MBA Insights 2nd Quarter 2012 : Page 3

Patient Visits Are the Most Powerful Brand Builder A patient visit provides independent ODs with the best opportunity to create a powerful brand identity. No other marketing program does as much to influence patient perceptions of a practice. Personal interaction with the doctor and staff during a visit creates an indelible, emotional impression of the practice that com-munications in other media are not likely to alter. A patient visit experience conveys the true essence of an optometric practice brand. Practice owners usually do not think of patient visits as marketing events that shape their brand image. But this key insight can be the launching pad for dramatic improvements in patient communication during office visits. As impactful brand-building events, patient visits should be carefully orchestrated to convey the messages and impres-sions that will result in loyalty and referrals. A patient visit is the premier opportunity to showcase what makes a practice unique and special and to educate pa-tients about services offered and patient care goals. It’s important that these key messages be crafted and delivered explicitly. The mes-sages shouldn’t be ad-libbed by staff or left for patients to decipher. When left to chance, patients will not receive consistent messages. Every practice needs to decide what key messages it wants to convey to each patient. The following can provide a framework for nearly every practice. available on mba-ce.com, provides guidance on crafting a persuasive answer to the question why patients should come back to the practice. This message will become a major element in all marketing communications. Once the message is crafted, it’s neces-sary to specify exactly how and when it will be communicated to patients during their visits. It’s a mistake to assume that patients will in-tuit the reasons they should return without being told explicitly. I KEY MESSAGE: “We provide ther-apeutic medical treatment for infections, dry eye, allergy and other ocular conditions.” Many practices assume that patients know that the practice offers a range of medical eye care services. But many patients do not know this and will never relate their symp-toms of ocu-lar condi-tions be-cause they assume the doctor is only interested in performing eye exams and selling eyeglasses and contact lenses. Making this information highly visible will also enhance perceptions of ODs as medical professionals. As with the prior key message, it’s neces-sary to specify exactly how this will be con-veyed to patients early in each visit. I KEY MESSAGE: “A yearly eye exam is an important preventive measure to protect sight.” Dentists successfully have created the ex-pectation that semiannual visits are normal and part of a good oral health prevention plan. ODs have not yet been as successful at instilling the value of yearly exams. But they can be success-ful with explicit marketing messaging. From the first words of the receptionist to the closing goodbye, the importance of yearly comprehensive exams should be emphasized. Each time the word “exam” is used it should be prefixed by the word “yearly.” The sidebar to the right contains suggested scripts for doc-tor and staff to communicate the value of yearly eye exams throughout an office visit. Continued on page 4 Scripts to Reinforce Importance of Yearly Exams I Appointment scheduling: “I want to confirm the date and time of your scheduled yearly eye exam.” I Reception: “Welcome back. It’s great to see you. I see you’re here for your yearly eye exam. That’s a great way to enjoy the peace of mind of always knowing everything is fine with your vision.” I Escort to Testing Room: “Please follow me, and we’ll get started with your one-year tests.” I Start of yearly testing: “We’ll be doing a series of tests to be sure that everything is fine with your eyes. It’s important that we do these every 12 months because problems can begin to develop over those months and you may not even notice any symptoms.” I During the yearly testing: “This instrument is a retinal camera. By recording a digital image of your retina, we can compare next year’s picture to the one I’ll take right now. That will allow us to detect any sub-tle changes that are occurring.” I Conclusion of yearly testing: “The doctor will explain what the yearly tests show. We’ll perform these procedures again 12 months from now to be sure that no problems will go undetected that could threaten your sight.” I Start of eye exam: “Good to see you again. The year went by so fast. I want to compliment you on your good judgment to look after your eye health every year. ” I OD handoff to optician: “Thanks for coming in. I look forward to seeing you again one year from now.” I Contact lens fitting: “We encourage our patients to visit us every year to monitor their eye health.” I Check-out/departure: “We look forward to seeing you in 12 months for your next comprehensive eye health exam. You will be getting a reminder from us about six weeks be-fore your reserved appointment time.” K I KEY MESSAGE: “Here’s why you should continue to come here for eye care.” In most cities, there are plenty of eye care providers, and nearly all of them provide compe-tent eye exams and sell eyeglasses and contacts. A powerful brand identity and patient loyalty don’t develop by delivering just the basics that every ECP provides. It occurs only when the service is memorable and exceeds expectations. It’s up to every practice owner to define what service behaviors will differentiate the practice from all the others in the community. These are the points that make your patients refer friends and family. The MBA monograph titled Mission Statements and Practice Positioning, © A-papantoniou | Dreamstime.com mba-ce.com • MBA Insights 2Q 2012 • 3

Patient Visits Are the Most Powerful Brand Builder

A patient visit provides independent ODs with the best opportunity to create a powerful brand identity. No other marketing program does as much to influence patient perceptions of a practice. Personal interaction with the doctor and staff during a visit creates an indelible, emotional impression of the practice that communications in other media are not likely to alter. A patient visit experience conveys the true essence of an optometric practice brand. Practice owners usually do not think of patient visits as marketing events that shape their brand image. But this key insight can be the launching pad for dramatic improvements in patient communication during office visits. As impactful brand-building events, patient visits should be carefully orchestrated to convey the messages and impressions that will result in loyalty and referrals.A patient visit is the premier opportunity to showcase what makes a practice unique and special and to educate patients about services offered and patient care goals. It’s important that these key messages be crafted and delivered explicitly. The messages shouldn’t be ad-libbed by staff or left for patients to decipher.When left to chance, patients will not receive consistent messages. Every practice needs to decide what key messages it wants to convey to each patient. The following can provide a framework for nearly every practice. KEY MESSAGE: “Here’s why you should continue to come here for eye care.” In most cities, there are plenty of eye care providers, and nearly all of them provide competent eye exams and sell eyeglasses and contacts. A powerful brand identity and patient loyalty don’t develop by delivering just the basics that every ECP provides. It occurs only when the service is memorable and exceeds expectations. It’s up to every practice owner to define what service behaviors will differentiate the practice from all the others in the community. These are the points that make your patients refer friends and family. The MBA monograph titledMission Statements and Practice Positioning, available on mba-ce.com, provides guidance on crafting a persuasive answer to the question why patients should come back to the practice. This message will become a major element in all marketing communications. Once the message is crafted, it’s necessary to specify exactly how and when it will be communicated to patients during their visits. It’s a mistake to assume that patients will intuit the reasons they should return without being told explicitly. KEY MESSAGE: “We provide therapeutic medical treatment for infections, dry eye, allergy and other ocular conditions.” Many practices assume that patients know that the practice offers a range of medical eye care services. But many patients do not know this and will never relate their symptoms of ocular conditions because they assume the doctor is only interested in performing eye exams and selling eyeglasses and contact lenses. Making this information highly visible will also enhance perceptions of ODs as medical professionals. As with the prior key message, it’s necessary to specify exactly how this will be conveyed to patients early in each visit. KEY MESSAGE: “A yearly eye exam is an important preventive measure to protect sight.” Dentists successfully have created the expectation that semiannual visits are normal and part of a good oral health prevention plan. ODs have not yet been as successful at instilling the value of yearly exams. But they can be successful with explicit marketing messaging. From the first words of the receptionist to the closing goodbye, the importance of yearly comprehensive exams should be emphasized. Each time the word “exam” is used it should be prefixed by the word “yearly.” The sidebar to the right contains suggested scripts for doctor and staff to communicate the value of yearly eye exams throughout an office visit. KEY MESSAGE: “Your insurance allowance covers basics only.” Half of the U.S. vision correction population has vision benefits. Few patients with this kind of insurance benefit remember the complexities of their coverage, and many expect that their insurance will cover the total cost of their eye exam and eyewear or contact lenses. But, in fact,many plans cover only a very minimal and basic package. This leads to misunderstanding and disappointment. It should be made clear from the first contact with each patient during an office visit that a vision allowance should be considered a major discount on products and services but may not be sufficient to obtain products that offer the performance patients want. The explanation should make clear what fees and charges will be covered by a patient’s plan and those that will not before service begins. Product recommendations should never begin with the words, “Let me show you what your plan covers.” This can inadvertently result in self-imposed constraints on presentation of eyewear or contact lens alternatives to limit or eliminate a patient’s out-of-pocket expense. Insurance coverage should never dictate the sales process.

Scripts to Reinforce Importance of Yearly Exams

Appointment scheduling: “I want to confirm the date and time of your scheduled yearly eye exam.” Reception: “Welcome back. It’s great to see you. I see you’re here for your yearly eye exam. That’s a great way to enjoy the peace of mind of always knowing everything is fine with your vision.” Escort to Testing Room: “Please follow me, and we’ll get started with your one-year tests.” Start of yearly testing: “We’ll be doing a series of tests to be sure that everything is fine with your eyes. It’s important that we do these every 12 months because problems can begin to develop over those months and you may not even notice any symptoms.” During the yearly testing: “This instrument is a retinal camera. By recording a digital image of your retina, we can compare next year’s picture to the one I’ll take right now. That will allow us to detect any subtle changes that are occurring.” Conclusion of yearly testing: “The doctor will explain what the yearly tests show.We’ll perform these procedures again 12 months from now to be sure that no problems will go undetected that could threaten your sight.” Start of eye exam: “Good to see you again. The year went by so fast. I want to compliment you on your good judgment to look after your eye health every year.” OD handoff to optician: “Thanks for coming in. I look forward to seeing you again one year from now.” Contact lens fitting: “We encourage our patients to visit us every year to monitor their eye health.” Check-out/departure: “We look forward to seeing you in 12 months for your next comprehensive eye health exam.You will be getting a reminder from us about six weeks before your reserved appointment time.”

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