O.D. to O.D

IS YOUR PRACTICE LOOKING GOOD?

OUR CONSUMERS “HIRE” US TO MAKE THEM SEE WELL AND LOOK THEIR BEST

Scot Morris
O.D., F.A.A.O.
Chief Optometric Editor

IN THE FIRST installment of our three-month “Better” series, we focus on looking good. I want to pose a question: Whose job is it to make consumers look good? Yours.

IT’S THEIR IMAGE AND YOURS

Your consumers are not only an extension of your practice’s “image,” they are really “hiring” you to make them see well and look good doing it! Dr. Mark Schaeffer sums up this discussion well in his article, “Help Patients Look Their Best” (page 20). Specifically, the article covers the practice services we often associate with medical eye care, such as red eye, but have a strong image component as well. The success of your practice truly depends on making the consumer look good in addition to feeling good.

Certified optician Melanie Burley takes this concept a step further by discussing the importance of frame styling and how your opticians can excel at it in “The Five Rules of Frame Styling” (p.24). Think about it. Have you ever looked at someone’s glasses and thought to yourself, “What kind of friend would have let that person pick out that frame?” You might even ask how an optician could have allowed such a choice. Do you want your office to be the one that supplied those glasses? Or, would you rather be the office that supplied the consumer who receives compliments because her glasses look great? As Melanie expertly explains, looking good is not just about having the right inventory, it’s also about training and experience in frame selection.

DON’T’ FORGET AESTHETICS

Of course, we would be remiss if we did not cover aesthetics and color-enhancing, or color-changing, contact lenses while we are at it. Patients aren’t just interested in clear vision, comfortable wear and healthy-looking eyes, many are also interested in showcasing their eye’s color or changing up their look.

And speaking of changing up one’s look, when is the last time you and your staff looked at your practice from the perspective of the patient? Is your office clean? Is your merchandising a positive or a negative? Is your office somewhere you would want to visit if you didn’t work there? Drs. Gerson, Wesley and Vargo cover these areas, providing ideas on how you can improve the look of your practice in their respective columns Diversify Your Portfolio (p.44), Merchandising (p.66) and Marketing (p.68).

Of note: Your image and your staff’s image, represent your practice to your patients and within the community.

For example, what frames do you and your staff members wear? Whether you consider the eyewear conservative, trendy, formal or casual, are these styles consistent with the image that you have set for your practice?

Beyond eyewear, look around your office. Is everyone on the staff dressed as professionally as you would hope?

What lenses do you personally wear? Along with your frames, do they tell the story that you lead a practice that dispenses high-quality lenses that delight consumers? Do the glasses you dispense to consumers tell a similar story?

A PEAK INSIDE

To assist with your “looking good” responsibilities, here’s a brief peek at other parts of this issue:

• Jason R. Miller, O.D., provides four tips for growing your practice with cosmetic contact lenses (p.40).

• Can aesthetics create consumer confidence? Yes, Jay Binkowitz explains, starting on p.58.

• By placing an emphasis on branded frames and lenses, practices can increase capture ratios and grow revenues. David Ziegler, O.D., reveals how on p.42.

• On p.80, Mark Hinton shares two scripts that engage consumers by explaining the personal benefits of the optical and the frame.

Look your best, and help others do the same. Think about making your look the best it can be. . . and next month we will deal with the rest! OM