Category

Consulting

May 08
0

Three Things You Should Know About Generation Z

By | Consulting, Graphic Design, Marketing | No Comments

Generation Z is quickly rising in financial, cultural and social power in the U.S. and more and more companies are starting to shift their marketing to gear towards this new generation. By 2020, 40% of all consumers will be Generation Z. This generation represents 23 million Americans (ages 13-24) with a combined buying power of $43 billion and an additional influence on family spending to a tune of $600 billion.

If you focus on the following three things you need to know about Generation Z you will better understand and effectively target this major group of new LASIK patients.

  1. Where to find Gen Z.
    This demographic of LASIK patients was born into a digitally dominated world. An alarming 72% of Gen Z display symptoms of emotional distress when they are separated from their electronic devices. Most of them are actively connected within only an hour of waking up in the morning. The most common sites you can find them on are Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, SoundCloud, Spotify, Musical.ly, Triller, We Heart It, and Tumblr.
  2. Gen Z are more cautious than Millennials.
    If we really think about it Gen Z have grown up witnessing Millennials lose their jobs, move back in with their parents and not be able to own a home or even their own car. This explains why Gen Z is more focused on building a plan for success. They are realistic, practical and more focused than their older siblings.
  3. Video rules their lives.
    Gen Z now turns to how-to videos on YouTube, instead of reading tutorials. This platform simplifies articles, is more engaging and more in-depth. In fact, 93% of Gen Z visits YouTube at least once a week and 33% of them watch lessons online.

Gen Z is still young and a little contradictory. They will go to extremes to stage the perfect selfie or Snapchat, and yet demand brands to be authentic. They want the most exclusive products… however they look for them to be broadly available. Just remember, Gen Z is still young and very impressionable. Beginning to understand them now will set your practice up to successfully target this new generation of LASIK patients.

 

 

May 05
0

Eyemax at ASCRS/ASOA 2017

By | Consulting, Marketing | No Comments

Will you be attending ASCRS/ASOA 2017? Make sure you stop by booth #954 to meet our experts & check out our booth talks & courses. If you are looking to get your practice on track, our ASCRS/ASOA 2017 events may be just what the Doctor ordered!

We will also be offering private consultations for ASCRS/ASOA 2017. We will review your current marketing strategy and provide our recommendations to help you reach your goals. Schedule your private marketing check up here: http://ow.ly/C4xv30aV88u

ASCRS Booth Talks:

OptiRev
Meet our experts and learn how to increase your conversions and surgery volume. Get your practice on the right financial course with OptiRev – Power Up Net Profit! Saturday, May 6th @ 2:00 pm and Sunday, May 7th @ 11:00 am & 3:30 pm, located at Booth 954. RSVP Now: http://ow.ly/XaEI30b7L1m

Your Presbyopic Strategy
Are you considering introducing Raindrop® or KAMRA™ into your growing practice? Learn the secrets from the experts on this growing trend with Your Presbyopic Solution Strategy. Visit us at Booth 954 on Saturday, May 6th @ 10:30 am or Sunday, May 7th @ 2:00 pm. RSVP Now: http://ow.ly/XaEI30b7L1m

ASOA Courses:

ASOA Course 8 Habits
Come see Senior Practice Consultant, Lisa Chmura & Account Manager, Kelsey Vaughan present: Eight Habits of Highly Effective Practices. This ASOA Course will be located in Meeting Room Level 504 on Sunday, May 7th at 9:15 a.m.

ASOA Course Consultants on Call
You don’t want to miss COO / Director of Marketing, Megan Mestas present Consultants on Call at ASCRS/ASOA 2017. This ASOA Course will be located in the ASOA Networking Lounge on Sunday, May 7th at 3 p.m.

We look forward to meeting you at ASCRS/ASOA 2017 this year! Don’t forget to stop by Booth #954 to meet our experts & find out how Eyemax can help your practice reach it’s full potential!

 

Apr 05
0
Spring Cleaning

Spring Cleaning: Keep Your Brand Fresh & Modern

By | Consulting, Graphic Design, Marketing, Social Media | No Comments

The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming, you know what that means… it’s time for spring cleaning. Your business may be doing amazing, but it’s never a bad idea to take a look internally and make sure your company is up to date and attracting new leads.

Trends are ever changing and you want your company to keep a modern look and feel. Here are a few quick things to check out, to make sure your brand is looking good and running smoothly.

Social Media

Keeping up to date with social media platforms is a great way to keep your company relevant and draw in potential business. Almost everyone has some sort of social media presence these days, so it’s always a good idea to stay current and on top of what people are drawn to. The best thing you can do is make sure your social media profiles come off as personal and human. One of the biggest errors brands make, is keeping their social media presence too corporate. This comes off to people as very dull and uninteresting. Make sure you add in human elements, such as celebrating birthdays and anniversaries or getting involved in the community. You want your social media platforms to have value and give your followers a reason to view and share your posts.

Photography Trends

It’s also extremely important to stay on top of the latest photography trends. Brands can no longer get away with using ANY type of stock imagery, your audience wants images that are engaging and interesting. In our society almost everyone has a camera within close reach, in their purse, briefcase or pocket. With the standards in smart phone cameras increasing, there is a much higher criteria for great photography by amateurs as well as professionals. Anyone can snap a photo of group of people smiling, but not everyone has the ability to capture the raw emotion of what you really want to portray. People are drawn to candid images, full of spontaneity, movement and raw emotion. These images are more relatable and capture a moment that your audience can relate to. Make sure the imagery you are using throughout your business reflects these things.

Brand Colors

Another great way to clean up your brand is by freshening up your brand color palette. It doesn’t have to be a huge make over; it can be just as easy as brightening up your color palette or even just adding another accent color to give it a little something extra. Either way it’s always a good idea to make sure your color palette is modern. This year, bright, organic colors are all the rage. People are drawn to things that have a naturalistic/organic feeling to them.

These are just some of the little things you can keep in mind to make sure your company is still moving forward and staying ahead of the curve. Comment below and let us know how you are spring cleaning your brand this year!

Mar 22
0
Converting to More

Converting to More: The Importance of Lead Capture

By | Consulting | No Comments

In our business, we are all looking for “more”; more volume, more qualified patients, more leads. Often, we spend “more” money to chase this need, only to find nothing but “more” problems. So what’s the secret? Well it might be closer than we thought.

 The Need

  • Each call represents value. The ringing phone is a golden opportunity! Every incoming call represents potential revenue and cost valuable dollars to produce.  So, it’s critical that we capture demographic info from each and every call, regardless of whether or not they schedule a consult.
  • Leads are 100x more valuable… than any name you can purchase on a list!
  • Capture the basics with every call. Get EVERY callers’ basic demographics – name, email address, address, phone number, referral source – so that they can be input into a prospect database and followed up with accordingly.  Having elective surgery is a big decision, and patients will often schedule a consult days, weeks, even years after the initial phone call.  Keep your practice at the top of their mind by sending follow up material.

Ways to Utilize Captured Information

  1. Create a relationship – After you captured their name at the beginning of the call, use it! Say their name a few times throughout the conversation and they will know they are important to you!
  1. Build a database of qualified leads – With this list you know a.) Their vision concerns b.) Are interested in elective/corrective vision surgery and c.) Already are aware of your practice.
  1. Analyze patient demographics – The more information you can gather about potential patients, the more effective your external and internal marketing efforts can be. It can also show where qualified and less qualified leads are originating.
  1. Bonding and closing tool in the consult – Use all of the information you captured on the phone, in the consultation. Review the information and prepare yourself before the consult starts. Was the person afraid? Were they worried about affordability? Do they live farther away?

HOW TO CAPTURE INFO

  • Capture the basics at the beginning. If you wait until the end of a call to ask for basic demographic information, a caller who is not scheduling a consult will typically be reluctant to give information. However, when asked for their information at the beginning of a call it seems routine.
  • Have a set script of things to ask for. Know what you need to ask for and ask it the same way with every caller. This confidence conveys it as something that is customary or required.
  • Secret Shop centers that are trained in this well. It can give you ideas of how to ask for the information and how to overcome objections.
  • Use bonding questions to capture information. It will help move the conversation along and also help you gather pertinent information without going through your list of needed info, question after question.

Don’t fall victim to the never ending black hole of past leads. Make capturing lead information a vital part of your internal process and start seeing your potential volume rise!

 

Feb 23
0
How to Reach Millenials & Generation Z on Social Media

How to Reach Millennials & Generation Z on Social Media

By | Consulting, Marketing, Social Media | No Comments

Just when we thought we were starting to understand millennials, there’s a new kid in town. Name: Generation Z or Gen Z. As Baby Boomers & Gen Xers get older and retire, Millennials & Gen Z will be major spenders in the economy. Gen Z shares several similarities with Millennials, but there are also major key differences.

Millennials

Born: 1982-2002 Current Population: 74.5 million

Millennials are the first generation adapted to new technologies, growing up in the age of internet. The internet has shaped several characteristics of this generation. Millennials were given a platform to connect to each other, speak their minds & educate themselves to determine their own opinions.

Key Traits

– Brand loyal
– Avid consumers
– Comfortable voicing opinions
– Like attention & praise
– Immune to traditional marketing
– Less trusting of others than older generations
– More accepting & tolerant than older generations
– Care about social change & charity
– Optimistic about the future
– Connect by social media (the selfie generation)
– Attached to multiple devices (smartphones, laptops, tablets)
– Seen as over-sharers on social media by older generations
– Outnumber Baby Boomers in population
– Have overtaken Gen X in the workforce

Generation Z

Born: 1996-2010 Current Population: 23 million & growing

Gen Z is the most connected and tech savvy generation yet. They are sophisticated, mature and more aware than most generations. Part of what makes Gen Z unique, is that they have grown up being exposed to global events as they happen. They have always had instant access to technology, social media and online videos. They use social media and YouTube for research, as opposed to starting with a search engine like Google. By 2020 Gen Z will account for 40% of all consumers.

Key Traits

– Technology geniuses (more so than Millennials)
– Prefer mobile technology, have always had mobile options
– Impatient to slow websites/apps, long videos & response times
– Choose digital conversations over real life
– Mature, sophisticated & confident
– More independent than older generations
– Don’t like conformity or traditional ways
– Aware of global events, seen from an early age
– More accepting and inclusive than older generations
– Entrepreneurial, prefer to own a business
– Optimistic about personal future
– Need a sense of purpose in work & to give back
– Focused on long-term global issues
– Selective about what they share on social media
– Brand loyal, often influenced by recommendations from friends & family

MUST HAVE TECH for Millennials & Gen Z:

Mobile Friendly Websites
Your site HAS to be mobile friendly & it needs to look good. 57% of users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site. Millennials & Gen Z are tech savvy & don’t have time for slow loading, desktop websites.

Apps Are a Must
When you provide an app, your brand is right there on their phone all the time. This gives your audience easy access to your products or services. The easier it is to access, the more likely Millenials & Gen Z are to stick around & explore what you have to offer. Apps account for 89% of mobile media time of ALL users.

Social Media Presence
Millennials and Gen Z expect all brands to have a social media presence. They often check Facebook first, before they go to Google to research your brand. Millennials & Gen Z use Youtube to research products or services, get answers to questions and find recommendations. Don’t make them work to find you, put your brand on as many social platforms as you can manage. Social media will help develop trust in your brand, showing that you are authentic with nothing to hide. If you don’t have the most basic social media accounts, these generations will pass by your brand.

6 Ways to Reach Millennials & Gen Z with Social Media

1. Facebook Live something that makes your business unique. Do you work with lasers? Do you take care of cute puppies all day? Gen Z & Millennials don’t want to see you in a perfect scripted video. They want an inside look & to see the real people behind the screen. This can be anything from showcasing your personality to presenting new technologies. If you trust your audience with an exclusive look, they will start to build trust & brand loyalty.

2. Update your Instagram Story. Millennials & Gen Z want short, bite sized information. The Instagram stories feature gives you the chance to create short videos, photos and Boomerang gifs. This allows you to really showcase how your brand is unique. There are 6 million active users on Instagram, reach out to them in a creative & interesting way.

3. Offer experiences, not a sales pitch. Millennials & Gen Z are not going to buy what you’re selling if you market the old fashioned way. They want to spend their income on something that will last a lifetime. What can your product or service do to benefit your audience in the long run? Show Millennials & Gen Z how you can change their life & what experiences are possible in the future.

4. Let them talk about it. Millennials & Gen Z use social media to find out more about a business & to share their own experiences. Make sure you are offering them a place to connect with you. Your brand should be easy to find on all social platforms. Stay on top of reviews & mentions, making sure to respond in a timely & sincere manner. Connect the audience to your brand by assigning a hashtag that matches your company story & start the conversation with them. Most importantly of all LISTEN.

5. Put them in the spotlight. Millennials & Gen Z often share photos & videos on social media. This includes showcasing the products & services they love. They assign themselves the role of brand advocate & pass on positive word-of-mouth messages. Use the awesome free content they are providing & re-share with your entire audience. These generations love to feel appreciated and valued. They develop brand loyalty when their creativity is embraced & recognized.

6. Keep your web/social clean & modern. Millennials & Gen Z are accepting, tolerant and multicultural. They don’t want to see traditional stock photography in your ads. Show that you think outside of the box, using modern photography that showcases lifestyle & experiences. Communicate visually to diverse audiences. You are selling them the experience, so showcase the entire story in your social media graphics.

If you want to learn more about Eyemax, come see us at ASCRS/ASOA Symposium & Congress. Meet our experts & learn how to increase your conversions & surgery volume.