BUSINESS

  MERCHANDISING

SHOWCASE CLEAR VISION

USE THESE THREE TIPS TO PROMOTE THE VALUE OF “BEST VISION”

DEPENDING ON your practice setting, you may be seeing quite a few healthy consumers every day; or perhaps you see a lot of retinal disease or complex anterior segment cases. In any regard, most consumers have one goal in mind: seeing clearly. Helping our consumers see their best seems to be the most understated and obvious of goals, but how much attention do you pay to this tiny, sought-after gem every day? It’s not as glamorous as glaucoma, nor as raw as dry eye disease. It is, however, the ultimate end-goal for most of our patients.

Here are some ideas to dust off and shine up the merchandising side of seeing best.

1 SHOW THEM THE DIFFERENCE

Show your consumers what seeing well is really all about. I think that sometimes consumers don’t know what they are missing. Not sure whether the prescription change is really worth it for an update in glasses? Let them decide, not you, by demonstrating on one of the various digital refracting systems with the touch of a button. This toggles between the current spectacle prescription and the new prescription, and shows what the latter can do for the patient. This simple change in my office has hastened decision-making in purchasing spectacles for the most dubious of my patients. This instant comparison is way better than trying to demonstrate a half diopter spherical change with a quarter cylinder and 8° of axis. Even with an advanced technological demonstration, you may still get the, “Do you think I should update?” question. Allow the patient to trust your recommendation.

2 PROVIDE OPTIONS

Give your consumers options for vision correction. Why do we assume a patient only wants one pair of glasses? We put a lot of pressure on those glasses, and us, to deliver. I preface my education on eye wear options by simply stating, “I’m going to review my recommendations for your glasses options, and then you can make an educated decision as to how you’d like to move forward.” Give consumers an out. If they think they are being coerced into purchasing spectacles, their guard may come up. If they know they are just being educated on their options, perhaps they will be more open to those visual solutions. This doesn’t mean you aren’t prescribing from the exam room; it just means you are allowing the consumer the knowledge of all visual correction options.

3 TALK VISION PRESERVATION

Let consumers know how they can preserve their “best” vision. Great. You got them there. That awesome 20/20. The consumer is happy; you are happy. Don’t forget you need to give the consumer the tools he or she now needs to protect that 20/20 vision. It’s not just about sunglasses. It’s also about regular eye care, nutrition, keeping up-to-date on blue light protection, dry eye disease and overall vision performance on a daily, sustaining basis. And you remind the consumer of all these aspects every time, every year. After all, isn’t your consumer’s best vision your best mission?

Remember, a more patient-friendly experience increases value, and, thus, greatly reduces complaints about fees. OM

GINA M. WESLEY, O.D., M.S., F.A.A.O., practices at Complete Eye Care of Medina, a Vision Source practice, which she opened in 2008. She was honored as Minnesota’s Optometrist of the Year in 2011. Email drwesley@cecofmedina.com, or visit tinyurl.com/OMcomment to comment on this article.