MBA Intelligence

July 15, 2011

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

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Ziegler

Ask Neil

Dr. Neil Gailmard

A doctor asks...

“My second-pair sales are close to non-existent. What can I do to increase second-pair sales, and what goal is reasonable?”

I had the same problem in my practice. Even though I tried various staff incentives and training programs about lifestyle dispensing, the number of multiple-pair sales of complete pairs of glasses was very low. I decided to try giving an incentive directly to the patient. I changed our usual 20 percent discount on additional complete pairs to 50 percent. This approach worked for us; We now sell multiple pairs in about 20 percent of our dispensing encounters.

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

Super Service Pearls

Advice from service experts to enhance the patient experience

As Service Impressions Are Formed, Everything Speaks

The Disney organization is among the most sophisticated practitioners of customer experience engineering. There is nothing accidental or spontaneous about what happens at a Disney theme park. Every detail is meticulously planned. Disney understands that “everything speaks” in a guest’s experience, no matter how trivial a detail. They know that every detail of the guest experience has the potential to add or subtract from the Disney brand.

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How Does Your Practice Compare?

Eye

New Optometric Practice Exam Fees Are Somewhat Lower Than in Established Practices

The undiscounted exam fees charged direct pay patients are typically 3-5 percent lower in new optometric practices than in established practices. Other MBA analyses show that larger practices tend to charge somewhat higher exam fees.


 

Market Facts

MF

Personal referrals are the leading source of the optical staff members most recently hired, according to a 2011 survey conducted among eye care professionals by Jobson Medical Information. These personal referrals account for 46 percent or recent hires, followed by Internet sites at 28 percent. Newspapers contribute just 11 percent of new hires, and recruiter only 4 percent.

Spotlight on...

Best Practices of Spectacle Lens best practices

Management

Because eyewear accounts for such a large
share of total practice revenue, upgrading the eyewear product mix has a major impact on financial performance of the practice. The only other eyewear management initiative that can produce comparable revenue gains with minimal investment is upgrading recall processes. The table below shows that increasing the average eyewear sale by just $23 (a 10 percent increase in the average retail sale of the median U.S. practice) increases revenue by approximately $33,500 in a typical $750,000 practice. Increasing the average eyewear sale to $350 (achieved by the 20 percent of practices with the highest eyewear transaction size), generates an additional $178,900 or so in a $750,000 practice.

SL

MBA Updates

Upcoming MBA Seminars:
COPE approved lectures

MR

Canadian Association of Optometrists 2011 Congress:
Winnipeg, Manitoba, July 24.
Info: www.opto.ca

Southern California College of Optometry:
Fullerton, Ca., August 26
Info: www.scco.edu

MBA: World Class Staffing:
Fort Lauderdale, FL.,
September 16-17 &
Berkeley, Ca.,
October 28-29.
Info: www.primaryeye.net/pio

Vision Expo West:
Las Vegas, September 24-25.
Info: www.visionexpowest.com

MORE MBA DATES»

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Neil

Sticky Situations

Dr. Dave Ziegler

A patient asks...

“I thought my insurance plan paid for everything. Why am I being charged extra for my glasses?”

Questions about insurance plan coverage can be a headache for your staff and a sore point for your patient. How do you help the patient understand their vision plan? Patients are generally not aware of what their plan covers. Often, they even are unsure of the name of their plan. But they know that they have something that is offered through their employer and that they pay for part of it. So now it's payback time: Give me what I deserve!

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

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New...

On MBA-ce.com

New Patient Recall Survey Results

Optometric practices spend relatively little, just 78 cents per exam conducted, on the vital process of recall, according to a newly released MBA Survey: Patient Recall. The entire report is posted on MBA-ce.com.

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About the MBA

The Management & Business Academy™ (MBA) is a professional education program, sponsored by CIBA VISION and Essilor, dedicated to assisting independent optometrists to improve business management processes. 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 repository of practice management information).

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Copyright © 2011 Management & Business Academy™ (MBA). All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.