Marketing

Market Your Value Proposition to Patients: Specifically, Why Choose You?

By Amir Khoshnevis, OD

When it comes to marketing your optometric practice, your choice of words and the picture(s) you choose to use can make or break the campaign. Sounds like common sense, but unfortunately, most ODs freeze at the point of the creative process only to resort to the traditional selling points. The typical advertisement, whether in print, digital, or even audio/video tends to focus on the “what” and not the “why.” To the potential patient, this may be the ONLY point of differentiation when they are looking for a new “relationship.”

And therein lies the key. Marketing to the right patient should be based on the culture you have, or the one you seek to build. If your practice’s value proposition IS price-based (i.e., lowest price), your marketing strategy is built around that selling point. Key words such as affordable, sale, or simply listing some of your prices, can align your patients with your practice culture. Seems pretty simple. On the other hand, if your value proposition is based on something less tangible, such as patient experience, you have to be much more creative to get people to understand and buy-in. This is where words matter.

Let me elaborate by sharing what my brother, Ali, has learned while studying all things marketing for our healthcare startup, WeRx.org. The challenge in reaching people is finding an emotional hook. As I mentioned above, we often try to pitch our services or products (the “what”) while we should be finding ways to be more relevant to the lives of our patients. By understanding the needs of the population and attempting to solve their unmet needs, you will give them the “why.”

A good example in optometry would be marketing efficiency in order to serve busy moms and dads who bring their kids to you. What if your marketing centered on your lean schedule and your focus on respecting the patient’s time? What if the picture in the add showed an empty “waiting room” roped off with your staff whispering to a patient “We used to make patients wait…” You get the picture. Meet unmet needs, market your patient-centric approach, and find your marketing success.

What is your value proposition to patients, and how do you use that value proposition in your marketing campaigns?

Amir Khoshnevis, OD, founded Carolina Family Eye Care in 2003. He is a graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry and is a Vision Source Administrator. Dr. Khoshnevis serves as a Professional Development Consultant for Alcon and lectures nationally on practice management topics. He also serves as a national committee member for Optometry Giving Sight. To contact him: drk@carolinafamilyeyecare.com.

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