Well, what do you know? After a drought in refractive surgical volume that lasted nearly 2 years—during which fees for LASIK steadily declined—along comes customized ablation and a hint of economic recovery, and suddenly LASIK fees appear to be on the rise.
For the first time since many of us can remember, surgeons are reporting increased LASIK volumes and—perhaps more importantly—higher LASIK fees. Is this the dramatic shift in the market we've all been waiting for? Or, is it simply a summer fluke that will fade once autumn arrives? Only time will tell, but for those of us who have been waiting for something good to report about our industry, this is a fairly strong sign in my book that a new chapter is about to be written on the refractive surgery marketplace.
STRATEGIES FOR A CHANGING MARKET
Will this slight swing in the market suddenly wipe the discounters from the LASIK radar? That's doubtful. Will it cause them to raise their fees? We can hope, but don't hold your breath. On the subject of discounters, the best advice I can give you is simply to ignore their price-slashing. Worrying about them will not alter any strategies they have planned, and competing against them will only reduce your earnings for each procedure you perform. In fact, now may be the best time to launch the opposite strategy discounters employ: raise your fees.
That's right. Go ahead and raise your fees, especially if you're going to offer customized LASIK to your patients. Obviously, increasing your pricing is easier said (and written) than done. But trust me, many practices across the country are boosting their fees for LASIK and are experiencing little if any resistance from the public.
TIMING IS EVERYTHING
Why is this a good time to raise LASIK fees? Because the market has returned to the early innovator/ early adopter phases for CustomCornea (Alcon Laboratories, Inc., Fort Worth, TX) and CustomVue (VISX, Inc., Santa Clara, CA) LASIK. Also, the media is back on the bandwagon, and LASIK is back in the headlines. In virtually every major market, the advertising focus has shifted from price to technology and from discounting to benefits. Consumers across the country are hearing about a “quality of vision BETTER than 20/20” and “high-definition vision,” and they seem to like what they're hearing.
So, what is the best strategy for raising your fees? First, I'll tell you the worst method to use. You'll be hard-pressed to ever find a “good” time to promote to the public that you're raising your prices. Therefore, never advertise a price increase to the public … unless you give them a chance to undergo LASIK at the current price before your proposed fee increase takes effect.
Two of my company's most successful campaigns were associated with a “proposed fee increase.” The first practice advertised this proposed increase just as LASIK earned approval as a surgical procedure. We allowed the public to undergo the surgery before the fee increase went into effect. The result? Three months of banner surgical volume that culminated with more than 700 cases by the third month, from what began as a 1-month campaign.
The second case study took place more recently, when a practice was introducing IntraLASIK (IntraLase Corp., Irvine, CA) and customized LASIK. For 1 month, we promoted the opportunity for patients to undergo customized, all-laser LASIK for the price of traditional LASIK. The result? The practice's most successful month in 2003 to date.
Now, you may wonder what in the world we did once the window of opportunity closed and we were forced to raise the practices' fees. We simply began promoting the new technology and didn't mention price at all in our advertising. The phrase, “combined with the benefit of the new technology,” drove calls into the practices. When the calls came in, the practices' staff simply stated their fees for the new technology and their fees for the older technology. Although a miniscule number of callers were angry about missing the earlier opportunity, a large number of early innovators/early adopters were excited to learn about the new technology.
PRICE VERSUS VALUE
For most practices, the best way to raise fees is simply to do it. Work out a pricing structure for your customized procedures versus traditional laser vision correction, and then be prepared to back up those increased fees by promoting the perceived value of your new procedures. If you (or your frontline staff) fail to excite patients about the potential of this new and exciting technology and the added benefit of your surgical expertise and experience, then you face an uphill battle that may be too steep to overcome. But beware: if the public's perceived value of customized LASIK isn't as high as your actual fees, you'll run head first into difficult pricing obstacles.
In terms of how high your fees should be, understand that, although customized LASIK is a hot commodity right now, it's still possible to price yourself out of the market. Don't get greedy, but don't give away your services either. If you're paying $250 for customized procedure cards and an additional $135 for each IntraLASIK procedure you perform, don't be shy about raising your overall price. Most practices providing customized LASIK are increasing their fees by a minimum of $300 to $400 per eye. Those offering IntraLASIK, CustomVue, and CustomCornea are raising their fees by $400 to $500 per eye.
PROMOTE THE POSITIVE
The best way to avoid consumer resistance to higher fees is not to be ashamed of the fees you charge or to discuss them. When someone inquires about your LASIK price, thank them for asking and then simply state what your fees are for each specific procedure and what that price includes (eg, postoperative care, follow-up, and enhancements). In the same breath, mention your affordable financing and other payment options.
With patients who bring up the $299 and $499 LASIK issue, again, thank them for raising the topic. Quickly inform them that it is virtually impossible to perform customized LASIK (and IntraLASIK if you have it) for that price. It's important that prospective patients realize that the lowest discounted procedure is not comparable to the procedure you perform. Explain the royalty fees you pay to the manufacturer for traditional LASIK and then mention the higher cost you pay for performing customized LASIK. If appropriate, note the difference between your global fee (with no hidden costs) and a competitor's tiered system. Encourage the consumer to find a person who's ever paid $299 for LASIK (there aren't any).
BE PATIENT-FRIENDLY
Two elements of practice management are critical to success in raising refractive surgical fees: (1) having competent staff on the front line who can convey the benefits of customized LASIK to patients in such a way that excites them about paying a little more for the new procedure; and (2) offering a rock-solid patient financing plan that features all the bells and whistles. Higher procedural fees will increase the number of patients who want to finance their procedures, so look for financing companies willing to offer your patients 0% financing, pre-approval options, and the privacy and convenience of applying over the Internet.
ACT NOW!
Every moment you delay increasing your fees is another day that the discounters move one step closer to lowering their fees for customized LASIK. To stay competitive, prepare a tip sheet that identifies 10 unique selling points that separate you from your competitors. At every opportunity, remind patients of those unique differences, especially during their initial inquiry. Oftentimes, the only thing separating you from the competition in the eyes of the public is your fee.
Lastly, don't blame potential patients for constantly raising the issue of price; they're simply responding to the voluminous number of print ads running every week that want them to think that all LASIK procedures are created equal except for price. It's our job to help them “see” the difference. Now get out there and raise your fees!
Michael W. Malley's monthly column offers perspectives on effective marketing strategies for refractive surgery practices. Mr. Malley is founder of The Centre for Refractive Marketing in Houston, and he does not hold a financial interest in any laser manufacturer. He may be reached at (713) 839-0202; mike@refractivemarketing.com.
