Internal LASIK Marketing with a Mayan Touch
A dude ranch provides a lesson in delighting patients and creating referrals.
By Michael W. Malley

The Mayan Dude Ranch sits on a gentle bend in the clear waters of the Medina River in West Texas. It's owned by a family of Hicks . . . literally. On the surface, it has about as much in common with internal LASIK marketing as Ellie Mae and Jethro had with their chic neighbors in Beverly Hills.

But a closer inspection of this family-operated vacation spot reveals that these West Texas Hicks know more about customer service, client retention, internal marketing and product development than many of today's successful LASIK practitioners. They've also mastered the art of maintaining the highest possible fees for their services, something every ophthalmic practice should learn to emulate.

A 1-week stay at the Mayan Ranch for a family of four will set you back about the same amount as a bilateral LASIK procedure. And guess what? During one of the biggest economic downturns in recent history, the Mayan Dude Ranch enjoyed a record-setting summer, as the owners also celebrated their 50th year of operating the business. Not bad for a bunch of Hicks.

You'd never know it, but much like a busy LASIK practice, every week's routine at the ranch is exactly the same for the Hicks family. They rise each morning at the same time to bring coffee and juice to your cabin. They ride the same worn-out horse trails every day, sing the same cowboy songs at dinner and conduct the same silly games for kids all day long. And they romp around in complete western garb in 100-degree heat from dawn to dusk. But guests never hear the family argue or complain. And their motto for children and adults alike is simply, "Don't cry." You'll never hear a discouraging word at the Mayan Ranch.

As expected, a high percentage of the Mayan Ranch business is referral, and the repeat business is phenomenal. Our most recent visit to the ranch was on the very last weekend of a hectic summer schedule. Expecting a less than enthusiastic welcome, we were treated as if we were at a grand opening. And we departed not only with fond memories, but with plenty of promotional packets for our friends and family members.

Success starts with service

What an experience at the Mayan Ranch has to do with effective internal LASIK marketing is this: LASIK is a highly repetitive, staff-dependent business that requires an extraordinary level of customer service and quality care. During difficult times, it's easy for staff to become complacent with their repetitive tasks and apathetic toward patients. However, with the right attitude, a keen focus, a dedicated staff and a true commitment to internal marketing strategy, you can achieve LASIK success regardless of economic conditions.

You won't find world-class cowboys at the Mayan Ranch. Or thoroughbred horses for that matter. They don't need them. That's because their staff makes up for it with world-class service. And the same can be said of your practice. Practices that spend most of their time and money touting the experience of their world-class surgeon need to realize that in the end, it's the performance of the staff that makes LASIK a memorable or miserable experience.

Therefore, the first step in developing an effective internal marketing strategy is to commit to hiring the right staff. Then allow them the time to do their job. That's where most practices fail. They fail to allow their techs ample time to fully address patients' concerns. They fail to give their LASIK coordinators proper time or training to conduct thorough follow-up and research with LASIK patients. In essence, they simply fail to understand the importance of relationship-building and how it correlates to increased patient referrals. In today's competitive marketplace, it takes more than great results. It takes a huge effort by an equally great staff.

Once the proper staffing is in place, (including bringing on an absolute hired-gun LASIK counselor), you must assign ownership of specific tasks. Without ownership, staff members can't be held accountable for their performance. Designate who will own the task of ensuring that every LASIK patient in the database is properly tracked through the system and converted from "Initial Inquiry" to "Complete Eval" to "Scheduled Surgery" to "Post-Op LASIK Patient." As simple as this task sounds, most practices admit they don't have the time or the computer capability to continuously track all of their refractive surgery patients and candidates.

Ask yourself:

• Who'll be responsible for ensuring the correct letter or note is sent to every referring patient of the practice?
• Who'll ensure that every referring LASIK patient visiting the practice is acknowledged by the doctor during his visit?
• Which staff member will be assigned to discuss your patient referral program with every postoperative LASIK patient?
• Who accepts the responsibility of tracking leads each month and reporting this information to the management team biweekly?

It's clear that for any internal campaign to be effective, there's a ton of ownership that must be assigned to staff members who can then be held accountable for doing their jobs correctly.

Take the initial steps

Effective internal marketing is blue-collar stuff all the way. There's no pixie dust or magic formula to help transform your practice. But there are some proven and effective measures you can take to help turn your practice into a referring machine. The first step is to simply establish a referral program. Get input from you staff on exactly how to implement it, including who will take responsibility for each aspect of the program, and then put it in writing. Then do the following:

Have a brochure. Create an inexpensive brochure that illustrates why you cherish referrals and how you've made the referral process a major initiative at your center. Without a referral brochure that you can give to your patients, you don't have a referral program, you just have someone asking for referrals.

Show your appreciation. Reward every LASIK patient with a gift. Get creative and keep your spending under $15 per patient. (The average cost per surgical lead through external advertising is $200, so $15 is really a bargain.) Popular gifts now include donations to favorite charities, free passes to IMAX theatres, car washes or upcoming museum exhibits. Deliveries of gift baskets to offices have a major WOW factor on patients and their co-workers as well. Something is always better than nothing. As mundane as it sounds, 100% cotton T-shirts and caps are still popular in the summer months. Don't forget, these patients have just made a major investment with your practice and could have gone anywhere.

Reward staff efforts. Establish a referral protocol for the staff and conduct monthly staff meetings to recognize individuals who have referred friends or family members that month. Time off is always a welcome way of acknowledging their efforts.

Always follow up. Develop a follow-up strategy for virtually every step in the LASIK process. Put it in writing and assign ownership. Send a "thank you" letter to every new patient. Send a follow-up letter after each initial visit. Invite input and direct patients to the next step. Establish follow-up protocol for all post-op LASIK patients. Thank them for choosing your practice. Thank them for their future referrals. Remind them of the gift they have just received.

Make the most of e-mail. One of the newest and most effective methods of internal marketing is through e-mail. Patients are accustomed to being asked for their e-mail address. Web sites are now designed to allow patients to fill out and download all forms that are required at the practice. This is a major value-added time-saver for today's busy patients. Use e-mail to confirm patient schedules. Use e-mail to announce new technology or upcoming seminars. Use e-mail to notify patients of your referral program and how it can benefit them and their friends. Assign a staff member to own and operate the
e-mail portion of your practice.

Turn patients into recruiters. Don't stop the music. Keep in touch and in tune with your patients. Make an effort to remind them how far they've come with their vision and what LASIK has allowed them to achieve. Turn them into walking advertisements for your practice. Ask them to remain active in the practice by serving as "contact persons" for patients considering LASIK, and by having their photographs and stories included on your Web site. Include their pictures on your LASIK "Wall of Fame."

Make LASIK seem more affordable. Now is NOT the time to be lowering your fees for LASIK. There's been enough self-inflicted damage to our industry. But you can make LASIK "seem" more affordable by providing patients with the absolute best payment plans you can find. Seek a finance company that will offer your patients 0% interest, no down payment and/or low monthly payments. Make sure the online application is simple and the finance company's processing fees are in line. Once your plan is in place, name it to give it legitimacy. Promote the new name and the new plan. The pubic welcomes new products and announcements.

If success were easy, you know where everyone would be. But success takes effort in the least likely of places: behind the scenes, before and after the performance. Successful LASIK practices have a tendency to take on what I call the "Grizzly Adams Syndrome." They track everything. They know what patients like. They know their dislikes. And they know how and where to find new patients at different times of the year.

Internal marketing involves little more than taking care of those who take care of you. It's an age-old adage that still works today. And regardless of how difficult or challenging this task may seem, we can all learn a thing or two from the simplicity of the Hicks family motto: "Don't Cry."

Michael Malley is president of the Centre for Refractive Marketing, an ophthalmic consulting firm and advertising agency based in Houston. He can be reached at (713) 839-0202, or by e-mail at mike@refractivemarketing.com.