Coupon offers have been highly effective in the consumer market and have been adopted by the majority of consumers. According to the magazine Advertising Age, 87% of all shoppers use coupons. Tough economic times have made discount coupons an even more valuable tool in attracting patients who would otherwise skip costly medical treatments. Their effectiveness is even higher in professions that do not take health insurance.

During a recession, patients at all income levels look for discounts or at least look for ways to make them feel like they are getting a good deal. The rise in unemployment has lead to an increased loss of healthcare coverage. This in turn leaves patients with having to pay for medical services out of their own pocket. Those circumstances create a strong incentive for patients to search for the best doctor within a limited budget. It is exactly in this type of environment that coupons can be a major factor in the decision of selecting a physician. Discounting medical services also makes economic sense due to the fact that a practice’s overhead costs are fixed in nature. Rather than being a concern discounted prices help towards partially or fully covering preset costs even if its per-unit reimbursement rate is below the average. Another far more important consideration is the so-called “lifetime value” of a patient. Depending on the medical profession, The lifetime value of a patient can be worth thousands to hundreds of thousands in revenues therefore rendering coupon costs negligible when compared to future earnings potential. Savvy medical practitioners know that coupons dramatically impact their bottom line. Just to name a few benefits:

• Effective coupons attract new patients to your door. This has been verified by the fact that people will drive miles out of their way just to save 5 cents on a gallon of gas.
• Coupons entice patients from other practices to try your services. It is a proven fact that consumers will break their routines in order to take advantage of a good offer.
• Coupons can re-engage old patients by enticing them with special offers.
• They also present a great opportunity to introduce new services to existing and new patients.
• Marketing through coupons is measurable. You can easily measure, control and adjust the offers to drive the right amount of patient traffic that you require on the days that need it the most.

Who uses coupons in the medical community Anyone can take advantage of coupons and dramatically affect their bottom line. Some medical professions rely heavily on coupons to drive traffic while others simply are unaware of their usefulness. Here are a few:

• Optometrists - Buy one pair of eye glasses and get the second for free, discount on designer frames, discounts on eye exams, buy 2 boxes of contact lenses and get the third one for free.
• Chiropractor - Discount for first time patients, FREE spinal exams, discount on x-rays, and free massage after 10 visits.
• Dentist - FREE first time exam, discount on regular cleaning, tooth whitening specials.
• Massage Therapists - Free gift with first time purchase of 30 minutes. Buy 4 hours of sessions and get an hour for free. Bring a friend for a 30% discount.
• Plastic Surgeons - Discount on Botox treatments such as “Botox Wednesdays” that offer patients two injections for the price of one. Referral programs that grant breast implant patients deep discounts when bringing in a friend.

What makes a good coupon offer It depends on the profession but here are a few:

• “$50.00 Off!” Discounts on goods and services. Target offers that directly affect a patients pocket.
• Combination offers provide discounts by selling multiple services as a bundle. Offer one free treatment as part of a series of treatments. 20% off if the patient brings a friend.

The idea is to increase exposure by getting your patients to bring a friend, to offer larger discounts as patients buy more services, packaged services etc. This is a crucial step in the process of creating the right coupon offer and here also lies the importance of choosing the right partner that can help you manage your offerings. The best way to maximize exposure through coupons is with MDcircle.com. MDcircle provides medical practitioners the tools required to market their services.

• Why pay to have a coupon published in the newspaper where it gets lost when what you really want is to put your coupon in front of patients who are actively looking for your services MDcircle provides such a medium.
• Why pay to place your coupon ad when you can reach more patients for FREE at MDcircle
• MDcircle also provides you the tools to monitor which coupons are bringing in the most new patients.

Conclusion - Coupons work and are commonly used in just about every field. In these difficult economic times, patients are faced with rising healthcare costs and loss of income and/or health care coverage. Doctors are also faced with rising fixed costs and lower insurance payouts. Coupons can help patients get the deal they are looking for and doctors get the extra foot traffic they need.

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