In our increasingly interconnected optical world, it is hard to innovate to the extent that you stand out from the crowd. It is even harder to orientate a whole business away from what you have always done and towards a strategy that is entirely different. But this is exactly what Cameron Optometry has done. As a result, it has won the Practice Growth Award 2018, sponsored by A+E+L Markham.
Over the past two years Cameron Optometry has completely changed its strategy, moving from a common model dispensing mainstream brands to a high-end boutique that specialises in rare and interesting designs you are unable to find online. ‘I think we’ve done something quite radical in the way that we have changed from a quite common model,’ says Ian Cameron, managing director of Cameron Optometry.
Cameron’s rigorously thought-out and beautifully designed new outlet now only displays 21 frames, compared with the 600 designs it used to and which you could find in most independent practices. It now focuses on high-end, expensive frames and an affluent patient base. ‘It was potentially quite a risky move,’ says Cameron. ‘But it’s paid off in every way that I hoped it would. And we’re proud of that and particularly the team that got behind it. It was quite a radical change for everybody.’
The new philosophy stemmed from a desire to differentiate Cameron Optometry from the rest of the market as well as some existing criticisms of Cameron’s about the way optical retailing is current done. ‘Why is it that optics retails stuff like supermarkets?’ he asks. He compares the selling of high-end frames to the retail environment of other expensive products such as watches, wedding dresses and suits. ‘If you think about what the retail spaces for those things look like, they don’t look like 600 suits hung-up on the walls.’
The new strategy has already paid dividends and Cameron says that the award has strengthened his belief in the new approach. ‘I think the proof is in the pudding: the numbers are up, the patients and staff are happy, and the practice is growing. Turnover is up and profit is up, so we’re heading in the right direction.
‘It gives us something to speak to the patients about too. We say, “hey, what we’ve done here, it’s was a bit of a risk, but people in the industry are looking at us and saying that’s great”’. So great a success the project has been that other practices in Scotland are looking to emulate its success, Cameron says. This, however, does not worry him. ‘The trick is not to innovate once and then hold on to it. The trick is to innovate and then innovate again.’
Even before the award, the practice was using its finalist position as part of its marketing and promotion process. ‘You almost get as much benefit out of being a finalist as you do as a winner. From a patient point of view, whether you’re top three or one they’re probably less concerned. They are just as happy to see you in the running.’
Since the award, however, Cameron says: ‘We’ve been using it everywhere we can spit it out. It looks good to be an award-winning practice. That’s a great phrase that has power. Even if you don’t know anything about the nature of the award or what the award is for, the very phrase “award-winning” has power from a marketing point of view. So, we’ve put that on the website, on our email and our social media. That’s why we keep entering.’
It has also had an important effect on the confidence and pride of the team. ‘They’ve all loved receiving it,’ says Cameron. ‘This particular innovation has been a massive team effort. They’ve had to change the way they work and we have all worked hard to train ourselves up to a different strategy and learn new things. Because it’s a success, everyone can claim some part of that success and when the recognition comes they feel that personally.’
As for what is in store for the future, and in keeping with his philosophy that a business manager always thinks five years ahead, Cameron says his next focus is on the patient experience of the consulting rooms. A constant innovator who gets his energy from thinking about the next step, he is now turning his attention towards how best to design those spaces and the effect this could have. ‘We’ve done the same thing during consulting that we did when my grandad was in optics,’ he adds. Perhaps not for much longer.
