LENS SALES

SERVING UP LENSES: Bundling vs. À La Carte

Packaging lenses and eyewear may be a selling key for optical retailers large and small

BY KARLEN MCLEAN

When you set up lens pricing and present lenses to patients, do you bundle lens features and benefits or offer them à la carte? Or, do you mix a little of both? If you’re searching for a better way to present lenses or even if you’re firmly set in your favorite approach, these ECP voices may inspire you to take a whole new direction.

CREATING A MENU

Big-box opticals generally lean toward bundling as a value approach. “Sam’s Club pricing is a better value when you do package pricing,” explains Larry Christopher, DpO (dispensing practicing optician), manager at Sam’s Club Optical in Memphis, TN. “The only thing we can sell à la carte in plastic is glare-free [coating]. Even our polarized lenses are packaged with backside glare-free.” Bottom line: There are a variety of ways to roll out your bundling.

TIERS

Some private practices offer tiered bundling. At Edwin Y. Endo and Associates in Aiea, HI, the practice utilizes “bundling with three levels of excitement using polycarbonate or high-index materials, all with photochromic and ranges of AR,” says Amy Endo, OO (ophthalmic optician).

FLEXIBLE

And others have bundling with flexibility. “All of our lens pricing sheets are in bundling format, [however,] we have a small area of the pricing sheet that allows the optician to separate the bundles into à la carte options by subtracting off the bundled price,” says David C. Jones, O.D., of Northwest Eye Associates, with locations in Shattuck and Woodward, OK.

GROUPS

Other practices have found grouped bundling to be a successful route.

“We offer a tint package to our private pay patients [that] includes tint, UV, and scratch coating,” says Casey Harris, ABOC, office administrator of Shasta Professional Eyecare Center in Redding, CA. “We offer budget packages in single vision, bifocal, trifocal, and progressive. They include select frames and glass or plastic lenses at a reduced fee.”

BLENDED

Some businesses employ a blend of bundling and à la carte.

“We sell a mixture of both à la carte and bundles,” offers Megan Baureis, O.D., of Uptown Eyes in Fayetteville, AR. “Bundled pricing is beneficial when discussing cost with patients. An all-inclusive price is easier to explain than several add-ons. We bundle our most common lenses that we use every day, like digital PALs with AR, and high-index and single-vision digital lenses with AR.”

SPOTLIGHTS

In addition, some ECPs use vendor- and/or lab-specific bundling. “We ask for package pricing from some labs to help offset the bundled price we offer to patients,” says Holly Andersen, O.D., of Uptown Eyes. “Our bundled pricing allows for a discount as compared to the à la carte pricing for the same product.”

PICK YOUR OWN PACKAGE

À la carte pricing, when well managed and target specific, enables ECPs to offer options to patients who may not fit into a package option. Insurance may require à la carte, and breaking down package pricing on invoicing may be required. “Due to insurance specifications and additional discounts, we cannot use bundled pricing when filing insurance,” says Traci Wyatt, optician at Uptown Eyes in Fayetteville, AR. “Only after we’ve discussed patient needs and desires do we talk about cost and bundles, if any apply.”

If possible, set up your accounting system to easily translate lens bundles to à la carte when necessary. “Our system is set up so that when we put package pricing into the register, it will break it up into ‘right lens,’ ‘left lens,’ and ‘frame cost’ on the receipt for insurance purposes,” says Larry Christopher, DpO, manager at Sam’s Club Optical in Memphis, TN.

Other than tint and budget packages, Shasta Professional Eyecare Center in Redding, CA, presents lenses à la carte, relying on doctor recommendations and optician expertise for smooth sales. “We don’t typically bundle lens options,” says Casey Harris. ABOC, office administrator. “We offer all options à la carte. The doctors always recommend options, and the opticians explain benefits and cost.”

There is also à la carte—with more. “I do à la carte when I deal with managed care programs, although I will offer items that are considered under ‘special instructions’ [in order to] offer premium AR not offered on the insurance’s drop-down menu,” says Amy Endo, OO, of Edwin Y. Endo and Associates in Aiea, HI. “By using the à la carte method, I highlight the most frequently used lenses—photochromic and AR types—so it’s easy to educate the patient. I’m also positive in all the blue tech treatments.”

Whatever your approach, have a consistent system, always presenting the best first. “Whether bundling or à la carte, always show premium products first,” Endo concludes. “I go over PAL types first with high-index materials, and then I go over current blue tech treatments, followed by photochromic lens types. Actually, when you have a system, it really isn’t that hard, and patients appreciate your professionalism.”

Another time for package pricing might be for custom jobs, notes Shasta’s Harris: “The only other time we offer package pricing is on custom jobs, such as Maui Jim, Oakley, Rudy Project, and Kaenon. These jobs are usually with all the bells and whistles, so we give them to the patient in a bundled price.”

PRESENTING PACKAGES

Top-down selling, or best-better-good presentation, is a selling strategy that easily becomes a part of the bundling process.

“We always start with the most appropriate lens bundle that will optimize a patient’s vision depending on their needs,” Dr. Jones says. “Bundling simplifies costs. It’s so much easier to subtract an option rather than ‘sell’ an option.”

It’s all about being simple to understand and easy to present. “It’s easiest to start with the best bundle for the patient and work down from there if needed, keeping it simple,” affirms Cathy McCormick, optician at Northwest Eye Associates.

Presenting lens options based on lifestyle questions can help patients make informed decisions. “After asking the patient lifestyle questions and determining their needs, I start with the best lenses as a package, then work my way down, if needed,” agrees Sam’s Club’s Christopher. “I do my job on recommended lenses and have the patient decide what’s best based on their own needs and price threshold.”

Bundled presentation makes lens features and benefits easy to understand and keeps patients engaged. “Bundling lens prices allows simplicity to the cost explanation,” Dr. Jones says. “There are so many lens options, and considering each option adds to the cost. You can essentially lose a patient’s interest and trust when you’re explaining by à la carte method—patients can get the feeling that you’re simply ‘selling’ more.”

Bundling takes the sale out of selling and makes it a professional presentation. “With à la carte pricing, when you start telling the patient that there’s a cost for lenses, a cost for glare-free, and a cost for photochromic, the patient will most likely not get glare-free or photochromic,” Christopher observes. “Prices are usually better in a package, and the patient doesn’t feel like you’re just trying to sell them something they don’t need.”