Marketing for Success

1. Marketing for Success Douglas C. Clark, O.D. Pelham Eyecare 664-1575 eyedr@sprynet.com

2. Socrates said, “To gain a good reputation, endeavor to be what you desire to appear.”

3. Four Steps of Marketing • Analysis • Planning • Implementation • Evaluation

4. “Marketing is not public relations advertisement, or selling. These are all products of a complete marketing strategy.” Rick Jonesamoeyecare.com

5. Analysis • What type of practice do you want? • Who is your target audience? • What are your benchmarks? • Have you considered quality?

6. Planning • Set your goals 1. financial targets 2. patient goals 3. patient satisfaction 4. personal goals • Determine best marketing tools • Establish a budget

7. Implementing • Consultant • Marketing agency • Doctor’s duties • Empower staff

8. Evaluation • Analyze practice data • Obtain staff input • Patient satisfaction surveys

9. Techniques and Tools of Marketing • “The best kind of marketing for an independent optometric practice is one-on-one marketing with patients in your office.” Neil Gailmard • It is much more expensive to acquire new patients than to have established patients return again

10. Office design Doctor and staff training Newsletters Promotions/ co-op Birthday cards Thank you cards Office literature Internal Tools

11. Office Image • Equipment reflects image • Dispensary selections • Services offered low vision refractive pediatrics • Doctor and staff appearance • Location

12. Education and Training • Doctor should promote latest techniques and procedures • Staff should receive onsite and offsite training • Office meetings • Office communications

13. Printed Communication • Newsletters regular professional • Office brochures • Stationary and business cards reflect image • In office promotions

14. Office Events • Trunk shows • Refractive consult days • Dry eye seminars • Contact lens workshops

15. Patient Referral Programs • “Satisfied patients don’t refer friends, enthusiastic ones do.” Neil Gailmard • It is okay to ask for referral • Promote that you accept new patients • Ask about family members • Implement a patient referral incentive program

16. Professional Referral Network • Develop a referral pattern among local health care providers Pediatrics Primary care Endocrinologists Geriatrics Dermatology

17. Implement a Continuous CareProgram • Post cards • Letters • Telephone • Email • Preappointment system

18. Post Cards • Least expensive • Least effective • Easiest to maintain

19. Telephone • Very effective if you can contact patient • Very labor intensive • After normal work hours required

20. Preappointment System • Moderate complexity/ computers reduce difficulty • Very effective • Requires effort from doctor and staff

21. Steps for Preappointment 1) Dr must determine and inform patient and staff of the appropriate time interval for next appointment 2) Staff must schedule appointment and reaffirm with patient the need for appointment 3) Post card reminder sent out prior to appointment 4) Telephone used to confirm appointment 5) Dr and staff must reaffirm patient’s return visit

22. Why Preappoint? • Best medical practice • Control patient flow • Demonstrates proper care and concern, must not assume patient knows when the appropriate time interval should be between appointments

24. Examining External Marketing Tools • Average for established practice is 5% of revenue generated from marketing generated new patients--must add to existing patient base to grow • Newer practices will rely more heavily on external marketing tools

25. Knowing the lingo • Reach-- number of persons viewing or hearing a message • Frequency-- number of times each person heard or saw message • CPM-- costs per thousand messages • Penetration-- percent of target audience that heard or saw message

26. Example • $10,000 spent on a radio announcement • Reach was a target of 50,000 potential patients • Each person averaged hearing message three times • CPM- 10,000/150,000 x 1000= 66.66/thousand

27. Tools of External Marketing • Print media • Visual media • Radio • Outdoor • Technology/internet • Outside professional presentations/civic groups

28. Types of print media • Newspaper • Direct mail • Magazines • Yellow pages

29. Newspaper • Good geographic distribution • Costs reasonable • Trackable • Negative is that your target audience has been decreasing in reach over the years

30. Direct Mail • Easily targeted • Expensive per reach • Low response rate • Best in new areas and new practices

31. Magazines • CPM is low but hard to get good geographic distribution • Good to get to target audience • Low response rate • Requires more advance planning

32. Telephone Directories • Must have presence • Try to have at least the average size display as well as in column listing • Evaluate duplications • Requires advance planning • Professional graphic designer • Average practice spends 1 % to 1 ½% of gross

33. Television • Usually prohibitive for individual offices • Great for multiple locations in certain markets • Very high production costs • Expensive due to need for high frequency to get gross impressions • Cable options /sometimes trap

34. Radio • CPM is very low • Easy to target audience • Easy to produce • Geographic issues make it difficult in some markets • Great for awareness campaigns

35. New Technology • Website development • Email reminders • Email marketing

36. Outside Involvement • Professional presentations • Vision screenings/ health fairs • Civic involvement

37. Get involved and help others “ You can anything you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.” Zig Ziglar • Church • Civic groups • Non-profits

38. Professional reputation • Warren Buffet said “It takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to lose it.”