MBA Intelligence - Reduce Your Dependence on Vision Insurance Plans

Ask Neil

Dr. Neil Gailmard

A doctor asks...

"What should I do to take best advantage of the relationship with contact lens sales reps?"

I view meetings with contact lens sales representatives as business opportunities. Some of my best practice building ideas were initiated by talking with a rep. In my experience, contact lens sales reps are well trained in the business of eyecare, and they give me a fresh perspective. They may present a new marketing program, or they may just help me to review some aspect of my practice. Consider the points that a contact lens rep can help you analyze:

• How to increase your capture rate for contact lens product sales.

• Ways to increase sales of full-year supplies of lenses.

• The benefits of offering an ordering portal on your practice web site for patients, and how to install it.

• Checking your pricing strategy for contact lens products and services.

• How to maximize profitability when contact lenses are covered by vision plans.

Dr. Neil Gailmard, who is widely known for his practice management advice, is a member of the MBA faculty.

Super Service Pearls

Avoid Policies that Punish 98 Percent of Patients Who Are Honest to Catch 2 Percent Who Are Cheaters

The success of any business depends on providing value to customers. When a customer perceives that such high value has been received from a business that it cannot be easily obtained elsewhere, then loyalty is likely to be higher and the importance of price in the relationship is likely to be lower.

Research among patients receiving medical care shows that few patients are able to evaluate the technical quality of the service they receive. Patients consider competence an important mandatory for medical practices, but also as an expected feature that does not differentiate one provider from another.

While few patients are experts on the science of vision, all are experts on the quality of human communication that takes place in a doctor's office. It is an aspect of service that is most critical in patients' value perceptions.

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How Does Your Practice Compare?

Two-thirds of established independent practice owners conduct frequent staff meetings; one-third conduct staff meetings quarterly or less often. Nearly one-in-four practices conduct weekly staff meetings.

Market Facts

Penetration of Personalized Progressive Lenses Grows

Best Practices of Spectacle Lens Mangement

This chart illustrates the revenue impact of increasing usage ratios, above the current national norm, for no-glare, anti-reflective spectacle lenses. The percentage of lens units dispensed is shown, followed by estimates of the revenue generated when higher usage ratios are achieved, as they are in the best-performing practices.

Best Practices of Spectacle Lens Management

"Patient Education Standards"

The world would be a better place without people who are always ready to throw fairness out the window, be unreasonably demanding and ignore the legitimate interests of the other party in business transactions.

Fortunately, cheaters and abusers are rare. But some retail businesses and doctors' offices erect a fortress of rules and regulations to protect themselves from the few who are bent on taking advantage. A siege mentality is a problem, because the majority of honest customers view restrictive policies as unreasonable and one–sided. When customers hear “policy” cited as the reason a business can't do something, they become unhappy. When customers sense that a business is rules based, they conclude the needs of the business will always supersede their needs.

Upcoming MBA Seminars:

MBA: World Class Staffing:
Berkeley, Ca.,
October 28-29.
Info: www.primaryeye.net/pio

MBA II at Disney Institute:
Orlando, Fl.,
November 8-9.
Info: www.disneyurl.com/MBADI

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Sticky Situations

Dr. Dave Ziegler

A staffing issue...

Occasionally, members of our optical staff are offered free frames and lenses from reps, but the rest of the staff don't get spiffs like that. What kind of policy would be fair to the whole staff?

When our office gets free items from sales reps, whether it is promotional clothing or complimentary items like free frames and lenses, we have a set policy. We share them.

It's important that the staff realize that these gifts or awards are not their but belong to the office. As an extreme example of this, Neostyle did a frame promotion in 1998 where an office qualified for a contest by selling a certain number of frames. At the end of the promotion, all the qualified offices' names were put in a hat, and the winner won a free BMW Z3 convertible. Well, our office won that car! But our head optical staff person actually believed it was her car since she was the one selling most of the frames. That sticky situation ended in favor of my associate and myself, but it pointed out to us how misperceptions can occur unless a policy is stated.

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

New from the
MBA...

New MBA Program on
World Class Staffing

A new MBA program on staffing is slated for October 28-29 in Berkeley, California—and there still is time to register. "Total Practice Success: A Symposium for Building a World Class Staff," is a 1.5-day program featuring lectures by Laurie Sorrenson, OD, FAAO; Mike Rothschild, OD; and Daniel Abramson of Staff Dynamics. In addition, Robert Bell of EyeCoach leads a workshop on selling in which staff is invited to join with ODs. Participants also receive a wealth of print and online resources that reflect the unique metrics-based mission of the MBA program.

October 15, 2011