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When your practice is in a town of 60,000 souls and you have had 65,000 patients sign up, you know you are doing something right.

Such is the success of Cannock Specsavers, winner of the Optician Multiple Practice of the Year Award 2008. Optometrist and joint venture partner Martin Shaw has the honour of being one of the longest-serving Specsavers joint venture partners and, back in 1988 when he went into business, the youngest.

'I qualified in the September and we opened for business in the December,'he says.'I was still a pre-reg when I ordered the equipment for the practice.'

Shaw says he had always been interested in the business aspects of optics and he could see the Specsavers phenomenon taking off. 'If you really want to benefit from something you have to be in at the start.' With the end of free eye tests looming he could see the opportunity of 'getting in there'. 'I thought I would be in it for five years and then sell up but it was much more successful than I expected.'

Tools of the trade

Since the early days the practice has moved into the modern shopping complex at the centre of the town. The practice itself is a modest 2,000sqft staffed by 22 full- and part-time staff but now boasts 65,000 customers thanks to the rapid development of local villages.

He puts his success down to the way in which the practice uses the many tools that are provided by Specsavers. Choosing the right ones and applying them in the right way is key.

'We are swamped with things to do. We concentrate on implementing the systems that benefit the most people, most of the time. We try and think about what the customer wants and this isn't always what the practice, or Specsavers wants.You can't be all things to all men so we concentrate on the middle of the market.We don't do the really high end stuff and we try and avoid the really low end business.'

His philosophy for running a successful optical business is not dissimilar to an independent.

'I guess because I have been in Specsavers since the start, 20 years, we do tend to do things our own way. It is impossible to improve profit without first improving customer care. It is impossible to improve financial performance without first improving patient care and customer convenience. Optics is a people business, customers come to see people.'

The judges certainly felt Cannock achieved that in making the award, describing theentry as a blueprint for how a multiple practice should be run.

'I think that I see myself as a clinician and a businessman equally.You can't run a business without making money, but if you don't look after the patients you won't have a business.

'Twenty years ago there was antipathy in the profession towards Specsavers but at the end of the day we have to do the same job as an independent, albeitwith higher volumes and charging lower prices. We are not cutting corners.'

Shaw has always been mindful of local marketing and uses the press at every opportunity.

Last year, the practice passed the 60,000 patient milestone and used that to achieve wide coverage. 'I have nurtured my relationship with the local press over many years. We are on the front page of the local newspaper most weeks,' he adds. The public relations benefit from winning has also paid off with good coverage in the press and more to come in the future.

Winning the Award gave Shaw yet another opportunity to go to the local press. More importantly it was a reason for the practice staff to get excited even if they couldn't all attend the event.

'We work seven days a week so I couldn't take the whole staff down to London on the night. We brought half of them down and after we won we had a night out up here with the other half.'

Boost for morale

He saysthe staff's response to winning was absolutely 'fantastic'. A couple of years ago the practice had been runner-up in the category and he knew he was up against a lot of competition from other excellent practices.

'We were up against better-performing Specsavers and I rated my chances of winning at one in three.

'It's been great for morale within the practice. The patients love it because there is nothing better than the place you go having won a national award. I have lost count of the number of people who have mentioned it.It was a great evening and we will definitely be entering again, perhaps in another category next time.'

Shaw says he is grateful to Optician for hosting the Awards and bringing a little glamour to what can be a fairly mundane way of life and giving something back to the profession.While internal company awards have their place, 'this is the only one that really counts'.

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