BUSINESS

  MARKETING

FROM HIGH END TO NO SHOWS

IMPROVE PREMIUM FRAME SALES, AND REDUCE MISSED APPOINTMENTS

STEVE VARGO, O.D., M.B.A.

Q: HOW DO I MARKET HIGH-END FRAMES?

A: Consider these three steps:

1. Identify the ideal consumer. When marketing high-end products, the ideal consumer is someone who is excited about the products you offer and has the ability to purchase your products at higher prices. Not everyone will appreciate a high-end frame. Some will complain about the price. That’s OK — it’s not for them. Many people walk into Nordstrom, look at the $90 price tag on a tie, and walk back out. “Everybody” is not Nordstrom’s target market. The retailer doesn’t need everybody, it just needs enough of the right people.

2. Deliver the right message. Gentlemen, have you ever tried on a tailored suit and thought, “Wow, I look good”? Ladies, ever held up a designer purse and said, “Oh yes, it will be mine”? Consumers will pay a premium for products that make them look and feel good. They purchase based on emotion, and then rationalize the purchase with logic. Consider emotional triggers in your marketing messages.

3. Choose the right channels. Reach ideal consumers where they are. Some examples are advertising in local publications that target high-end consumers, cross-promoting with local retailers (boutiques, jewelry stores, etc.) or even hanging out at local country clubs. There’s always a market for high-end products — you just have to find the high-end consumers.

Q: HOW DO I REDUCE THE NUMBER OF NO-SHOWS IN MY PRACTICE?

A: Some patients miss appointments for legitimate reasons, but sometimes the reason is simply a perceived lack of urgency, importance or commitment.

Here are a few ways to address this:

• Lack of urgency. Treat pre-appointments as reservations, not confirmations. Pre-appointing is a common practice in many offices, but a patient’s lack of vision problems at the one-year mark can lead to no-shows. Send the first reminder about a month before the scheduled exam. Request confirmation of the appointment. For the second or final reminder, include verbiage to indicate that if the patient does not confirm the appointment today, you will assume the patient won’t be coming in. Open up the slot about one week prior to the exam if you have not received a confirmation.

• Lack of importance. In these cases, use your serious doctor voice, and be clear with “why” the patient needs to return. While an annual eye exam is prudent for everyone, certain ocular conditions or family histories heighten the importance. Pictures of neglected eye conditions are great for getting your point across.

• Lack of commitment. For habitual no-show offenders, ask a simple question when scheduling the appointment: “Will you please call if you have to cancel?” Sounds too simple, right? Yet research shows that people are more likely to keep commitments after they’ve agreed to them verbally or in writing. This is one of the six principles of persuasion from the famed work of Dr. Robert Cialdini. OM

These questions are based on reader responses to an Optometric Management online survey, which closed on Dec. 20.

DR. VARGO serves as Prima Eye Group’s vice president of Optometric Consulting. A published author and speaker with more than 15 years clinical experience, he is now a full-time consultant advising O.D.s in all areas of practice management and optometric office operations. To comment on this article, visit tinyurl.com/OMcomment.