Faced with increasing competition from alternative supply routes, optical practices may have seen little opportunity for growth in the contact lens sector in 2005. Yet all four practices shortlisted for the 2006 Contact Lens Practice of the Year succeeded in growing their business by implementing strategies aimed at attracting and retaining contact lens patients. All offered a wide range of lens types and took a proactive approach to recommending contact lenses. And all had systems in place to measure the effectiveness of their strategies for growth.
Unusually, all the entries in this category came from independent practices, although the businesses varied widely in size, location and patient demographics. The winning practice, Querido & Davidson, is a small independent practice on the outskirts of Newcastle-upon-Tyne with a team of three optometrists, all experienced in contact lenses, and four support staff.
John Davidson, who runs the practice with his wife Julia, is also a senior optometrist at Sunderland Eye Infirmary and sees an increasing number of patients needing specialist fitting, such as keratoconic and post-surgical cases. Among other niche products, he offers the Paragon CRT Orthokeratology and OrthoK lens systems.
The practice identified a number of growth opportunities in 2005 due to new product innovations. It aimed to use these new products to create sales opportunities and grow the business with no external marketing spend on advertising other than window displays.
Among its business strategies was inviting new patients and lens wearers who had dropped out of contact lenses due to dry eyes to a new product launch, and a campaign encouraging soft lens wearers to upgrade to higher value lenses aimed at driving gross product sales upwards.
Contact lenses were promoted to suitable patients of all ages and prescriptions as the 'number one choice' for vision correction. The practice also offered a free in-practice trial using diagnostics or empirically ordered lenses. From 98 patients trialled in this way in 2005, 71 went on to purchase lenses, representing a conversion rate of 76 per cent. Existing patients recommending a friend to the practice were offered discounts redeemable against eye care or products. As a result, the practice's monthly standing order income from contact lenses increased by 48 per cent in 2005, by far its largest growth area.
Davidson says the business saw further growth in the contact lens sector in 2006 and has not been affected by competition from internet supply. He is now focusing on attracting new patients by increasing the practice's external marketing spend: 'It took four years to turn over our existing patient base and convert as many as possible. We're now turning our attention to attracting new patients from outside.'
The practice will be starting leaflet and newspaper promotion as well as re-branding its website. It also plans to hold evening events aimed at potential new wearers and those interested in ortho-K. Among new products introduced to the practice in 2006 were scleral lenses.
All four shortlisted practices say that their success in the Optician Awards has been beneficial to them and their teams. For Querido & Davidson, a first-time entrant, one advantage has been to show new staff members that they work for a dynamic practice that sets a standard nationally as well as locally and keeps a step ahead in the contact lens field.
'We were delighted and surprised to win,' says John Davidson, adding that winning the award has also proved useful for marketing the practice. 'We've promoted the award on our website, poster and newsletter, as well as having the trophy on show.'
Child care
Shortlisted practice Keith Holland and Associates in Cheltenham was highly commended by the awards judges for its strong focus on contact lenses for children. Already a child-orientated practice, and previous winner of Children's Eye Care Practice and Specialist Team of the Year Awards, the company had worked with industry sponsor Advanced Medical Optics to develop the Kids in Contacts campaign. The campaign promoted the use of contact lenses for children via a leaflet, instruction flipchart and dedicated website. The benefit to the practice was a raised profile for contact lenses within the practice and recognition for its expertise both locally and in the national press.
Alongside the children's campaign, the Holland practice targeted the business community and young adults with an evening clinic for private and contact lens patients only. Like other shortlisted practices, it also introduced a new standing-order pricing system emphasising professional fees, which had achieved a 95 per cent uptake since it was launched. The result was a 20 per cent increase in turnover from 2004 to 2005.
Clare Holland says the practice has continued to actively fit children and young people with contact lenses and finds that, particularly for those with high prescriptions, amblyopia and anisometropia, they provide a better optical solution than spectacles. 'We've seen great changes in children's confidence,' she says.
Another initiative to be continued this year has been teachers' evenings, when staff from local schools have been invited to learn about children's eye care. Fifty teachers have already attended these events, which have also generated interest in contact lenses.
Although these strategies have been successful, Holland concedes that internet supply has affected its contact lens business. 'We are finding we lose some people even though we've restructured our pricing to be more fee-orientated.' That said, benchmarking has shown that the practice has a higher than average percentage turnover from contact lenses.
Ambitious plans
Visioncare Eye Clinic of Harrow in Middlesex is an independent practice established in 1992 by optometrists Bharat and Prakash Rughani, who run two other practices in the London area. Bharat also practises part-time at Moorfields Eye Hospital and both partners attend a Harley Street clinic.
The practice fits a wide range of lens types, including scleral, keratoconic and post-graft lenses, and benefits from links with local GPs and hospitals - in 2005 it received a Primary Care Trust award for its clinical governance standards.
That year, it also set itself an ambitious target for growing its contact lens patient base, by increasing new fits, decreasing drop-outs and increasing its direct debit/Lens Plan base. Weekly training was implemented to brief staff on the changes to contact lens supply and ensure they were confident when discussing prices.
Professional fees were separated from lens costs to make pricing more transparent and a new leaflet was produced to explain the benefits of the direct debit scheme. The practice also introduced new products and instrumentation and all staff adopted a proactive approach to contact lens recommendation.
In 2006, Visioncare's target for new Lens Plan patients was met. The practice has also implemented its plans for a more formal system of home/postal delivery and used its professional connections to move into more specialist areas. As Prakash Rughani explains: 'We're trying very hard to expand the boundaries of how practice works in many different areas.'
Rughani says that being shortlisted for the Optician Award was good for the team in recognising the efforts they were making. The practice has since added the Investors in People award to its achievements.
High-tech solutions
Aaron Optometrists in Ashington, Northumberland is another shortlisted practice that is used to winning awards. The business won the Technology Practice of the Year in the 2005 when owner Peter Frampton was also awarded Outstanding Optometrist of the Year.
Aaron's is a large practice, again fitting a broad range of lenses, including various keratoconic designs, orthokeratology and ChromaGen lenses. Detailed leaflets and regular newsletters keep all patients informed of new technology and issues such as changes to the supply of contact lenses. Targeted mailshots are sent to certain patient groups inviting them to try improved lens technology, followed up with an independent telephone-based feedback survey. Throughout the practice, contact lenses are reinforced as an option, through leaflets, point-of-sale material and multi-media presentations on the practice's three plasma screens.
Growth in contact lens sales has been almost exclusively in premium products and very few patients opt for lenses-only pricing. In the financial year 2004/05, 30 per cent of practice turnover was due to contact lens sales.
Contact lens optician Andrew Watson is responsible for the contact lens side of the business and says he continued to introduce new products in 2006, such as a new orthokeratology system and two new multifocal lenses. The practice is committed to upgrading existing wearers to premium lenses and increasingly uses these as entry-level products too. A new management system currently being installed will make targeted marketing simpler.
Like other shortlisted practices, Aaron Optometrists has noticed little effect from the widening of contact lens supply. 'If the internet has affected us, we haven't noticed it,' observes Watson. 'For a long time now we've separated our charges and explained this carefully in our patient literature. If anything, this engenders even greater faith that we're upfront about pricing. It's all about the patient making an informed decision,' he says.
Watson says that being shortlisted for an Optician Award has been satisfying both personally and for the practice team. 'The staff know what level we're working at and they know there can be a differential between practices. To be recognised at a national level was good for them.' From the patients' point of view, national recognition is appreciated and awards also help build connections with the local primary care trust.
All the practices shortlisted in the 2006 Awards had taken a proactive approach to increased competition in the contact lens sector.