What could you and your patients have in common? Myopia.
Stay with me for a minute.
You may be surprised to hear that a clinic can suffer from myopia. However, what I’m referring to is marketing myopia. This is a phrase coined by Theodore Levitt in the Harvard Business Review in 1960. It is a concept that a business is short-sighted in their marketing goals by focusing on immediate needs rather than marketing from a customer’s standpoint. This narrow-mindedness can creep in slowly, and most employees might not even notice until it’s too late. Levitt argues that by focusing on customers’ needs rather than the sale of a product, your business will thrive.
Of course, not everyone has marketing myopia. The following questions will help you assess your current marketing strategy:
- 1. Do you focus on relationship-building with patients more than selling the surgery?
2. Have you set LASIK goals based on research? For instance, are you factoring in your competitors or the current market in your area?
3. Do you survey your patients regularly to see how they’re hearing about your clinic?
4. Are your marketing techniques changing with the dynamic consumer environment?
If you answered “no” to any of those questions, you may want to step back, analyze your goals, brainstorm change, and remarket your clinic.
Here are some strategies to prevent myopia within your clinic:
- Have a clear vision. Management from the top down must all be aligned on their goals for the clinic. Marketing is derived from those goals and good leadership.
- Be customer-oriented. You can have the best service or product in the world, but if you’re not helping a patient find the best option for their vision correction, you’ll lose out.
- Get educated on your patients. If you’re unaware of your competition, your prospective market, your own conversion rates, or your patient demographics, then you might want to start conducting some basic research around your practice. Being equipped with this knowledge can help you clarify your vision and LASIK goals as well as set realistic expectations.