accounting purposes, distribute monies for each form of advertising, such as yellow pages, newspaper, television and so forth and keep accurate records of what is spent on each media as well as what the return on your investment yields. A quarterly review of your budget and tracking of results will determine the need to adjust your campaign or the amount you are spending. Without a proven method for tracking the return on your investment, you will not be able to measure the success or lack of for any marketing efforts you attempt.

Expertise

I cannot stress the importance of this responsibility enough. Seek out a qualified professional to create and implement your marketing plan. Whether your practice has a full-time marketing person on staff or chooses to out-source to an ad agency the level of expertise and ability to market your practice is a determining factor in the success of any marketing campaign. While there are many good ad agencies that boast of great marketing ideas, remember that typically the agency is not working with your eye care practice exclusively and may also be working with your competitor. If you are fortunate enough to have an in-house marketing person, you are most certainly guaranteed that your practice is at the forefront of their interest. A seasoned marketing person should be able to work within an established budget, create ad campaigns that may include print, electronic and web site advertising.
Now that we have established the criteria for marketing, let’s step away and discuss some cost effective and results oriented marketing in these tough economic times.

Community seminars

Educational forums with free cataract screenings have proved to be very lucrative in our market area. A short presentation from our surgeon and a brief visit with each attendee has resulted in a 98% conversion rate from attendee to appointment and approximately 95% conversion from appointment to surgery. The total cost of these seminars is typically less and $1,600. The return on investment significantly higher.

Grassroots partnerships

Working with assisted living and skilled nursing facilities by providing free screenings, health fairs and work shops is a very effective way to acquire new patients, who may otherwise be overlooked. A majority of these residents are unable or most likely unwilling to leave the facility for a doctor’s visit that they may not seem necessary. Bringing our eye care services displays a level of concern and caring for their well being. If it is determined surgery is needed, these patients are much more comfortable because a relationship has already been formed.

Be a leader

Whatever form of marketing or advertising you may choose to try, I would like to offer a word of advice that has made our practice successful. Be unique, consistent, and if at all possible, be exclusive. Get out of the box and look for the non-traditional form of advertising. Be a leader and not a follower when it comes to your marketing. If you are going to mimic a print ad that every other physician is doing, how will a potential patient differentiate you from your competitor? Bigger is not always better! The message is what will bring a patient to your practice. In looking for new marketing venues, the first question I will ask is “is there an exclusive opportunity here”? I do not want to be in a magazine back to back with my competition. Lastly be consistent, if you are going to advertise do it for the long run. You can’t be everywhere all the time, but you can be somewhere all the time.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Debi Dilling is director of marketing for SNEADCataract in Ft. Myers, Fla. She can be contacted at 239-936-8686.