Most prospective patients are unsure of or lack the confidence to move ahead when considering refractive surgery. This is a normal reaction for any surgery, especially with regard to one's eyes. As their potential surgeon, you must effectively help patients overcome this hurdle and take the next step. Although this may be challenging, it can?and must?be done.

A SHORT LOOK AT HISTORY
Let us take a brief look at history in an attempt to understand this concept. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, most companies were competing on a local or regional basis. Competition was quite fierce. Not only did the company claim that it was better than its competitors, it also told you the reasons why. In other words, the information that each company provided, via advertisements, gave the potential buyer the tools needed to facilitate the decision-making process. This is exactly what marketing is supposed to do. During this time, ads performed much of the sales function.

With the advent of TV, the era of brand building began, which allowed any company to reach a broad spectrum of individuals with a short message. The allotted time slot is only enough to build the brand, not to educate the consumer as to why the product/service is better than the competitors'. A lot of companies use a jingle or catchy phrase to make people remember their product, but this is really only effective with consumer products on the shelf. In these instances, when consumers see a brand on the shelf, they will remember the jingle. This, however, does not work well with refractive surgery, because it is not purchased like commodity products. Brand building becomes far too expensive for the return it will bring.

Today's economic scene has introduced a lot more competition. When brand building was in vogue, there were only a few companies from which to choose; however, now there are too many options to count. The list is constantly growing.

WHO HAS THE POWER AND WHAT IS THE CONFIDENCE GAP?
When brand-building marketing and advertising wa popular, the seller had the power. There were relatively few choices given to the buyer. If you wanted a Mercedes (Montvale, New Jersey), you went to the one and only Mercedes dealership. Now, the buyer has the power. There are abundant selections to choose from, and the more sophisticated buyer now has the Internet to help them research products quite easily.

In the past, a salesperson would simply contact the buyer, let them know about the product, and sell it to them. Now that the buyer has the power, the salesman has to overcome the confidence gap, which is created by the number of selections a buyer has plus the inability to distinguish any product/service from another.

Each refractive practice must bridge the confidence gap to have any hope of obtaining the prospective patient's business. First, the patient must come into the practice. Then, you can focus on selling them the procedure. Add to that the laws in certain countries limiting the marketing and advertising of any medical procedures, and one has a pretty formidable gap to overcome.

YOUR INSIDE REALITY
Each practice has what is called an inside reality. This is what you created for the patient to experience once inside your practice. It includes (1) how the patient is treated from the moment he arrives to the end of the procedure, (2) how you deal with any fears that the new patient may have, (3) the LASIK equipment that the practice uses and why it was chosen, (4) your credentials and recognitions as a doctor, (5) success stories from other patients, and (6) your staff.

THEIR PERCEPTION, YOUR BARRIER
The patient's view of your practice is one of your major barriers. Before they come to see you, they have only two ways to learn about you: referrals from past patients or marketing and advertising. Referrals are ideal, because they carry a lot of weight with the prospective patient, but your advertising message should also enable them to differentiate yours from another practice. If it does not, then the only way to choose the practice is to base the decision on price. We are not going to address pricing in this article. However, you need to look at how you are actually communicating who and what you are as well as finding out if you look like every other practice through your marketing message.

HOW DO YOU GAIN THEIR CONFIDENCE?
Confidence is achieved through education. You have heard this before from me. You have the basis from which to start, and herein are some steps you can take.

1. Write down what makes your practice different from any of your competitors. Use what has been mentioned earlier in this article and any other ideas you can think of. Keep in mind that a recent survey of LASIK surgeons showed that more than 80% named the same three points as their main attributes: experience, treatment by the staff, and technology.
2. Assume the patient's point of view. What are they looking for, and what are their concerns and barriers?
3. Ask several of your new patients the following questions. The more patients asked the better: (1) What were your main concerns before coming in for this procedure? (2) What would stop you from moving forward? (3) What types of information would help you in making the decision? You are looking for what types/kinds of information help them in making a decision about this procedure.
4. Put the lists from steps two and three together. List them in priority answered. For example, if an answer came up multiple times compared with another, give the most answered response the higher priority.
5. Compare this collated list to your list in step one.
6. Write out the different ways to communicate what tools you have in your practice to address their fears, concerns, needs, and wants.
7. Write a list of how you could communicate this information to the patient (eg, brochure, free report, audio-visual aid). Make sure these marketing pieces use what is being communicated as criteria for evaluation of other practices, and tell whomever is reading it to use what you say as the criteria.

These educational pieces should be able to be used in any country if written to conform with any local laws or requirements. As I have said, part of your task is to instill confidence in each patient, of not only the procedure but also you as a surgeon. Show the potential patient how to evaluate any practice or surgeon that they are considering, and steer them to have confidence in you?and only you. This approach will help you expand your practice exponentially.

Doug Sims is the President of Fast Track Marketing, a marketing company specializing in LASIK and refractive surgery marketing and advertising. Mr. Sims may be reached at doug@fast-trackmarketing.com; www.fast-trackmarketing.com.