How the LASIK Bubble Burst

(Or: Why Shouldn’t I Market My LASIK Center In the Same Way As Everyone Else? )

To answer this question, we have to take a look at the story of LASIK over the past decade.

In the late 1990s, LASIK was the best thing in the vision market since contact lenses. It was a boom time for refractive surgery centers as millions rushed to avail themselves of this new ‘miracle’ technology, even while it was still in its infancy.

Today, by comparison, the flow of new patients across the US is a trickle. What went wrong? The technology has improved by quantum leaps, yet there is less enthusiasm for having the procedure.

Many assign the cause of this decline to the weakening economy; some to disillusionment with technology in general, including complications arising from some of those early procedures; others to the changes in the society after September 11…

Yet there is a more significant factor than any of these that directly concerns the public perception of LASIK:

LASIK became increasingly and irresponsibly marketed as a commodity using mainstream marketing techniques.

In 2000, large chains like the now defunct LASIK Vision, began to advertise LASIK for $499 or $699 per eye, in the expectation that this approach would expand the market. Others jumped onto the band-wagon, frantically afraid to miss out on the expected bonanza. Soon, the entire industry, from the largest centers to the smallest, had shifted to this new direction. This became mainstream marketing in terms of the refractive sector. The net effect has been a contraction of the market.

Why?

Because the greatest casualty in these price wars (which continue today) was consumer confidence.

LASIK was no longer ‘a modern miracle in vision correction’ – it was redefined in the consumer’s mind as ‘a commodity that had to be heavily discounted to attract any takers’.

Laser manufacturers also bombarded this market with brand-building of their products, but do you ask your dentist which brand of drill he is using?

Is it any wonder then that in the following decade this ‘miracle’ has been pointedly ignored by 90% of the eligible population, and today is still being shunned by 90% of the marketplace, including YOUR marketplace?

What is the mindset of the average consumer towards LASIK? Suspicions, anxieties and apprehensions that deepen every time their real concerns are not addressed.

What does a prospective LASIK patient really care about?

By survey, the surgeon’s experience, his commitment to a successful outcome, his staff’s care and willingness to answer questions, and the feel and atmosphere of the center are the primary motivating factors.

How do you communicate these to your prospective patients? Not by emulating your competitors who are locked into failed and failing mainstream marketing techniques. You have to take a fresh and different approach.

WE can show you how to do that.

Contact us now to schedule an in-depth and confidential Marketing Analysis.