Ophthalmological GlazCo Eye Centre – development marketing strategy

MIM Agency is a strategic marketing agency for B2B, complex products and services such as the medical field. We help our clients to build a working marketing system based on a data-driven approach, where management decisions are based on data rather than on the opinions of individuals.

Marketing strategy development in our agency consists of two stages.

At the first stage we carry out analytical work. We study the market, competitors, consumers. We conduct qualitative and quantitative research with the help of desk and field surveys. We use open and closed sources, as well as special web-services to analyse the level of demand in the target region.

At the second stage, using the previously obtained results of the research stage,we move on to developing a promotion strategy. Together with the business owner, we define business goals, which we use the marketing tools we have developed to realise.

In the summer of 2020 MIM Agency was approached by representatives of a private ophthalmological centre. It was necessary to develop a comprehensive marketing strategy and implement it, providing ongoing marketing support for the clinic.

Task

To conduct marketing research confirming the prospects of the chosen direction for the eye centre, to develop positioning and marketing strategy.

Result

Market and competitor analysis

The market research was conducted by analysing secondary open and closed information. The data of research companies indicate that the market of medical services in Ukraine has a growing character, in the period from 2016 to 2017 the market volume grew by 20% and totalled about UAH 80 billion.

The number of private medical centres is steadily increasing. For the period from 2016 to 2017, the market share of private clinics grew by 12.2% and totalled 23.3% (Fig. 1).

Building a business model

According to sociological surveys, about 65% of respondents continue to use the services of state medical institutions (Fig. 2). At the same time, only 47% of them remain satisfied with the services provided (Fig. 3), while patients of private clinics remain satisfied in 93% of cases (Fig. 4). This suggests that private medicine in Ukraine is already showing a high level of growth and has great prospects due to the high loyalty of patients.

Ophthalmology is one of the four branches of medicine (along with dentistry, plastic surgery and infertility treatment), which are most actively developed by private clinics, which undoubtedly indicates its demand and profitability in Ukraine.

Speaking about the problems of medical centres, it is worth noting that the results of the study and the consumer survey accurately describe the most the most common shortcomings of service in public hospitals: queues, poor condition of medical equipment and premises, poor quality of service, lack of professional staff, limited list of services, and poor treatment of diseases.

In general, the following public sector problems contribute to the development of private ophthalmology:

• Lack of qualified ophthalmologists in public hospitals
• almost complete absence of prevention of diseases of the organs of vision
• outpatient clinics
• poor quality of appointments and examinations based on the principle of “quicker to finish”
• outdated equipment
• low involvement of doctors and lack of interest
• use of old diagnostic and treatment methods
• small range of services
• refusal to perform complex ophthalmological surgeries
• use of low-quality, inexpensive materials
• redirection of patients from doctor to doctor, to other medical centres
• long waiting times for appointments and results
• queues
• poor condition of premises
• low quality of service, lack of service culture
• mandatory “charitable contributions” in a free hospital

People continue to use the services of state medical institutions not only because of cheapness and habit, but also because of trust in certain doctors.

Among the main reasons why people do not go to a private eye centre:

• act out of habit and go to the clinic
• do not pay much attention to their vision problems
• do not undergo regular preventive check-ups and do not know about their vision problems.
• vision problems
• do not want to overpay for treatment
• cannot financially afford expensive treatment
• do not trust private medical centres
• are afraid that they will be “drained” of money
• believe that private clinics have “paid” incompetent doctors
• favour a long-known ophthalmologist from a polyclinic
• do not know about the existence of an ophthalmological centre
• despair after unsuccessful medical care in a public hospital
• and do not believe in the possibility of treating an eye disease.

As for the main reasons for choosing one or another doctor, the majority of respondents consider qualification of the doctor, recommendations of acquaintances, and quality of service as the most important criteria. These data can be interpreted as the importance of a good reputation of a medical centre, as well as a high level of service and qualification of ophthalmologists for a stable flow of patients.

According to the results of the study, it can be noted that users when choosing an ophthalmological clinic online most often pay attention to the following points: reputation of doctors, clinic brand, cost of services, reviews, service and location. Therefore, the main objective when promoting online is to fulfil the user’s need to have this information about your clinic available online.

Competitor websites were analysed according to relevant search queries in the organic Google. Among the direct competitors found, two main groups can be distinguished:

• sites of ophthalmological centres, usually these are sites of medium or high quality, with a large number of direct hits for queries related to eye diseases, vision correction, ophthalmologists’ services, which explains their presence at the top of the search results
• sites of large multidisciplinary clinics (e.g. Odrex), which have developed both in terms of usability and SEO sites, and also have authority among patients

Also, there are quite a lot of informational sites (city sites, news sites) in the top of the target queries, which shows that it is extremely important to have a lot of quality content that answers the main questions of users.

To summarise, we can conclude that achieving top positions in organic search results, and therefore ensuring a steady flow of customers, is quite achievable with a comprehensive approach to promotion and compliance with the following recommendations on all channels of communication.

Target audience, its problems and pains

One of the most important aspects in planning marketing activities is to identify the characteristics and develop profiles of the target audience. According to WHO, there are at least 2.2 billion cases of visual impairment or blindness worldwide, with more than 1 billion of these resulting from lack of prevention or treatment.
According to research, the prevalence of eye diseases, particularly glaucoma and cataracts are on the rise. Glaucoma affects 2-3% of the world’s population.

This insidious disease is also one of the leading causes of incurable blindness. In the early stages, the disease develops imperceptibly: the eye does not hurt, does not redden, does not give cause for concern – but at the same time there is a slow, systematic death of the optic nerve and retina. Usually at the moment when the patient notices the alarming symptoms — sharp narrowing of the field of vision, visual acuity, etc. — the optic nerve has already died by about the time the patient notices the symptoms. — The optic nerve has already died by about 70%.

According to statistics, there are 20 thousand glaucoma patients in Ukraine, in the Odessa region — 12-18 thousand people. The statistics on cataract is even more significant – every 6th resident develops cataract after 40 years of age. In the Odessa region cataract is observed in 16.66% of the population over 40 years old, i.e. in 193 thousand people. Taking into account people of other age categories with cataract (e.g. congenital cataract), we get 195-198 thousand people.

One of the main reasons for such progression of diseases of visual organs is untimely diagnostics and delay in addressing an ophthalmologist. Given the poor quality or non-comprehensive approach to the provision of ophthalmological services, many people do not have the opportunity to undergo regular eye examinations to detect visual impairment and prescribe appropriate preventive care or treatment.

The study identified typical consumers of cataract and glaucoma services (Table 1).

Service

Цільова аудиторія
Glaucoma treatment	– people over 40 years old – people suffering from diabetes, arterial hypertension, etc. – people with congenital vision problems – people with a high risk of developing glaucoma, particularly due to heredity
Cataract treatment	– people over 40 years old – people with a genetic predisposition – people with congenital cataracts – people with cataracts resulting from injuries – people with metabolic disorders in the body
Comprehensive vision diagnostics	– people over 40 years old (mandatory eye check-up at least once a year) – people with eye diseases – people experiencing related symptoms – people with a high risk of developing vision problems, with a predisposition – individuals wishing to undergo regular check-ups
Консультація офтальмолога	– people with eye diseases – people experiencing relevant symptoms – people in need of treatment or surgery – people undergoing eye examinations – people over 40 years old as part of regular check-ups, after diagnosis, or seeking treatment from a specialist – people scheduled for eye surgery

All segments of the target audience of this ophthalmological centre were identified and analysed in detail. Some of them are presented below

Target audienceFeatures

Age (60 years and older)	– suffer from age-related cataracts or glaucoma – want to be cured and see well again – focus on reasonable prices – go into details, compare offers and clinics – listen to recommendations and word of mouth, study reviews – get service where it is best to do so in terms of value for money
People fond of treatments (perpetually ill; aged 50 and above)	– may or may not have cataracts or glaucoma – want to be treated so that everyone pities and worries around them, want to diversify their boring life – demanding, picky, require high-level service – oriented on recommendations of acquaintances, fame and reputation of the doctor – receive service where the best service will be provided, sympathise, prescribe treatment

The identified features of each of the target audience segments should be a cornerstone in the formation of any marketing message, as it should sound convincing and appealing to this segment.

Having portraits of the target audience it was necessary to identify the main problems they face in the process of receiving services (tab. 3). In the course of the analysis it was possible to identify a tendency towards the presence of recurring problems in almost all categories: queues typical for public polyclinics, insufficiently qualified doctors, specialists not interested in helping patients, poor condition of premises and equipment.

Issues
Glaucoma treatment	– a small selection of medical facilities available for consultation – a shortage of highly qualified ophthalmologists – distrust towards doctors – inconsistent reviews about doctors causes hesitation and fosters doubts about their professionalism – no ophthalmological centre with 100% positive reputation – expensive treatment – complexity of surgeries – a limited range of glaucoma treatment services in existing centers – uncertainty that surgery will help – low level of service – insufficiently detailed explanations – complex medical terms unclear to the patient – incomplete answers to questions – long waiting times for appointments and surgeries – fear of going blind – fear of being diagnosed with nonexistent diseases for the sake of prolonged treatment at the clinic – the widespread occurrence of money-grabbing practices in private medical institutions
Cataract treatment	– a small selection of medical facilities available for consultation – a shortage of highly qualified ophthalmologists – distrust towards doctors – inconsistent reviews about doctors causes hesitation and fosters doubts about their professionalism – no ophthalmological centre with 100% positive reputation – expensive treatment – complexity of surgeries – uncertainty that surgery will help – low level of service – insufficiently detailed explanations – complex medical explanations not clear to the patient – answers not to all questions – fear of being diagnosed with nonexistent diseases for the sake of prolonged treatment at the clinic – the widespread occurrence of money-grabbing practices in private medical institutions

Competitor Analysis

A comprehensive competitor analysis was conducted.The list of competitors was provided by the client and supplemented with results from Google searches for targeted queries.

We analysed their activities, positioning, websites, social networks, promotion channels used, etc., and carried out a comprehensive competitor analysis. We analysed their activities, positioning, websites, social networks, promotion channels used, etc., and evaluated their service by analysing feedback through the website, visits and calls to these clinics. 

Positioning

If there are several alternatives to meet the needs of the target audience, it is necessary to develop qualitative advantages over the above competitors and declare them. This will help to stand out from competitors and convince patients to choose our ophthalmological centre.

Development of company positioning is based on SWOT-analysis — determination of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The main results of the analysis are presented in Table

Strength points	Weak points
1. Highly qualified specialists 2. Narrow specialization in the treatment of glaucoma and cataracts 3. Personal brand of some doctors …	1. Low brand recognition 2. Website requiring improvements (especially the mobile version) 3. Difficult-to-remember and type domain (recommended: glazco.ua) …
Opportunities	Threats
1. Expert content (blog on the website, articles) 2. Weak social media presence of competitors 3. Promotion through the personal brands of the medical center’s specialists …	1. Presence of strong competitors with a well-established reputation in the market 2. High brand recognition of competitors 3. Distrust towards a new clinic …

The results of the research have put forward the following points of differentiation, which are proposed for implementation:

1. Specialisation in cataract and glaucoma

2. Professionalism and experience of ophthalmologists

Based on the conducted research, the following positioning was proposed: GlazCo is a specialised centre for cataract and glaucoma treatment.

All these aspects should be used in the formation of advertising campaigns, as well as in personal communication with patients.

After scrupulous analysis of competitors by researching their websites, phone calls, visits, the following conclusions can be drawn:

• Opening a specialised ophthalmology centre is promising in terms of market capacity and competitive situation at the moment
• Development of the doctors’ personal brand will contribute to the development of the centre’s brand and vice versa
• Serious work on service culture will ensure the formation of audience loyalty.
• Loyal prices for services will allow people with different incomes to receive quality treatment and attract clients
• Providing guarantees to clients, as well as support during rehabilitation after surgery (free observation and treatment for 1 month or the entire recovery period) will be strong advantages of the ophthalmological centre compared to competitors.
• A systematic approach to marketing activities will provide a competitive advantage in comparison with competitors

Website design

Taking into account the specificity of the services provided, the most important tool of communication with patients on the Internet will be the company’s website.Its main task is to provide the potential client with all the necessary information and the opportunity to perform the target action (appointment) in the shortest possible time. Usually, when searching for such services, the user tends to choose several similar options for comparison, so it is important for the clinic’s website to get maximum user involvement in the first seconds of interaction with the user, for which it is worth implementing the following:

• present information in detail, clearly and “without water”, the user should find the answer to his question within a few seconds
• to the question he is interested in within a few seconds
• optimise the loading speed of the site as much as possible
• develop a logical and convenient structure of the site
• choose simple navigation
• focus the user’s attention on the key elements of conversion

The body of the page should contain on the first screen as much information about the service as possible (for the pages of “Cataract” and “Glaucoma” services), a slider about the company/UTP (for the main page). Also for the home page you can use a video about the ophthalmological centre on the first screen, it can significantly reduce the time of searching for the necessary information for the user, if the video will tell about the features of the clinic, doctors, equipment, principles of work, specialisation. At the same time, there should always be a conversion element in the user’s field of vision, it is recommended to use an open form.

On the second screen of the home page it will be appropriate to describe the advantages of the centre, using clear icons and brief summaries of them with clear icons and brief descriptions.

Then you can place a block about doctors, a block of news, reviews.

Footer should contain navigation elements, contact information, mode of operation, as well as the button “Make an appointment”.

Based on the analysis, we recommend developing a clinic website with the following structure:

The structure and content of the site were developed based on SEO optimisation and the needs of the CA.

As an example – Section “Cataract”. Detailed information about one of the specialities of the centre should contain:

• service name
• description of the disease and how to identify it
• detailed description of the cataract treatment service, methods and features
• preparation for surgery and rehabilitation after it
• advantages of receiving the service at the centre
• a block with previews of the pages of specialists who provide this service
• with the possibility to go to the doctor’s page
• cost of services
• service reviews
• button “Make an appointment”

Tone of Voice

The tone of communication with customers reflects how the brand states itself, the impression it wants to make and how the brand relates to its audience. It is important to decide on the style of communication with the target audience at the planning stage of the marketing strategy and adhere to it in all channels of communication with customers:

• social media
• website content
• email newsletters
• advertising
• personal communication with the client

Based on the proposed positioning it is recommended to adhere to the image of a brand-professional. GlazCo Eye Centre is an expert in cataract and glaucoma treatment, a professional in ophthalmology, a counsellor, a place where you can get help and high quality service, a reliable brand.

The main principle of behaviour is expertness. But this is not expressed in arrogance, but in the high competence of the centre’s specialists, respectful attitude to clients, competent speech, high-class service, etc.

We communicate with CA in a friendly, open and simple language, but respectfully and with the desire to bring concrete benefit. In the medical field, it is important to avoid distancing, coldness and abundance of complex terminology when communicating with the audience, but it is also important to avoid familiarity and lack of familiarity and unprofessionalism. All texts should be simple and clear. Without unnecessary words and complex constructions. In order for communication in this style to be effective it should always be persuasive but relaxed.

In all communications try to convey awareness of all the pains of the CA and subtly emphasise the benefits with simple examples.

Always respond to comments and questions. If a comment is negative, we reduce the conversation in a concrete direction and solve the client’s problem, without emotions. Work with the client’s dissatisfaction.

It is also acceptable to use humour when choosing such a Tone of Voice, as there are certain prejudices and fears in the subject matter, this will help to defuse tensions regarding difficult and frightening aspects. It is better to address in communicative messages personally, but on “you”, as it will emphasise a certain formality and respectful attitude to each client.

CRM

Work in this area includes: installation of CRM and transfer of customer relationships into it, setting up telephony, analysing the current state of affairs, recommendations and improvements.

The most common CRMs adapted for the medical segment were reviewed and analysed. It was important that the system met the requirements: user-friendly interface, integration with telephony, ability to process orders, integration with GA, etc.

Based on the analysis and evaluation of the options, a CRM system was selected that fulfils all the requirements and has a well-configured environment already in the basic version. Recommendations on integration with other services were also given.

Marketing communications plan

We proposed a time plan to promote the services of the centre. The generalised version is presented below.

Depending on the stage of interaction with the audience, communication channels and marketing tools were selected and marketing tools. Further, according to the time series, detailed planning and scheduling of activities for each marketing tool was carried out and scheduled activities for each marketing channel.

PR

The main objectives of PR are to increase the brand awareness of GlazCo and positioning of a specialised ophthalmological centre for cataract and glaucoma treatment.

Different marketing activities were proposed: outdoor advertising, crowd-marketing, PR in mass media, etc.

In particular, in order to achieve the set goals, the placement of advertising on billboards and citylights was proposed as part of outdoor advertising.

Creatives were developed for this purpose (Fig. 14): separately for cataract and separately for glaucoma. Initially, outdoor advertising will focus on the image component, increasing GlazCo brand awareness. Simple billboards:

– Cataract Treatment. GlazCo. glazco.ua

– Glaucoma treatment. GlazCo. glazco.ua

After that, after some time, more conceptual billboards with ideas will be placed

“I experience joyful moments again”, “I see everything again”, “You see the full picture again”, “You won’t miss important moments”.

SEO recommendations for the website

1. Technical optimisation

– Add schema.org and Open Graph micro markup

– Adjust the header structure on all pages

– Correctly set up text linking on the site

– Breadcrumbs with appropriate micro markup

– Customise sitemap

– Optimise the following file types on the site: PDF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, CSS, HTML, JS, GZ, XML and others

2. Semantic Kernel

– Collect semantic kernel for the pages to be promoted. Divide queries into transactional, informational, navigational. Divide queries by frequency HF, HF, LF

– For each page (section) to select all possible keywords that can promote this page (section).

– Exclude non targeted queries

3. External links

– Make a natural anchor list

– Include Dofollow and nofollow links in the anchor list in the ratio of 80% to 20%.

– Guest articles for other sites

– Register the site in thematic directories and business directories

– Form a link mass that will be not worse than the competitors- Display all links in tools for webmasters.

– Use additional sources of link attraction: crowd marketing (forums, question/answer sites, etc.), guest articles, etc.

4.Рекомендації для сайту

– You should consider replacing the domain with https://glazco.ua/ or at least buy it out and set up a redirect to the current domain. Branded domains are more trustworthy and easier to promote — better and easier to remember, have a direct association, etc.

– Make Ukrainian versions of pages — there are requests. There will be a separate additional traffic. Clinics are googled not only by Odessa residents, but also by people from the region, from other cities, and then they come to Odessa for treatment.

– Add a separate F.A.Q. page for people’s burning questions with short answers, including linking to internal pages with recommendations.

– Emphasise landing pages for doctors. Many users search for a specialist by last name, rather than a specific clinic. Add more information about staff, business profile, specialisation.

– Add more informational content for constant inflow of traffic on transactional queries (blog, articles, case studies, news, etc.). Publications are needed on a regular basis and with texts written for seo-keys.

– Add the site to popular aggregators of clinics in the city/country, which occupy leading positions in the output for requests for treatment of eye diseases (cataracts, glaucoma). Even paid placements will be much cheaper than contextual advertising.

Contextual advertising

Група оголошень	Title	Description
Glaucoma Odesa	Glaucoma Diagnosis in Odesa | Eye Center GlazCo	Experienced ophthalmologists, top-tier doctors. Diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma. Free post-surgery follow-up.
Glaucoma	Glaucoma Treatment | Specialized Center for Glaucoma and Cataracts | GlazCo	Diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma in Odesa. Glaucoma surgery, laser trabeculoplasty. Surgical and conservative treatments.
Cataract	Cataract Treatment | Specialized Center for Cataracts and Glaucoma | GlazCo	Phacoemulsification of cataracts in Odesa. Lens replacement. Cataract removal. Selection of IOL (Intraocular Lens). The best ophthalmologists in Odesa.

The first month includes the launch of a test campaign in order to see the effectiveness of different approaches, keywords and wording.

In addition, it is necessary to set up remarketing in order to convert into customers such audiences as those who came to the site and did not make a targeted action and those who subscribed to the social media but did not become customers of the company.

SMM

A plan for page design (Instagram, Facebook) and promotion on social networks was developed based on the corporate identity and objectives set by us in social networks based on our corporate identity and objectives:

• Increase brand awareness, not only among the direct target audience
• expertise formation
• positioning us as a specialised eye centre with the best specialists, ophthalmic equipment and first-class customer service
• etc

Targeting

We use targeting for the following purposes:

1. Increase the number of followers and interactions on Instagram and Facebook profile

2. Returning website visitors and leads that did not book an appointment

3. Supporting PR activities

This involved proposing an account structure, creating a Business Manager and Ad Account in it, setting up Instagram and Facebook pages linking to Business Manager, setting up payment details, etc.

Analytics

Our agency’s speciality is data-driven decision-making.

All proposed marketing tools are analysed for their effectiveness.

It is analytics that gives an understanding of how the promotion is going, what brings the business the most profit and which channels should be allocated most of the budget. To have access to up-to-date data on who visits your site (gender, age, geography of the audience), what content is most often viewed, from which channels come the most converting users, how much was spent to attract users and what the cost of the application must be set up by analytics systems. In addition, it is important to understand where requests will go after filling out a form on the site, whether a call-tracking system will be installed and how these requests will be processed. It was recommended to set up end-to-end analytics (Figure 15).

Customisation recommendations were made for each interaction. Also at the initial stage, key KPIs were identified that are worth tracking from the launch of marketing activities.

A detailed list of KPIs is used for individual tools. Meanwhile, such key indicators as costs, income, number of leads, cost of attracting a lead and a client are enough for the owner of the centre to understand the situation.

Summery

Within two months, marketing research was conducted and a marketing strategy was developed for a comprehensive medicine clinic in Odessa.

At the moment this strategy is being implemented.