Eyeworld

AUG 2011

EyeWorld is the official news magazine of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.

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32 In today's economy, traditional marketing is not enough I n a down economy, not only do consumers conserve discre- tionary income, but procedures such as LASIK remain increas- ingly difficult to market. LASIK volumes are down 50% from their peak in 2007-2008; refractive surgery remains a "troubled market," said Louis Probst, M.D., chief laser sur- geon and senior medical advisor, TLC The Laser Eye Centers (locations in Chicago; Madison, Wisc.; and Tampa, Fla.). "LASIK surgery is discretionary spending on a particular item people view as the most discretionary," he said. "We're still waiting for the eco- nomic revival to occur." In the in- terim, refractive surgeons need to carefully evaluate how they're going to market their services. In the Midwest, "there's always going to be a contingency that shops solely on price, but there's also the contingency who's willing to investigate the real value of what they're buying," said Matt Jensen, executive director of Vance Thompson Vision, Sioux Falls, S.D. His region wasn't as affected by the recession as the coastal areas, simply because it never saw the same in- tense upswings of those areas either, he said. NVision Eye Centers (with five locations in southern California) hasn't found a need to change its marketing in the down economy, said Sandra Sellani, vice president of marketing. "When you offer something dif- ferent, you're still going to sell," she said. "What sets us apart is that other eye doctors send more patients to us than to any other surgery cen- ter." As a result, NVision didn't wit- ness the downturn others in the region did. (She added it helps that the centers remind patients to return to their primary vision care providers for follow up.) Dr. Probst noted TLC has "al- ways had a strong co-management model with optometrists. In the boom years from 2001-2007, optom- etry didn't play as dominant a role as it does now." Pricing strategies At Kameen Eye Associates, Balti- more, founder Anthony Kameen, M.D., has shifted his single-center marketing emphasis away from tra- ditional outlets such as radio or tele- vision and increased his presence in all forms of digital media, he said. Not that long ago, traditional marketing avenues "used to be very predictable," Dr. Kameen said. "You'd spend $30,000 and get $100,000 in response. Now? There's no pattern, there's no rhyme or rea- son to it." Further, the majority of advertis- ing "is still based on price," Mr. Jensen said. "What that does is teach patients only to investigate those is- sues. We need to be more careful as an industry to make sure our mes- sages do not place price as the pri- mary factor." Instead, practices should concentrate on educating the consumer about "the importance of having a custom treatment or the differences in lasers from the earlier versions." In his region, TV advertising is "quintessential for vision treat- ments," Mr. Jensen said. "There's nothing more powerful than a well- produced image for our offerings." But practices need to ensure they produce high quality work if they're expecting high quality returns. "During difficult economic times, it's important not to discount the product," Ms. Sellani said. "Prac- tices need to help make LASIK more accessible and help consumers expe- rience the value, but financing options can change without dimin- ishing the product and slashing prices." In her region, direct-to-con- sumer advertising has fallen by the wayside. "It's just not the best use of advertising dollars," she said. "DTC should always be a last choice in a service industry. There are so many more compelling ways to bring peo- ple into your world without tradi- tional advertising." Dr. Probst disagreed, but said TLC tries "very focused DTC market- ing," with variations on co-op mar- keting and newspaper advertising. EW REFRACTIVE SURGERY 32 August 2011 by Michelle Dalton EyeWorld Contributing Editor Effective strategies for marketing elective procedures T imes have certainly changed. It wasn't that long ago that a physi- cian would hang out a shingle and wait for patients to arrive. Patients viewed Marcus Welby as the quin- tessential role model for the ideal physician. In fact, Robert Young (the actor who played Marcus Welby) represented medicine long ago with the FDA for the advancement of new devices for ophthalmology. Those were the days! Today, patients are referred to as con- sumers. Patients have more choices than ever before. Our society has become more progressive and more reliant on technology. Fast food and the obesity that accompanies it have become part of the American way of life. With the advent of the internet, informa- tion reported today is outdated next week. Textbooks are often outdated before they are in print. The good news is we have more op- tions than ever before to offer our patients. More good news is that our patients are motivated to learn as much as they can about these procedures and the physicians who perform them. There is a downside to this, however. Much of this information is not filtered, not consistent, and not peer re- viewed. Some patients find themselves more confused after they perform internet searches than they were before they started. How do they find the real answers? How do they find the best doctor? How do they know which procedure is right for them? These are the questions patients are hungry to find out about. These are the challenges of the modern day healthcare provider. Marketing has traditionally been effective at educating patients about the very questions they are seeking answers for. However, marketing is changing every- day, from television to radio, print ads to direct-to-consumer initiatives. The internet has evolved from websites to social media to blogs. In this economic environment, marketing can be a challenge, yet is still an essential part of a refractive practice. In this month's Refractive corner of the world, we will address what marketing initiatives have been successful in different types of prac- tices in different geographic areas of the country. I hope you will find this informative and helpful. There is some really good news, too. Even since the days of Marcus Welby, word of mouth continues to be the best source of patient referrals! Kerry Solomon, M.D., refractive editor Refractive editor's corner of the world

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