With the oldest millennials reaching age 36, some practices have been at work capturing patients of this generation for some time. However, many practices have not actively pursued potential LASIK patients in this demographic … yet. Here, experts provide tips on how to turn this influential generation’s spending power and vision goals into long-term practice growth.

The Millennial Patient Base

Clarity Refractive Services, a full-service eyecare practice and TLC Laser Eye Center location in West Orange, N.J., is a popular choice for millennials who want LASIK. Knowing that the impact of millennials is being felt across the healthcare and retail worlds, Clarity’s Clinical Director Shanda P. Ross, OD, and Practice Administrator Keisha M. Reedus did in-depth research on this demographic. By putting their knowledge into strategic action, they have molded clarity into a model for attracting new millennial patients.

“The millennial generation is expected to spend more than $200 billion annually in 2017, and close to $10 trillion in their lifetime. Therefore, millennials are critical to the future success of our business,” says Dr. Ross. “The more we understand what attracts millennials to a practice, the better equipped we are to engage and capture them. Today, about 75% of our patients fall into the millennial generation, in part because of our successful efforts to learn about these patients and get them into the practice.”

Another model millennial practice is Gordon Schanzlin New Vision Institute, a TLC Laser Eye Center in San Diego. Administrator Cathi Lyons assures her peers that the steps required to attract millennials often come naturally.

“We have employees and doctors of various ages, so we don’t have any problem relating or appealing to all ages. We talk as a group about how millennials and individuals in other generations like to be listened to and addressed,” Lyons says. “Millennials are a lot of fun to work with, and we enjoy having them in the office.”

Janelle Hartmann, a public relations and marketing director at Filutowski Cataract & LASIK Institute in Lake Mary, FL, say her practice is seeing more millennials getting LASIK now compared with just a few years ago. Hartmann has been struck by how they find their way to the procedure.

“They’re not compulsive buyers; online research and communication with friends carry a lot of weight in their decision-making process,” says Hartmann. “More than our other patients, a millennial’s choice to have LASIK is strongly influenced by both online reviews and the experiences of friends and peers. The decision process has altered our approach to both physician review sites and social media.”

CARECREDIT RESOURCES

The majority (81%) of Millennial consumers say they use web searches for healthcare information. CareCredit offers an Advertising Toolkit with a wealth of resources to help you attract and interact with patients online.

The CareCredit Social Media Toolkit helps you quickly engage in the online conversation.

• Click and share. Choose from a reserve of prewritten posts and tweets about LASIK and financing can help you give key info patients want. With the touch of a button, instantly “share” these posts on your practice Facebook page and Twitter feed. It’s almost effortless.

The CareCredit Advertising Toolkit has web resources to help remove the cost barrier during online search.

• Banners and Buttons. Available in a variety of colors and sizes to complement any website, these can easily be added to your website to let patients know financing is available.
• Easy access. Patients can apply for CareCredit directly from your website, and come with a way to fit LASIK into their budget.**

The CareCredit Payment Calculator lets patients instantly see how budget-friendly LASIK can be.

• Share online. Add the calculator to your practice website to make it easy for potential patients to estimate monthly payments.
• Share in-office. Use in your fee discussions to quickly show how CareCredit financing options can make LASIK affordable.

Source: Generational Health and Well Being Research, 2016, Conducted by Chadwick Martin Bailey on behalf of CareCredit.

**Subject to credit approval

The Younger LASIK Demographic

Currently, most refractive surgery patients are millennials.¹ Lyons has watched the transition to younger LASIK patients with interest.

“A lot of millennials grew up seeing their parents have laser vision correction,” says Lyons. “Some millennial patients come in for a consult as if they’re checking it off a list of things to do as an adult. It seems almost like a right of passage to find out if they are candidates. Once we have their attention, we educate them about the benefits of moving forward with the procedure.”

Lyons says that unlike previous generations who wanted LASIK primarily to get rid of their glasses, millennials feel they’re taking this step to improve themselves as people. Her practice appeals to millennials in these terms, emphasizing how LASIK can free them from contacts and glasses that get in the way of active lifestyles. Lyons and her colleagues also find that millennials have reasonable expectations for LASIK because they’ve heard about the procedure from friends through social media channels.

Dr. Ross points out that because most millennials are young, healthy individuals free of preexisting ocular conditions, a high percentage of them are good candidates for laser vision correction.

MILLENNIALS & LASIK

Want to learn more about how to grow your LASIK business? Shanda P. Ross, OD, and Keisha M. Reedus of Clarity Refractive Services, a full-service eyecare practice and TLC Laser Eye Center location in West Orange, NJ, provide tips for attracting this key demographic in the webinar, “Part 1: Millennials & LASIK,” available on-demand at www.ophthalmologymanagement.com/webinars/part-1-millennials-lasik .

“Millennials are also open to newer technologies, so the idea of laser vision correction doesn’t scare them off,” she says. “And, because they’re the ‘experience generation,’ sharing experiences through social media, they learn from other people’s LASIK procedures and share their own LASIK experiences after surgery.”

Clarity’s Reedus and Dr. Ross recently presented on the subject of LASIK for millennials (See “Millennials & LASIK”sidebar for more details). According to these knowledgeable sources, LASIK is a lifestyle makeover for millennials who crave flexibility in their daily lives and activities, and want to look good in a selfie. They believe new technology makes life easier, including medical technology, such as laser vision correction. Reedus and Dr. Ross deftly appeal to these values with images that highlight the post-LASIK experience — not just shedding eyeglasses, but “experiencing life after LASIK.”

A Practice for the “Experience Generation”

To create the kind of experience that millennials value, it helps to know more about their healthcare preferences. Millennials have a very participatory approach to care, researching their symptoms, health problems, and options before they see a doctor, so they’re well educated about their own health.² They have been raised to feel comfortable taking charge of their own health and engaging new people as equals, so they’re more open to a collaborative discussion versus a one-sided lecture from the doctor. However, millennials may have a hard time turning information into a decision, so they seek guidance and advice.³

“Millennials are looking for genuine connections, not salesmanship. They want to be educated, walked through the process, and spoken to as individuals. They also want us to learn about their activities, work, and visual needs, so we can discuss how LASIK will improve these activities without glasses,” says Cathi Lyons.

At Clarity Refractive Services, Reedus and her colleagues strive to create a “memorable patient journey” with the knowledge that millennials enjoy building memorable experiences, which they consider to be financially worthwhile.

“We focus on developing a relationship based on authenticity, reliability, and transparency. Patients can watch behind-the-scenes videos on our Facebook page. Our staff begins establishing a rapport via email or text before the patient’s first visit to the practice. In the practice, the experience highlights LASIK as a lifestyle makeover, with staff and physicians committed to creating a welcoming, positive atmosphere,” Reedus explains. “Past patients rave about their experiences at our practice on social media, creating what is called ‘social proof.’ The best type of social proof is the testimonial.”

When planning a memorable experience for millennial patients, one smart step is to move them swiftly from check-in to the doctor or technician. Waiting is a big turnoff for millennials, and they’re much more likely than other age groups to switch doctors when dissatisfied. In fact, about one-third of millennials say doctors make them wait too long.⁴ Some experts recommend online check-in and history and other tools to streamline the office visit and ensure millennials have a positive experience.²

Easy, Attractive Financing Options

Many patients may be unwilling to put cash on hand toward an elective procedure, such as LASIK. Millennials comparison shop for good healthcare prices, and 41% surveyed put off care they need because of cost. Some 60% of millennials surveyed who are dissatisfied with their health care say cost is a major reason, and it is the most common reason millennials change doctors.⁴ In addition, according to the CareCredit’s Path to Purchase Research, 50% of cardholders surveyed found affordability an important consideration when choosing a provider.⁵

“In my experience, if we weren’t offering [financing options], we would be losing patients who may be comfortable with monthly payments. Most of our millennial patients opt to finance LASIK instead of paying with cash or a credit card. LASIK is retail, and it makes sense to take CareCredit’s retail approach to payment,” says Hartmann. “Millennials have so much student debt, which they have incorporated into a monthly budget. If a patient can fit the cost of LASIK into their monthly budget, then they typically will move forward with the procedure.”

COMPARING LASIK COSTS

Your patient’s LASIK financing comes out to $89 per month. An active lifestyle free of glasses or contact lenses cost about the same as:

• A pair of mid-priced running sneakers
• Drinking venti café mochas on the way to work
• A gym membership
• One good dinner for two

Hartmann adds that it helps to give patients who have other financial responsibilities an off-the-shelf solution that clearly lays out a path to repayment.

Lyons also finds that many patients are interested in a monthly breakdown of financing options, but she breaks down the cost of LASIK into even smaller, more digestible pieces.

“We compare the cost to a fancy dinner,” Lyons explains. “When patients weigh that relatable cost to the improvements to their active everyday lives, the value of LASIK is clear.”

Multiply Your Investment

A funny thing always happens when we start analyzing what people want. At some point, we have to ask, “Don’t we all want that?” The answer is “Yes, we do.”

“Millennial Strategies” have broad appeal. A patient of any age would prefer to find you easily online, have a short wait time, feel understood and listened to, and have easy financial options presented clearly. So, while you’re spending time chasing one generation, you’re actually increasing your appeal to all of them.

Perhaps one more reason to embrace the millennial generation is that in catering to their preferences, businesses are moving everyone toward a better experience. •

REFERENCES

1. U.S. Optical Overview and Outlook. The Vision Research Council. December 2015. Accessed online April 4, 2017: https://www.thevisioncouncil.org/sites/default/files/Q415-Topline-Overview-Presentation-Stats-with-Notes-FINAL.PDF
2. Koren D. What Millennials Want When It Comes To Healthcare. MediaPost. December 23, 2016. Accessed online April 4, 2017: https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/291796/what-millennials-want-when-it-comes-to-healthcare.html
3. O’Connor Vos L. What Healthcare Gets Wrong About Millennials. Fortune. Dec 16, 2016. Accessed online April 4, 2017: http://fortune.com/2016/12/16/healthcare-millennials/
4. Health Industry Distributors Association. 2016 Horizon Report: Patient Satisfaction, How Medical Products Improve Consumer Experience. September 2016.
5. CareCredit; Rothstein Tauber, Inc. CareCredit Path to Purchase Research. 2016.