Maximizing Patient Engagement

2024 • Trends

Maintaining strong connections with patients between visits is essential for fostering loyalty and improving eye health outcomes, as engaged patients are more likely to follow professional advice and remain committed to their eyecare journey. According to Adracare, patients with lower levels of engagement are three times more likely to experience unmet medical needs and twice as likely to delay seeking necessary care.

Tip: Utilize text and email alerts for not only appointment reminders but also for personalized communication like product recommendations and birthday messages.

Here are some strategies to keep your patients connected to benefit not only your practice performance but also their overall health:

Digital communication tools: Connect with patients where they are—online. Leverage the wide array of digital communication avenues available for personalized communication like appointment reminders, product recommendations, or even birthday messages. Social media can be utilized for sharing educational resources on common eye health concerns like UV protection and digital eye strain or for topics like lens and frame selection. Feel free to have fun with it and post some behind-the-scenes action, allowing patients to get to know you and your staff, or showcase product in a creative way that gets patients interested in your offerings.

2x Patients with lower levels of engagement are three times more likely to experience unmet medical needs and twice as likely to delay seeking necessary care.

Loyalty programs: Introducing loyalty programs is a great way to reward patients. Tie rewards to specific events, like back-to-school eye exams for kids or discounts during observances like Healthy Vision Month in May. Implement a points system where patients earn points for every dollar spent, which can be redeemed for future products or services, and award bonus points for actions like scheduling follow-up appointments, purchasing annual supplies of contact lenses, or writing online reviews. Encourage word-of-mouth marketing by offering referral rewards, such as, “Refer a friend and both of you receive $20 off your next visit.”

Community engagement: Invest in building a community around your practice. Ask patients for testimonials you can share online, host educational events to raise awareness about the importance of routine eye exams, participate in or sponsor local events, and partner with schools and local organizations to provide free vision screenings.

How are you keeping your patients engaged between visits? Tell us about it and share in the conversation on Facebook here.