BUSINESS

  business strategies

No More Nova

If you seek excellence and longevity, you have to find your “bagel”

GARY GERBER, O.D.

It was the best bagel shop in New York City. Ess-A-Bagel, the very small and worn out-looking store on the corner of 21st Street and 1st Avenue, was known for one thing: bagels.

Unlike today’s bagel stores, which offer flavored coffees, sandwiches on things other than bagels and a full array of delicatessen offerings, Ess-A-Bagel only sold bagels with the requisite butter, cream cheese and nova lox. Adding bottled water was a big deal for this store.

I discovered the shop in my first year at SUNY. As a regular customer, I grew to love those bagels. So, it was with mixed emotions that I visited during Vision Expo East to find out it was to be their last day in business. The handwritten sign in the window spelled out that they were closing due to a change in their lease. As of that last day, they hadn’t found a new home. They were in the same location for 40 years. Selling one thing: great bagels.

What is your one thing?

What’s your bagel? What is the one thing that stands out above all else that you sell to your patients? Is it done so flawlessly and consistently that your practice tombstone will write itself? “Here lies the optometry practice of Dr. Jones, best known for ... ?”

The line was out the door at Ess-A-Bagel that day and continued down the street past three other stores. But that wasn’t unusual for a Sunday morning. As I got closer to the store and saw the sign in the window, it was obvious what all the chatter in front of me was about. But the real essence of their business model struck me when I finally made it inside and from the behind the counter I heard the clerk call out, “No more nova!” The end was finally here.

It’s about the experience

My response may seem excessively emotional — there are literally hundreds of other shops in New York City that sell bagels. But the point is that an iconic brand was disappearing. It wasn’t just the great bagels. And it certainly wasn’t the environment of a store not much bigger than most bedrooms. It was the end of an experience. The smell, the lines, the welcoming warmth when you got inside during the winter.

Does your practice have anything analogous to a mere bagel? How can the preservation and enhancement of vision and the subsequent enjoyment of life not have one indelible connection to a patient’s memory? Work hard to discover the ONE thing that will be your legacy, and continually and relentlessly exploit it with every patient at every visit.

Yes, when we offer so much more than just a bagel, it might seem hard to focus on one memorable thing. Is it our frame inventory? Probably not, as that is constantly changing and by nature can’t be consistent. But how about the way the frames are displayed? Is there something that, perhaps, always shows off ONE particular frame in a very unique and memorable way?

Got “mojo”?

Or maybe the office “mojo” will be your bagel legacy. When someone enters your practice, what single memorable, consistent emotion can you impart that will be everlasting and allow him or her to remember you?

It’s not easy to “find your bagel,” but if you want to be an icon in your community and have a 40-year history of excellence, it’s a worthwhile search. OM

DR. GERBER IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE POWER PRACTICE, A COMPANY SPECIALIZING IN MAKING OPTOMETRISTS MORE PROFITABLE. LEARN MORE AT WWW.POWERPRACTICE.COM, OR CALL DR. GERBER AT (888) 356-4447.