Published in Administrative Eyecare - Sept/Oct 2014

1. 22 AE // Sept/Oct 14
I
f your cataract surgery marketing
focuses solely on the experience of
your surgeons and your latest cata-
ract technology, you are missing out
on a huge segment of the cataract
population in your area. It’s the
equivalent of trying to sell a retire-
ment home to a teenager. Teenagers will
completely tune out any message they
see or hear about retirement homes,
no matter how fancy they are or their
proximity to the golf course——even
though they will probably want one
in the future. It’s not relevant, it’s not
interesting, and it sets off no “hot
buttons” for them.
The same goes for cataract surgery
messages.
There are two types of cataract
patients:
1. People who know they have
cataracts.
2. People who have no idea they have
cataracts—or who don’t know
what cataracts are.
For your marketing to be success-
ful, you must market to each type of
patient differently.
HOW TO SPEAK TO THE
CATARACT-AWARE CROWD
The only people who know they have
cataracts are those who have been
diagnosed by an eye doctor with some
stage of cataract development. In most
cases, this means they already have an
eye doctor they trust to handle their
cataract surgery when the time comes.
Although your advertisement about
cataract surgery might attract their at-
tention, trying to convert these people
to choose your practice over their OD’s
recommendation will be more difficult.
If your practice has excellent
success rates or has invested in la-
ser-based cataract surgery technology,
market your stats and these technol-
ogies to the cataract patients already
patronizing your practice. Send these
messages to any new cataract leads
you receive through your website,
through free online tools (such as a
Cataract Self-Evaluation), and from
online reviews on social media sites
and other sources. These individuals
will be researching their options and
will be impressed with your technol-
ogies and success rates and they will
also be looking for information about
your doctor’s experience.
MESSAGES FOR THE 55+ CROWD
In contrast, you should target the
general 55 and older population—
those who aren’t yet aware they have
cataracts—with ads that talk more
generally about declining vision. It’s
safe to say that many of these individ-
uals have some degree of presbyopia.
They are probably already used to
purchasing reading glasses. But as
time goes on, their vision may get to
a point where reading glasses aren’t
enough. They may develop various
stages of cataracts, glaucoma, macular
degeneration, etc.
In most cases, these people will not
know what is causing their declining
vision. In fact, they may not even know
what the term “cataracts” really means!
To reach this much larger segment of
the population, focus your marketing
messages on the symptoms of presby-
opia and cataracts. Words like “reading
glasses,” “dull vision,” or “cloudy vision”
will strike a chord with people who are
experiencing these symptoms. Those
should be your lead-in words—the “hot
button” words to get their attention—
then you can introduce the terms
presbyopia and cataracts. The goal is
to educate these people on why their
vision might be going downhill and
get them to schedule an eye exam with
your practice.
Once you have educated these people
about cataracts, you can begin to im-
press them with your success rates, your
specific technologies, and more. You
want to become the trusted resource
for cataract information, so that they
choose your practice over the dozens of
others in your area.
SHOUT OUT THE RIGHT MESSAGE
When your practice invests a great
deal in revolutionary technologies, it’s
tempting to want to shout it to the
world. That’s not a bad thing to do,
but just make sure that you are actually
speaking words that potential patients
MARKETTOEACHTYPEOF
CATARACTPATIENTDIFFERENTLYCuinn Merrigan
RUNNING THE PRACTICE // MARKETING MINUTE
Think like a
patient when
you are
marketing to
the general
public.
“

2. 23www.asoa.org // AE
will understand and want to hear. You
need to continually step out of your
“knowledgeable health professional”
shoes and think like a patient when you
are marketing to the general public.
If you are itching to shout out your
technologies, share the information
with the ODs in your area. Other
doctors will be impressed with your
technologies, and they will be the ones
to recommend your practice to their
patients who need advanced eyecare.
You can actually increase your cataract
referrals if you have a solid OD rela-
tions plan in place.
The bottom line: Try a new approach
when marketing your cataract surgery.
You wouldn’t try to sell cataract surgery
to a teenager; don’t try to sell cataract
surgery technology to people who don’t
know about cataracts. Your advertising
dollars will go a lot further. AE
Cuinn Merrigan (cuinn@
fast-trackmarketing.com)
is director of market-
ing-client services at Fast
Track Marketing in
Broomfield, Colo.
INABLINK
• To get more cataract patients,
you must hit their “hot but-
tons” in your messaging.
• Advertise common symptoms
of declining vision to the
general 55+ population.
• Market your technologies
and stats to cataract patients
already patronizing your
practice.
* Covers a three year certification period
One-time practice setup fee: $400 | Individual applicant registration: $75*
Go to www.bsmcpss.com or call 866-220-3184 to register today!
• Provides development and certification for nonclinical employees
• Indicates a high level of competency and commitment to patients
• Offers a tangible employee benefit that supports staff retention
Certified Patient Service Specialist®
Program
* Covers a three year certification period
One-time practice setup fee: $400 | Individual applicant registration: $75*
Go to www.bsmcpss.com or call 866-220-3184 to register today!
• Provides development and certification for nonclinical employees
• Indicates a high level of competency and commitment to patients
• Offers a tangible employee benefit that supports staff retention
Certified Patient Service Specialist®
Program
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