8 Ophthalmology Business • July 2018
by William B. Rabourn Jr.
Select the right team
of brand builders to grow your
H
ow often are prospective
patients exposed to your
ophthalmic business? How
much do they know about
the services you offer?
Making an effort to ensure your
practice or ambulatory surgery center
(ASC) is top-of-mind and that your
prospective patients understand your
value can significantly affect the size
of your patient base and ultimately,
your facility's financial health. To
achieve and maintain this type of
optimum visibility, building a brand
is essential. For ophthalmic business-
es, choosing the right team of brand
becomes. When carefully crafted and
maintained, a brand allows a busi-
ness to tell its story, project a specific
personality, and tie itself to specific
products or services. One of the
most effective ways to build a strong,
memorable brand is through strate-
gic marketing and advertising.
Some ophthalmic businesses dis-
regard brand building and marketing
campaigns, relying solely on referral
sources to sustain their patient base.
While this may be appropriate for
certain medical businesses, combin-
ing both referrals and direct-to-con-
sumer marketing is often a much
builders is even more important
due to the specialized and nuanced
nature of the industry.
How to tell your story
A "brand" is two things:
• A name (i.e., the source of a
product or service)
• Everything the consumer knows
about that name, including all
perceptions both factual (e.g., it
is an eye care practice or surgery
center) and emotional (e.g., they
are family-oriented/trustworthy)
The more details associated with
a brand, the more recognizable it
