| The Williams Way e-newsletter,
published by Williams Group™, is a free resource to
members of the optometric community. You don't have to be
a client to receive these valuable insights on the optometric
market. If you received this from a friend, visit
our website to join our distribution list. You can also
email this to your colleagues.
Part one of a three part look at optometric advertising
You've heard it before..."The only people attracted
by advertising are price-conscious. They are not the kind
of patients I want in my practice." This is a school
of thought among some of today's professionals, but is it
really the case?
Before we answer this question, lets get
a working definition of this often misunderstood term. Advertising
is paid communication
with intent of attracting potential customers or patients
to your services and/or products. Not good communication;
not bad communication. Just communication.
Next, the reasons - good or bad - professionals advertise.
An inventory of these follow:
- We believe people will benefit
from our services and/or products.
- We consider our services
and/or products better in some way(s) than those of our
competitors.
- We are competing for a given
market with others offering similar services
and/or products.
- There is a percentage of the population unaware of our
existence at any given time.
- We desire new patients
and practice growth.
You can relate, right? Great. Now
lets look at what professionals advertise,
or "marketing niches" various providers occupy, and their consequent
advertising appeals. Basically, there are four:
- Low price
- Speed
- Quality and thoroughness
- Product fashion
We're seeing marketing focus individually
on these niches, and we're seeing combinations as well. For
example, some
providers offer one-hour service and
high product
quality. Others concentrate on fashion and price (often in the form of "two
for one"). The degree of success in these combination cases varies.
Now
we have an understanding of what advertising is, why professionals advertise
and what they advertise. Now let's get into advertising appeals and who they
attract. We'll use three advertising media for purposes of our discussion
-- yellow pages, newspaper and radio.
The Price Niche
Let's say we
sell a single vision eyewear package, with exam, for $29.99
complete (heaven forbid!). We take out a quarter
page yellow page ad, most of which focuses on our low price
($29.99). Over a six month period, we run a series of ads
in the local newspaper, all of which focus on low price.
We air similar radio spots. All the while, we're surveying
each of our new patients.
At the end of the six month period,
who have we attracted? Correct. The price-conscious consumer.
So far, the Price
Theory is sound.
The Speed Niche
Now, let's change
direction. We take out the same size yellow page ad; this
time the focus is on one-hour service. We run
the same series of newspaper ads, again substituting the
price appeal with one-hour service. Following suit, we air
the radio spots.
Now who have we attracted after six months?
The price-conscious consumer? If so, hold your ears when
she sees the bill! (Those
fast places don't work cheap.) On the contrary, we've attracted
the convenience-oriented consumer --you know, the one who
pays to have the car washed, buys microwave gourmet dinners,
eats out three nights a week and wears contact lenses you
throw away. The Price Theory cracks.
The Quality/Thoroughness
Niche
We mustn't forget the quality niche. Again, we
take out the yellow page ad. This time, it deals with thorough
vision
and eye health testing, various eyecare specialties and quality
products carrying extensive warranties. The six months of
newspaper and radio ads follow suit. They educate consumers
as to actual and real differences between "supermarket" eyecare
and the kind of care provided in our establishment.
Who have
we attracted this time? The price-conscious consumer? Hardly!
We've attracted the quality-oriented consumer, or
the person concerned with health issues of eyecare as well
as seeing an eye chart. The Price Theory crumbles.
The conclusion?
To say that advertising attracts only price-conscious consumers
is absolutely incorrect and has been proven to
be so time and time again. To think that such a generality
could hold amid an ever-smarter consuming population is not
only outdated, but absurd. It is an "easy out" to
avoid confronting a challenging issue. The fact is, different
consumer types are attracted to different advertising appeals,
and your appeal, as well as your placement strategy, determines
the "type" of patient you attract.
Case in point.
Dr. James Devine is a successful, independent optometrist
in Lincoln, Nebraska. His practice, among the
largest in the state, is geographically positioned among
twenty-plus competitors within a short geographic radius.
The practice continues to grow and thrive
amidst this competition. Jim is in his "golden years" of
optometry.
"Patient profile" research reveals Jim's typical
patient to be "up-scale," with higher than average
income, white collar employment, kids, hobbies and "information
age" health
care concerns. Jim's patients perceive his practice as state-of-the-art
and heavily quality-oriented. They are willing to pay for
these conditions because they value them.
Why is this so?
Good doctor? Winning staff? Strong referrals? Effective
management? Aggressive internal marketing? Community
involvement? Active practice publicity? Advertising?
The
fact is, Jim's practice whole is greater than the sum of
its parts. Each of these elements contributes. Educational
advertising is as important to continued growth as any
part of the practice. Because Jim advertises, do you
think his
patients are price-oriented? Hardly!
This is not to say
Jim's patients do not consider price in their consumption
decisions. The fact is most everyone
does
(yourself for example). But they are attracted
by health and quality appeals, not price. Therefore, advertising
does not mention price, two for ones or even one-hour
service. It educates consumers on eye health issues
and product
quality
differences and is strategically placed in vehicles
which target desired patient types.
Who responds to this
advertising? Lawyers, professors, accountants, bankers,
secretaries, farmers, business
executives, parents,
grandparents...you get the point.
Ethics you say?
Consider this argument. It is not possible for advertising
to be ethical or unethical. It is simply
a means of communicating with the public. The ethical
issue lies in the message conveyed by advertising
and how the
advertiser chooses to convey it.
Next month, part two of our three part series will focus
on advertising vs. consumer education.
Mark
your calendars because this is your opportunity to make
2006 the year you
break all your practice's records while having more time
for the good life.
It's very rare for Williams Group™ to take their executive
training outside Lincoln and especially outside the U.S.
If you're located in the northeast, southeast or have always
wanted to
visit
the beautiful
cities
of Toronto or Atlanta,
now's your chance.
Take advantage of this great opportunity
and call us today at 800.676.9076.
|
