The following article provides an overview of offer creation, memberships, and pricing models for cash-pay direct primary care (DPC), medical weight loss, and obesity medicine clinics.
Unsure how to price consults and memberships in a cash-pay clinic? Here’s the framework to use.
Creating offers that attract and retain patients is difficult. It requires ongoing feedback, testing, and iteration.
The good news? We’re here to make it easier with today’s article. Start by asking yourself these three questions:
💎 Value – Does what I offer solve my patients’ problems? Like REALLY address their needs, not just put temporary band-aids on problems?
🔄 Retention – Which pieces of my program keep patients coming back, help them be successful LONG-TERM, and encourage organic referrals?
⏰ Timing – Where in the journey do my patients get the most value or IMPACT from what I offer?
**PS – Have questions specific to your clinic? Click to schedule a free call!
Want a winning pricing model? Tie payment as directly as possible to the impact patients are experiencing.
Weight loss can be a tricky business for two main reasons:
1) Unless we’re talking about plastic surgery, losing weight takes time to achieve.
2) Excess weight is the surface level problem patients are facing but not the deeply-rooted challenge they actually need to solve.
The biggest issue we see is that cash-pay providers view pricing through a selfish lens (i.e. “What’s best for my business?”) and fail to create models that make sense for their patients in terms of value, retention, and timing.
We’ve talked to hundreds and hundreds of providers – this is what we found.
The biggest secret to pricing in a cash-pay clinic is to charge money when patients receive value (impact). It’s literally that simple.
To charge more, provide more value. To charge earlier, provide value earlier.
Before you look at these graphics and say – “But I don’t work for free!” – pause and consider all of your online competitors that are already offering free consults and guarantees.
The purpose of these graphics is not to suggest exact numbers per se but rather to illustrate the importance of structure:
1) Pricing doesn’t have to stay the same – it should change based on value.
2) Just like the services you provide, your pricing model should inherently prioritize long-term patient success.
3) Building trust with patients at the beginning (even if it requires providing free consults), translates into better outcomes for everyone.
Having trouble providing the valuable, 360° experience patients want with their memberships? We can help.
🚀 Learn why leading obesity medicine providers are implementing Alterra Health – the only holistic education and support platform with the personalized accountability patients want and need.
Join our FREE webinar for providers or schedule a no-cost intro call with our team today.
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.