March 16, 2016
Matthew Alpert, OD, owner of Alpert Vision Care, in Woodland Hills, Calif., and Wink Optometry in Calabasas, Calif., pinpoints high growth potential with Millennials, who now are the prime earners and spenders in the economy. The key to high capture rates: offer products, brands and experiences that resonate with your Millennial patients.
PREPARE FOR FUTURE. By the year 2020, 50 percent of managed care patients will be of the Millennial generation.
USE OMNI-CHANNEL APPROACH. Market to all different channels, offering a strong brick-and-mortar experience, a strong online experience that showcases the experience you offer, and a strong in-office experience.
FOCUS ON EXPERIENCE. Millennials are used to companies marketing specifically to their generation’s perspective, so think about the details of your in-office experience, including details like the scent of your office, decorations such as the lighting fixtures and the brands you carry.
OFFER CONVENIENCE & CULTURE. Make it easy for patients to research your practice online ahead of their visit, and offer the products you know the Millennial patients in your community want.
USE EXPERIENCE TO BOOST CAPTURE RATE. If you follow-up the information and products Millennials see online with a strong in-office experience, many will buy from you, instead of taking their prescription elsewhere.
INVEST IN NEW TECHNOLOGY. Keep your eye on what’s next, such as blue light-protecting products, that enhance patients’ lives and safeguard their eye health, but also bring additional revenues into the practice.
BUILD ON ECONOMIC SUCCESS. As more revenues come in, keep taking your office to the next level by investing in new technology, such as OCTs, and new products that appeal to the next generation.
Matthew Alpert, OD, is the owner of Alpert Vision Care, in Woodland Hills, Calif., and Wink Optometry in Calabasas, Calif. To contact him: drmalpert@aol.com
