o.d. to o.d.

Your Practice is Not About You

It’s about your consumers’ experience. So, determine your consumer demographic and what each consumer wants

BY SCOT MORRIS, O.D., F.A.A.O.
Chief Optometric Editor

I am not trying to be confrontational, but what you do every day is really not about you, or me or us. It is about the consumers. Have you ever thought about how a consumer experiences the process we put them through? Specifically, we put them in a dark room, ask them to make choices about little letters on a wall, and in the process of making sure they see well and that their eyes are healthy, we create a situation in which they are light sensitive and can’t see well for the next four to six hours. Think about it!

Let’s drill down into this subject a little further. These two questions may change the entire way you run your business. Get out a sheet of paper, and write them:

1. Who is your consumer?

2. What do each of your consumers want?

These questions have correct answers, and they are not “everyone” and “everything,” at least not if you truly understand your business and your consumer.

The first question

You may have noticed that I didn’t ask, “Who is your patient?” That’s great doctor thinking, but he or she is only a patient once in the exam chair where you, the doctor, provide care (and a lot must happen correctly to get to that point).

Overarching all this is that patients are consumers. They are consumers of either goods (retail items, such as glasses and contact lenses) or services (medical eye care, vision care or specialty care). Ideally, consumers “consume” these goods or services, and pay your business money as compensation. This differs from a patient who may pay a copay or, in some cases, nothing at all. This is a big philosophical change, but it is a vital one. Spend a little time figuring out your consumer demographic. It’s critical not only to your marketing efforts but to designing every aspect of your business.

The second question

This may be an even more important question than the first. I ask this question in seminars all the time. I get an array of answers, which are always followed by, “How do you know?” Hopefully, you ask and listen intently and honestly. Then, you make the necessary changes to keep your consumers happy. Otherwise, through time, the problem corrects itself because consumers just go away. Check your rate of return on established consumers to know whether I am referring to your business.

Seeing through their eyes

This month, we focus on seeing our profession through consumers’ eyes. Maybe once we see the process from their perspective, we can start to make changes that result in greater efficiency, enjoyment and productivity for our consumers. The key to success in today’s business world is to excel at the customer experience (see definition above).

Read on and, hopefully, you will glean a few more key concepts and be motivated to take the necessary steps to build your business by creating happy and informed consumers. OM