MBA Intelligence - Preset Your Patients to Purchase

Ask Neil

Dr. Neil Gailmard

A doctor asks...

"How can I increase my patient referrals?"

Word-of-mouth referrals are still the best way to build an independent optometry practice. Social media, online patient reviews and a great practice website are the newest forms of marketing, but they still revolve around a happy patient recommending your office to others.

There are four key factors in maximizing word-of-mouth.

Legendary customer service
This is the biggest factor, and it goes way beyond the usual niceties. It includes many aspects of the total patient experience such as convenient office hours, easy parking, a warm welcome, pleasant décor, running on schedule, an easy billing process and much more. You and your staff must be passionate about customer service.

The Wow factor
This is often in the instrumentation and technology aspect of the practice. What tests, measurements or communication tools do you utilize that are unique and special? We want the patient to say: "Wow – I've never had that before."

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

New Staff Workshop

Service Recovery

Every service company, including the very best, experiences service breakdowns. Disney World Resort refers to them as "combustion points" – times when guests are unhappy with some aspect of their experience, even when the company may not be at fault. Great service companies refine their service delivery process to keep breakdowns to a minimum. But some still happen, because no system or human being is perfect. Customer complaints are an important indicator of the
service breakdowns that occur in a business.

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How Does Your Practice Compare?

How Does Your Practice Compare

Optometric practice owners estimate that 10 percent of their contact lens and eyeglass wearing patients take their prescription elsewhere for filling. It is likely that owners overestimate their capture rate of the device purchases of patients and underestimate walk-outs. Jobson Optical Research surveys show that independent ECPs account for two-thirds of eye exams performed, but 55 percent of contact lens sales and 49 percent of eyeglass sales. These data suggest actual capture rates among independents of 82 percent for contact lenses (18 percent walk-out) and 73 percent for eyewear (27 percent walk-out).

Market Facts

Most Contact Lens Wear Initiated With Patient Request

Best Practices of Spectacle Lens

Management

A 2009 Essilor consumer study, with the sample weighted heavily to retail optical chain buyers, shows an average eyeglasses transaction of $204. Pairs with a retail price at more than $250 accounted for 31 percent of units and 51 percent of sales, while pairs selling for $150 or less accounted for 44 percent of units, but just 23 percent of retail sales.

Best Practices of Spectacle Lens Management

Super Service Pearls

Daily Huddles Increase Staff Alignment with Practice Mission

A daily huddle with managers and frontline people before the start of each shift is a technique used by Ritz Carlton and many other premier service companies.

At Ritz Carlton, a 15-20 minute daily "line-up" is used to instill the corporate mission to deliver exceptional guest experiences, convey organizational announcements, celebrate exceptional service incidents and share inspirational quotations from famous leaders. During the brief meeting, everyone remains standing, which assures focused attention and that the line-ups will be short. Ritz Carlton considers these daily meetings indispensable to demonstrate management's commitment to its core values.

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MBA Updates

Upcoming MBA Seminars:

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

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 patient asks...

"I'm out of contact lenses, and it is two weeks until my next exam. Can I have some free samples to hold me over until then?"

When my staff hears this question, they try to decide if the person really will come in two weeks from now or if they are just looking for freebies. We might tend to look at these patients with a skeptical eye, but I think it is the rare person who looks for something free that they should be buying. A scammer usually has a history of such requests, and the staff knows right away when one person seems to ask for samples far more than anyone else.

If the request seems fair, you have several options:

1. Give them a free pair, and see them at their exam in two weeks.

2. Reschedule the exam earlier, like that day, if possible, and if their insurance allows it.

3. Sell them a box of lenses for each eye to give them the immediate pair that they need, and give them more time to come in for an exam.

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

New...

On MBA-ce.com

New MBA Program on World Class Staffing

A new MBA program on staffing will premier this fall with symposia held in both Florida and California. The program, “Total Practice Success: A Symposium for a World Class Staff,” was created by the Management & Business Academy™(MBA), sponsored by CIBA VISION and Essilor.

September 15, 2011