Dramatically increase patient throughput through 2024
Let’s dive into why transforming how you attract and nurture your patients could be your game-changer in 2024. Forget the old belief that just getting people through the door is your golden ticket. The real magic happens when you master the art of turning visitors into loyal advocates. We’re talking about a system that doesn’t just draw cold traffic but warms it up and converts it efficiently. ”We call this system for growth the “customer value journey”.
This year, make understanding and optimising the customer value journey your key to practice growth. As refractive surgeons, your goal extends beyond performing successful surgeries; we aim to guide patients through a transformative journey, leading them from initial awareness to becoming advocates for your practices.
Understanding the Customer Value Journey
The customer value journey is a comprehensive framework that maps out the stages a patient goes through in their interaction with your practice. This journey begins with the patient becoming aware of your services and culminates in them actively promoting your practice. Each stage of this journey offers unique opportunities for engagement and relationship building.
1. Aware
The journey starts with awareness. Prospective patients discover your practice through digital advertising, content you post, and referrals from patients and optometrists. At this stage, your marketing efforts should call out your target audience, include your value elements and call them to action.
2. Engage
Once aware, potential patients engage with your practice. This is where informative and entertaining written and video content, an active social media presence, and effective two-way messaging play a crucial role. Engagement is about building a relationship and establishing trust.
3. Subscribe
Encourage interested individuals to take your self-test, download your guides, or follow your social media channels. This stage involves capturing their contact information and making them warm leads with active follow-up, often in exchange for free preliminary assessments.
4. Convert
Conversion is where prospects become patients. Offer value-driven entry-point offers, such as free initial consultations. This stage is about providing enough value to encourage a small commitment.
5. Excite
The Excite stage is critical. Delivering exceptional care and service ensures patients feel they’ve made the right choice. This stage is about exceeding expectations and solidifying the patient’s belief in the value of your services.
6. Ascend
Satisfied patients are likely to consider additional or upgraded services. Offer them upgrades that complement their initial treatment. This stage is about deepening the relationship and increasing their lifetime value to your practice.
7. Advocate
Happy patients naturally share their positive experiences. Encourage them to leave reviews or share their stories online at this stage. These passive promotions are powerful testimonials for your practice.
8. Promote
The final stage involves turning advocates into active promoters. Implement referral programs or patient ambassador initiatives. This stage is about leveraging satisfied patients and optometrists to attract new ones.
Implementing the Journey in Your Practice
Implementing this journey means taking a strategic, patient-centric approach. Here’s how:
- Identify your Ideal Customer Avatar: Marketing to everyone is marketing to no one. Instead, get hyper-focused on the ideal customer you want to serve. Document it. Then, engineer every message and tactic to help that customer smoothly travel through the patient journey.
- Document Your Patient Journey: Understand your patients’ current path. Identify gaps and opportunities for improvement at each stage.
- Measure and Iterate: Continuously measure the effectiveness of your tools and tactics at each stage and make necessary adjustments.
- Develop Targeted Marketing Strategies: Tailor your marketing efforts to address each stage of the journey.
- Leverage Technology: Utilize CRM systems and marketing automation tools to streamline communications and track patient interactions.
- Train Your Team: Ensure your staff understands the importance of each stage and is equipped to provide exceptional patient experiences.
By embracing and optimizing the customer value journey, you’re not just boosting your practice’s growth; you’re committing to a level of patient care and satisfaction that sets you apart. This approach doesn’t just lead to higher revenue; it builds a community of supporters who believe in your work and actively spread the word.
Ready to make 2024 the year your practice not only grows but thrives? It all starts with a journey – one that values each patient’s experience as much as the outcomes of the surgeries you perform.
NOTE: The best way to answer that nagging question about practice growth or marketing or patient volume in the back of your mind is to book a free 15-minute compatibility call. Get some options and go away with a clear idea of what’s possible.
About the author
Rod Solar
Founder & Scalable Business Advisor / fCMO
Rod Solar is a co-founder of LiveseySolar and a Scalable Business Advisor for its customers. Rod mentors and coaches eye surgery business CEOs/Founders and their leadership teams to triple their sales, double their profit, and achieve their “ideal exit”.
Related Posts
Meet our Co-Founders
Rod Solar
Founder & Scalable Business Advisor
For over 20 years, I’ve helped ophthalmology entrepreneurs scale their private practices. I specialise in doubling revenue within three years by offering a proven framework, hands-on experience, and a team of experts who implement what works. We take the guesswork out of growth and scale, so you can focus on delivering exceptional patient care while maximising the value of your business.
LiveseySolar completely transformed the way we were approaching this… We’ve gone from having just the dream of having a practice to having a practice up and running with people making inquiries and booking for procedures… It’s extremely pleasing. We feel lucky we connected with LiveseySolar.
— Dr Matthew Russell, MBChB, FRANZCO, specialist ophthalmic surgeon and founder of VSON and OKKO
Laura Livesey
Founder & CEO
I’m the co-founder & CEO of LiveseySolar. I’ve developed powerful eye surgery marketing systems that increase patient volumes and profits for doctors, clinics, and hospitals, since 1997.
Rod and Laura know as much about marketing surgery to patients as I know about performing it. They are an expert in the field of laser eye surgery marketing. They know this industry inside out. I believe that they could help many companies in a variety of areas including marketing materials, sales training and marketing support for doctors.
— Prof. Dan Reinstein, MD MA FRSC DABO, founder of the London Vision Clinic, UK