BUSINESS

  SCRIPTOPEDIA

ENSURE YOUR FUTURE

SIX STRATEGIES TO KEEP YOUR BUSINESS FLOURISHING IN THE YEARS TO COME

MARK HINTON

THE FUTURE of your practice lies not in defensive, but offensive strategies aimed at scrutinizing the consumer’s experience in your practice and your business practices.

Here are six such strategies.

1 EXAMINE ONLINE REPUTATION

Hold weekly meetings to review consumer complaints, and to develop new procedures and training techniques to prevent those mistakes moving forward. Also, contact complaining consumers directly to apologize, determine a way to make him or her happy and ask whether he or she would be willing to remove the post. Be prepared to provide a refund, and view it as a means of maintaining your good reputation. Finally, compliment/incentivize staff members when a positive review is posted to maintain the appreciated behavior.

2 ASSESS HOW YOU LOOK

Look at your practice through a consumer’s eyes. What do you see when you enter the practice? Are the windows, counters, mirrors and floors clear of dust? Is your front desk staff dressed professionally? Does your optical invite browsing via appealing colors, graphics and signs? Are the frames free from fingerprints? Does the practice have pleasing music or scents? Would you come back and recommend friends and family based on the appearance of the practice? Once you’ve answered these questions, determine where changes may be needed, and make them. In the case of your optical, ask vendors for advice on aesthetics and best-selling products.

3 EVALUATE SERVICE

Have a friend or family member (not known to your staff) present for an appointment to tell you about his or her experience with staff. Specifically, ask this individual whether staff connected personally to him or her (i.e. used first name, was friendly and polite and answered any questions) on the phone for the appointment call and at the practice, both during his or her appointment and pre-testing. Then, ask whether your friend would return and recommend others to the practice. Along these lines, make team training ongoing (daily huddle/weekly meet and industry expert seminars) to ensure your staff is providing the service you expect.

4 BUILD PROFILES

Collect and analyze consumers’ data to determine patient demographics, preferred products, average spending and desired days and time slots for appointments, so you can best meet their needs and, thus, create loyalty.

5 MAXIMIZE VISION PLANS

Train your team on the vision plans you accept and the rules of each, so your consumer and business can benefit from them.

6 KNOW YOUR COMPETITION

Have a staff member pose as a consumer, so he or she can report back to you on the products your competition sells, the prices they charge, the promotions they’re running and how the practice looks and treats its consumers. Once you have this intel, you can make changes you feel will benefit your own business. . OM

MR. HINTON is CEO and president of eYeFacilitate. Email him at mark@eyefacilitate.com, or to comment on this article, visit tinyurl.com/OMcomment.