MBA Intelligence

May 10, 2012

Bi-weekly information and advice to manage optometric practices
from the Management & Business Academy™ (MBA)

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Ziegler

Sticky Situations

Dr. Dave Ziegler

A doctor asks...

"How do we let patients know our new office doesn't make us more expensive?"

A doctor recently shared this dilemma with me: "We are currently building a new stand-alone office building. It's very nice...not exorbitant, but nice! We are getting nervous about patients thinking that we will be too expensive once we move. Our staff expresses this concern daily.

"How do we avoid the impression that we are going to start gouging patients in order to pay for the building? We thought about putting out an attractive sign that reads something like 'New building, but same quality eye care and eye wear at no additional charge.' I'm just not sure how to counteract that judgment...or should I even try? And, what advice should I give my staff to calm their fears?"

READ MORE »

Dr. Dave Ziegler, who lectures and publishes regularly, is a member of the MBA Faculty.

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Free MBA Webinar:
"Managing Eyewear and Contact Lens Inventory to Maximize Profitability"


An MBA webinar "Managing Eyewear and Contact Lens Inventory to Maximize Profitability" will be held on May 10, 2012, at 7:30pm EST. This one–hour webinar, free to all who register, is part of a series of business management webinars sponsored by the MBA. Participants will hear and view a live, half-hour Power Point presentation from Dr. Mark Wright. Participants then will have an opportunity to pose questions to Dr. Wright in the second half of the event. The webinar will reside on www.MBA-ce.com.

Click here to register.

"Measuring Practice Performance Over Time"

Ronald Krefman, OD, FAAO

Ronald Krefman, OD, FAAO, of focalCenter, advises that practice performance should be measured over time—and then judged against industry benchmarks to see how you are performing and where you can improve. Ask patients to evaluate your performance on key drivers of loyalty and satisfaction with a 1-5 scale and look at the top-box performance. A Net Promoter Score is a highly useful evaluation tool of patient advocacy. Ask patients to respond on a 1-5 scale to "How likely are you to recommend this practice?" Then look at the top scores and eliminate the bottom responses to judge how many patients are recommenders versus those who may be detractors. Click here to download a PDF on how to derive a Net Promoter Score.

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Market Facts

Market Facts

Progressive Lens Sales Average $226 per Pairs

Data from the on-going VisionWatch consumer panel indicate that the average price paid for progressive lenses is $226. By comparison, the average price paid for bifocal lenses is $88 — $138 less than for PALs. The average price consumers pay for top-of-the-line free-form lenses is $298.

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New MBA Practice-Building Resources

New Implementation Track: Practice Marketing and Optical Merchandising
The second in a series of MBA Practice Growth Implementation Tracks has been posted. Practice Marketing and Optical Merchandising provides an 11-step guide in how to analyze and refine your practice brand, develop a marketing budget and execute a marketing plan. Also included are merchandising techniques to maximize dispensary profits.

MBA Monograph: Marketing an Optometric Practice
This monograph details how to increase revenue from existing patients and attract new patients to your practice by executing an effective marketing plan.

MBA Survey: Prescription Eyewear Management
Results for the recently conducted MBA Prescription Eyewear Management Survey have been posted on the MBA–ce.com. This report assesses the prescription eyewear dispensing habits, mark–ups, and eyewear marketing tactics used by independent ODs.

Findings from a dozen MBA surveys conducted since 2008 are found on the MBA site. Click here.

MBA Updates


Carole Burns, OD


2012 MBA Seminars:

North Carolina Optometric Assoc., Myrtle Beach, June 7

American Optometric Assoc.,
First Practice Academy
Chicago, June 28–30

Texas Optometric Assoc.,
San Antonio, July 28

MBA 2 with Disney Institute, Anaheim, August 3-4

Vision Expo West, Las Vegas, September 8

MBA 2 with Disney Institute, Orlando, September 21-22

GWCO Congress, Portland, September 30

California Optometric Assoc., Monterey, November 8

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Join the MBA community
Register as a reader:
MBA-ce.com

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Two Dates Announced for MBA 2 with Disney Institute

The principles of world-class service that were pioneered by the Disney Company are presented—and interpreted for the optometric practice—at two upcoming MBA 2 seminars held in conjunction with Disney Institute. The program is presented by Disney Institute, and it includes a lecture by MBA faculty member Dave Ziegler, OD, FAAO, that provides strategies to apply Disney service principles to the optometric practice.

The MBA 2 is being held in Anaheim, California, on August 3-4, and also in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, on September 21-22. The cost of each program in $1,760, which includes curriculum, meals and a one-night stay at a Disney resort hotel. Travel costs are in addition to that.

About the MBA

The Management & Business Academy™ (MBA) is a professional education program, sponsored by Alcon and Essilor, dedicated to assisting independent optometrists to improve business management processes. The MBA conducts live seminars, conducts on-going research to establish national optometric practice performance metrics, publishes MBA Insights (a quarterly practice management journal) and maintains www.mba-ce.com (a premier practice website with business-building resources).

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Copyright © 2012 Management & Business Academy™ (MBA). All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.