The economy is definately effecting our office. We are having a hard time booking appointments and a harder time getting people to buy products. We have come up with a discount package pricing as a last resort before someone walks out with their RX but I wanted your ideas on how to help business pick up. Thanks so much.
Our September has been pretty crappy too, although I don't have anything to compare it to since it's our first year. Things were sailing along just fine through July. Although when you're new, just a couple more or less patients a week makes a big difference. Anyway, I'd like to hear some input on this as well.
Whether it is a good economy or a bad, the same principle applies: manage your cost of goods well. In good times it is easy to be sloppy; in bad times it can make or break your business.Originally Posted by eyestrain
September was our slowest month last year and this year our worst month in a long time. It's a combination of things, the economy, the election, consumer fear, busy parents after the back to school rush. We know from past experience that October will be better, November will be a bit slow and December-January will kick butt. In this business you can't retrieve what you lose but right now you just try harder. Anyone shopping leaves with one of my business cards on which I have written "good for 25% off through October 30th". A lot of those come back. Also we will do an in store promo of 50% off the frame or whatever. We have also sent out a mailing. Our zip code and a few close by with a $20.00 coupon on it. Good for any purchase but not on co-pays. We get quite a few of those back. You just have to be creative and sometimes right on the spot. If someone has insurance but they do not want to get new glasses we sell them sunglasses or readers or a spare pair for whatever their insurance covers. Not a huge sale but not a complete zero either. This is the time of year I volunteer to lose a few hours also. I could use the time off and can afford to lose a day. The young ones can't so I do not want to send them home.
Doc is right.....................
Only this time it is slow or very slow, and if all active OptiBoard members would comment on this subject you would find a 99% agreement that just about everybody ids affected from manufacturing to wholesale distribution and retail.
When people have no money they do not want to buy.The economy is definately effecting our office. We are having a hard time booking appointments and a harder time getting people to buy products. We have come up with a discount package pricing as a last resort before someone walks out with their RX but I wanted your ideas on how to help business pick up. Thanks so much.
Make a promotion to get them into your store......but do not promote new sales, which they do not want....................
Promote anything they like to hear........as we repair your frame, we remove your scratched AR coating on the spot, we put new lenses in you present frame, we will do everything so you can see without having to spend big amounts of money (which the don't have).
Do as much work yourself, as the easy and profitable things like tinting, UV, scratch resistant treatments.
Don't push the expensive stuff........you can do that again when all the trouble has become history.
If you need frames ask the reps for discontinued quality lines that cost a fraction of the original cost, people in need will buy any good frame even if it is a couple years past the newest models. You can also use them to make up high quality sunglasses you can sell for much less.
Buy untreated lenses and treat them yourself in house. People these days are not interested in having the luxury for lots of moneyy................offer them the basics at low cost while still making a good profit. If somebody does not care about cost, upsell them to whatever you can get away with.
Doc is right you got to manage and change for the hard times that will not get better very soon.
Last edited by Chris Ryser; 10-01-2008 at 07:38 AM.
Differentiate!!!
Wal-Mart will pick up business during this time. Do something different than Wal-Mart.
For-Life is right...........................................
That is why I said in above post........promote repairs, replacements, lenses in old frame ect
WalMart can not do repairs.......they are not equipped for that.
Last edited by Chris Ryser; 10-01-2008 at 09:41 AM.
If you have been in business for a few years go back and start recalling old patients. "This is a courtesy call to let you know your Rx is about to expire..." Especially those with insurance that might be eligible for services "If you still have ABC Insurance - You may be eligible for.... Would you like me to set you up with an appointment"
Phone calls are more personal and less expensive than a mailing
Also, years ago when we owned our own office, I contacted local businesses and offered them a discount program for their associates. We had the business sign an agreement & they could use it as an added benefit to their staff without costing them any money. We issued enough cards for them to insert in the staff paychecks. They were card stock and offered the associate and their immediate family a certain % off glasses. We would also put an expiration date so they were only good until the end of the following year. Just like their other health benefits.
If you want any other info PM me
The economy in our part of Texas . . . .
is still fairly strong and we were fortunate enough to show significant growth in September. We did a couple of things. We have a person in our office that does phone recalls for about half her day. She's been with the practice a long time and knows most of our patients by name and they know her. We hired another Optician and another Tech. The Tech has helped tremendously with the flow and the extra Optician has allowed us to spend the time we need with everyone in order to maximize the sales. We've also opened Saturdays back up with an overlapping crew and a different Doc. We continue to do all of the internal marketing things we've always done . . . birthday letters, come see our remodel, stop by and ask about the newest contact lenses. All of us have come together to try and fill the book. Patients are asked when they make their appointment, when picking up their glasses or contacts or even when they just come in for an adjustment, if anyone in their family is due for a new exam. So we aren't booked out a long ways anymore, but todays and tomorrows book is full and that's become our philosophy. You need an appointment? Our first available is today, our next available is tomorrow and so on. We've been able to pick up another 5 to 10 appointments a week just by asking.
I don't know if any of this is useful to you, but I wish you good luck! Just have fun and make money! People always spend more when they are having fun!!
:cheers:
Days where my gratitude exceed my expectations are very good days!
This is an enlightening thread with fine suggestions. I'm passing several of them along to our doc.
Thanks to everyone. :cheers::cheers:
Andrew
"One must remember that at the end of the road, there is a path" --- Fortune Cookie
With thanks to EyeCare Professional Magazine's September 2008 issue:
Reach out and touch your patients. Don’t wait until the holidays to thank your patients for their business. Those cards will get lost in all the madness. Thank them now with a special sale or a trunk show. Rethink trunk shows to include “Lens Shows”. With all the new technology available, why not highlight lenses for those older frames? If you’re not collecting email addresses…start now. An e-newsletter tells your patient base that your practice is on the cutting edge of technology. Offer yourself as an expert speaker to local civic organizations or the local schools. As local business person, you need to be visible in the community. That’s the kind of advertising you can’t buy.
Volunteer your time doing screenings at a school, senior center, or health fair. Bring educational pamphlets, and business cards with a discount amount on the back. Bring basic repair tools and an appt book. Any appts. generated are more than you had before.
Make them an offer they can't refuse!
Get creative with sales. Get excited about making a sale, and in turn saving your rear!
Grab a old frame display that you stashed in the broom closet, throw a bunch of your favorite deadbeat frames up, and when finished making a sale (1st pair) tell the patient to go grab one of the Dogs on that rack and you will gladly *GIVE* it to them to put their sunlenses, computer lenses, distance lenses, or whatever lenses. Sell them the lenses, the frame just comes along for the ride!
:cheers::cheers::cheers:
The sky is falling..... If you say it enough you start to believe it.
Good business skills carry over in good or bad times. Watch cost of goods give the best product to price and educate your patients to what is best for them and by all means let them justify the price don't figure anyone can't afford what you got. Getting them to the door utilize patient list for recalls and insurance.
Don’t panic owning my own practice for over 15 years I saw every type of economy
And it was me that domed us in the end by not following those rules till it was too late
We have seen a drop off in our jobs also -
although we are not all that large it does appear we have seen a drop in jobs -
We did ask the OD to do her RECALLS 2 times a month and not bi monthly -
in the past she would alwasy do the mailigns quaterly - to get folsk to schedule there new exams - however - aprox 8 mnths ago - she changed 2 things -
1- as for the mailings - she does them 2 times per mnth - It really seems to keep a things more steady -
we found in the past - when she did it quarterly - or even monthly - we woudl see a HUGe spike for maybe 2 weeks - and then woudl be dead - but since she changed it - it keeps exams and for us - eyeglass sales more steady - and we do not see those huge burn out weeks followed by several slow ( dead ) week s-
the other thing the doctors office did that seems to help - is to pre book there next years appointments - now -
i was never a big fan of this in the past - since we got some negitive vibes - such as "how am i supoosed to know what i will be doing next yr " however - when we set teh apt up - we make say the same day - and time for nex yr - and pts are not as judgemental as I Thought they would be -
the other thing i can say we have consentrated on was maximizing each sale - ( not that we all don't already do that " but many of our pts - say that they want the latest and greatest thing - in lenses and frames - so we talk to that - From the free forms products - to the best in coatings - and 99.9% of the time - if our doctor is on board with the new products - the pt is even more excited on updating there products even if there rx has not changed -
Unfortualty - persoanlly i see things only getting worse - esp with the holidays coming - and folks worried about heating there homes - to everyones 401K - and stock market issues - and i think this is just a facts - and we all need to work with the traffic we do have coming in
There was a great article in the regional paper today about how our area has been in the midst of a "crisis" for the last 3 years, and the rest of the country is just catching up.
At the first signs (2003) of a major downturn, we got lean and mean, cutting out excess wherever possible. We also drastically changed our buying habits and continued to have a "scorched earth" phillosphy on sales, that is - "Nobody walks". We may have to sell products we didn't sell 10 years, but we make sure that we truly have something for any budget.
When someone stops in and says "Do you take this insurance?" The answer is always "Yes" We are not providers, we do not submit to most, but we make money on all of them. I've covered how we do it in the professional forum, and there are lot of other ways.
This is the time to make money!:cheers: For once, they are predicting that Holiday shopping will be at an all time low! Well it's aobut time!! For once, people won't have overspent (maybe) on useless trash, and will have some money left over for the things they really need- glasses!
I'm pumped!!:cheers:
Ophthalmic Optician, Society to Advance Opticianry
for advertising, community programs, in house screenings. Have fun and take this slow time to try some things you may not have considered in the past because they were too out there. All my vendors are happy at the chance to run these programs and have shown success.
From what I understand, our office has had a record breaking September. One of the things I did was dust off old frames that where in understock, and sold them at 50% off. I cancelled all my frame purchasing for the last 6 weeks. I used more POP materials on our frame boards to display less frames but dress up the dispensary. I merchandised sunglasses with our ophthalmic frames at eye level to drive home the message that sunglasses are an option. I believe you don't have to be pushy, you we must market wisely.
Like supermarkets! there are no pushy sales people, but you get the message what it is they want you to buy that week. I hope this analogy doesn't insult anyone.
Traditionally, our office has applied the same frame formula to all the frames across the board. I will speak to the doctor about using a different formula for children's frames, They are over priced. I notice that we lose too many sales in that department.
Last edited by OpticianVlad; 10-02-2008 at 03:48 PM. Reason: Continuity
Going along with what Vlad just said, I think a good kids' package is a great way to get whole families into your practice. If kids' glasses are affordable and have a good replacement warranty, word will get out. Once they're in to get their kids taken care of, the parents will remember you for their own needs, or they'll go for the convenience of multiple family bookings.
I personally think that giving a good discount on an annual supply of contacts is a good way to build loyalty as well. You can't beat the online places for single box prices, but the single box buyers tend to go wherever it's cheapest, anyway. If you can do a 10% discount on 6 months and 20% on a full year, you'll beat the online guys and keep your patients purchasing from you. With a year, have the manufacturer ship directly to the patient for added convenience. I think you'd be surprised at how many patients will buy 6 months or a year when they realize how much they can save by purchasing a decent supply at once instead of doing single boxes at a time.
Walmart can't do repairs? Like hell I can't! Just because all walmarts aren't well equiped doesn't mean mine isn't. Of course, I do all sorts of stuff corp doesn't want me to do because it brings patients back to me.
Oh, and something that I've done to help prop my store's numbers up:
I have a briefcase with twenty frames in it, and since I also have a good relationship with some of the local nursing/retirement homes, they let me come in every couple of weeks to do adjustments/repairs for the people that can't get around too well. The residents there also know that I can sell them a pair of glasses if they lose or break their originals. I sell an extra 2 pair a week that way, plus reading glasses, repairs, nosepads, etc. Something you may want to think about doing. Everyone knows when "TheEyeGuy" is going to show up and I actually enjoy it.
To build on Vlad's post, I always created a "racing stripe" through my frame bars with sunwear. Keeping them at eye level. It accomplished two goals. First, it drove home the idea of prescription sunwear. Second, it ridded my bars of the "black hole" effect created with dark frames/dark lenses all in one place.
Great idea Judy! I've always hated the "black hole" and/or the "shotgun" look to sunglasses on display.
Racing stripe huh? I like it!:cheers:
Ophthalmic Optician, Society to Advance Opticianry
Judy, i tried out the "racing stripe" with my dispensary at the beginning of August. Mainly it was to consistantly remind me to SHOW sunwear. My sunglass sales were up by 20%. It's an excellent idea and effective in our office.
YAY!!!!!! I'm glad it did the trick!
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