DEFERRED PAYMENTS ARE growing in popularity. As they provide some patients with needed financial flexibility, deferred payments can be extremely important to your patient acquisition and marketing strategy.
Offering deferred payments to patients is one of the best ways to provide the eyecare and eyewear they require, even if they can’t afford it all at once. Your optometry practice may already be offering these types of payments, but have you thought about building marketing campaigns around the offering?
Communicating your deferred payments system just may be the unique marketing approach your practice needs.
Why Deferred Payments?
Deferred payments benefit both parties. The patient benefits by receiving a flexible payment schedule to purchase products or services they normally couldn’t afford. As a practice, you have the opportunity to offer patients higher priced products or services.
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Attracting New Patients
Eyecare is an essential service that shouldn’t be overlooked. However, with many Americans living paycheck to paycheck, it sadly is. It is likely many of your prospective patients understand the importance of correcting and protecting their eyes — but think they can’t afford it.
This is an opportunity for your practice to get new patients in the door. Deferred payments can help those that believe eye exams or designer eyewear are not in their budget. It is up to your practice and your marketing to communicate this message.
Building Your Strategy
When your practice was developing a marketing strategy, it is likely you thought about who you are, what makes you special, and who you want to serve. These questions are a great place to start.
However, it is that last question that is the most important. Messaging about what makes your practice special — like offering IPL or vision therapy — is nearly useless if the prospective patients don’t think they can afford it. Both of these examples are fairly expensive but become manageable with deferred payments.
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Marketing with Empathy
Empathy is one of the strongest tools marketers have. Deferred payments are an excellent opportunity for your practice to showcase its concern for your patients.
It’s one thing to say “our practice cares deeply about eyecare.” It’s another to say “Our practice offers deferred payments so you can get the treatment and care you need.” Providing the reader with a clear example removes any doubt. Even if your practice does understand who your audience is, this understanding needs to be communicated in your marketing. Patients feel more connected to communications that speak directly to them.
Rethink Your Marketing
There is always more your practice could be doing and always an opportunity to rethink your strategy. Using deferred payments as a marketing strategy is your opportunity to try something new.
Your’re in the business of serving people. Expand your marketing beyond how you meet their eyecare needs to include how you’re addressing their financial ones too.