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Sixty independent practice owners were invited and in the opening presentation heard the results of a survey they had participated in. Conducted by Myers La Roche, the survey consisted of more than 150 questions on all aspects of owning and running a practice. Presenting the results, Patrick Myers said taxation, especially claiming VAT, was a major cause for concern, as was staff management.
'We identified that many professionals are uncertain of how to get the best from their staff and how to get them more involved in growing the practice. Practice owners also need to learn how to delegate,' Myers said.
The results, he said, indicated some common strengths and weaknesses among the group, and gave a good indication of which areas they needed to pay attention to. 'These practices now have a benchmark, allowing them to identify where they can improve.'
Gary Gerber, president and founder of US consultancy The Power Practice, gave an entertaining presentation on how to build a practice through patient loyalty. Interspersing his words of wisdom with impressive feats of magic, Gerber told delegates one of the key elements in fostering patient loyalty was developing systems that could be easily understood and anticipated by patients. 'If a patient has an expectation of what is going to happen - and it does - it gives the patient a sense of being in control,' he explained.
In considering the patient journey and good customer service, there were five memorable events which must be carefully considered. The first was how they were greeted over the telephone, and the second was how they were greeted when they arrived in the practice. 'Staff should greet patients like they are old friends, so they should say something like "It's good to see you again",' Gerber said. 'That's why it's important to have a great practice receptionist.' He suggested that non-professional staff with a background in customer service - for example a flight attendant or a hotel concierge - were likely to be very effective as they knew how to interact with people.
While most patients could not tell the difference between one eye exam and another, they could certainly tell the difference between an optometrist who was happy to see them or not, so professionals had to demonstrate a positive demeanour in the consulting room. Follow-up mail-outs to patients checking they were happy with their spectacles or contact lenses were things to remember, as were surveys seeking patient opinions on, for example, opening hours and consultation fees.
Optometrist Shelly Bansal spoke on increasing revenue per patient. Dropping prices, offering eye tests for free or focusing on spectacles sales rather than contact lenses were not routes to increased revenue. Rather, independents needed to learn how to differentiate themselves from major players, otherwise they would find it harder and harder to survive in what was becoming a crowded market.
'We need to start concentrating on our strengths,' he said. 'Show your customers you are an expert - put up your qualifications and patient testimonials. Show them the specialist areas you work in such as sports vision or behavioural optometry, and show them you work with children. Many people think there is no money in working with children - but consider this, how many primary school-aged children do you know with a mobile phone? Plenty - so there is money there.
'Running clinics on lid hygiene and management of dry eye will also win patient loyalty,' he continued. 'If you can help a patient manage their dry eye, they will love you, and before you know it you will have the whole family coming in to see you.'
Many patients considered that independents were much more expensive than multiples or internet stores, but Bansal suggested that showing them a like-for-like comparison of products, plus additional practice services, would prove them wrong. 'Customers want to know what they are paying for, and they want value for money - and most consumers recognise that value for money does not equal cheap,' he said.
Gerber then returned with helpful examples on delivering powerful case presentations. Optometrists, while excellent at clinical examinations, were almost taught to 'un-sell'.
'If you are going to make money as an optometrist, you have to learn how to talk to patients,' he said. 'For example, you must avoid the words "suggestion" or "option" as it sounds to the patient like they have a choice and that's confusing. The word to use is "recommendation".' And, he noted, too many professionals focused on the cost of their recommendation, rather than on what was best for the patient.
Once the optometrist had listened to the patient complaint, and then carried out the eye exam, there were four elements to successful case presentation. 'The first is to repeat the patient's chief complaint, using the exact words the patient used - as this will indicate you were listening,' he explained. 'Then talk about the results of the eye examination in terms of that chief complaint. Then you make your recommendation, and make sure you go through that logically. Lastly, you tell them when you want to see them next and make sure you follow up that recall.' ?
