The purpose of today’s article is to help you create better offers for your patients.
The better your offer, the more patients you will attract, engage, support, and retain. Win! 🏆
Given the level of competition in the medical weight loss industry and the number of questions we get from providers about this very topic, all indications are this will be one of our most valuable content pieces to date.
1) What is an “offer” in the context of private cash-pay medical practices?
Put simply, an “offer” is a collection of services and products that you provide to customers (patients). You can have one offer or multiple offers with different price points and structures.
For some cash-pay obesity medicine providers, their offer might be as simple as a monthly consult fee and that’s it. For others, their offer might include things like meal replacement products, coaching sessions, gym memberships, and even the compounded medications themselves.
2) How are different types of offers structured?
It’s important to note that the type of offer depends on the timeline you’re working with. For the purpose of this article, let’s break offers up into three categories:
One-time – patients pay a one-time fee for a product or service (i.e. each consult is $199).
Recurring – patients “subscribe” to an ongoing arrangement for a period of time (i.e. $149/month for 6 months).
Long-tail (onboarding + continuity) – patients pay a higher fee to get started and then “subscribe” to an ongoing arrangement for continuous services and/or products (i.e. $349 up-front to get started and then $49/month thereafter).
When selecting the structure of your offer, it’s important to analyze this decision through the lens of VALUE. In other words, when do customers get the most value (impact) out of what you’re providing?
– Do they get all of the value at one time?
– Do they receive value equally and consistently over a period of time?
– Do they recognize more value at the beginning and then less as time passes?
3) Creating the perfect offer is an iterative, ongoing process.
The best offers are the offers that continually evolve based on market dynamics and customer needs. The reality is that perfecting your offer will be an iterative, never-ending process.
We find providers are often hesitant to launch their first offer and tend to overthink pricing, contents, and structure. Don’t forget that just because you start with one offer doesn’t mean you can’t change it. Just because you start your offer at a lower price point doesn’t mean you can’t raise it.
However, the central theme here is that it’s best to start with ONE offer, keep perfecting that ONE offer, and add to it when (and only when) the demand for your services is strong enough to necessitate another pathway.
4) How to perfect your offer through a step-by-step process.
Offer creation hinges on feedback from your customers (patients). The best way to refine your offer is to speak with your customers. It’s that simple.
Here are 8 steps to help you get started:
– Talk to as many potential customers as possible about what they need and what’s lacking in the marketplace
– Craft an initial offer to meet those needs (while still making financial sense for your business)
– Present that initial offer to 5-10 potential customers and analyze their response
– Change the offer based on their feedback
– Present the new offer to the previous group – and another 5-10 potential customers – and analyze their response
– Change the offer based on their feedback
– Start selling
– Repeat
The more you talk to your customers, the more you will understand their needs, hesitations, likes, and dislikes.
As you go through this ongoing feedback loop, remember that a swipe of the credit card is the ultimate form of feedback. Written and spoken feedback are crucial at the beginning but don’t carry as much weight as actual transactions.
Find where, when, and how people are spending money on your services and double-down on what’s working.
5) Next steps to grow your practice.
The key message in today’s article is to start small with one simple but impactful offer, speak with as many potential customers as possible, and never stop improving.
The stickiest possible offers – the offers that keep patients coming back and telling all of their friends about your practice – pack an insane amount of value, at a price point that makes sense, through a structure that meets their needs.
🎯 If you need help analyzing your offers, let’s schedule a time to review. We’re happy to have a conversation free of charge with no strings attached, no matter the size of your practice.
🚀 Did you know we also created an Ultimate Obesity Medicine Practice Growth Toolkit that we give away to providers FOR FREE? You can access all 11 resources at no cost using the link above.
It’s one of our best offers. 😉
Article by: Austin Rhoads
Austin is the Co-Founder of Alterra Health and has been a leader in the development of weight loss education programs for patients and medical practitioners for the past ten years.