The month of May is a great time to focus on building the momentum in the optical to ensure that, as it gets closer to the midpoint of the year, you are still set up for success.

This month’s checklist will help guide you in connecting with your current and potential patients, while sharing your passion for vision.

About the Author:

Sheena Taff is a second-generation licensed optician at Roberts & Brown Opticians in Vancouver, Canada. Since becoming the optical boutique boss, she has evolved and grown the business and taken it to new heights. Taff is familiar with the many roles an independent practice owner and employees must undertake and wants to share tips for growing a successful practice.

 

Week 1: Focus on Marketing Clarity.

Sometimes in this new technology-driven world we live in, we focus too much on our marketing potential through social media channels. Clearly social media is extremely important in brand-building and marketing, but what about our patients who are from an age demographic that doesn’t generally use social media? How do you reach them?

□ 1. Make a list of your current marketing platforms. Ask yourself if your marketing is diverse enough to reach all of your patient base.

□ 2. Tailor your marketing message to the specific media you are using. Use Instagram to be slightly more experimental; make it more fun and vibrant. Consider more traditional means of communicating with your older patients, like phone calls or a mailing.

□ 3. Create a calendar with reminders for the weeks and months to come. Set up a posting schedule to plan ahead so you don’t have to wait until the last minute to think of a post.

Week 2: Create a Single-Vision State of Mind.

Setting your business apart and building trust with your patients begins with the knowledge that we relay to them. Keeping up with the latest lens technology and educating patients on better vision options starts with educating staff. This week, focus on the superior single-vision lens technology.

□ 1. Reach out to your lens supplier and set up a training session to make sure you and your staff are up to date and educated on the options for the latest and greatest single-vision lenses.

□ 2. Host peer-to-peer coaching sessions. In them, try role-play to make better single-vision lens suggestions and practice how to explain the advantages of these lenses to patients.

□ 3. Create a price list and range sheet of the new single-vision lens styles you would like your team to focus on. Doing this keeps it front of mind for everyone.

Week 3: Put Your Knowledge to the Test.

With your team ready to use what they have learned, encourage them to use the dispensing tools and lens information that they have accumulated to focus on greater patient satisfaction with better single-vision lens options.

□ 1. Start a sales or trivia-based contest with the employees. Make sure to provide a fun prize that will keep everyone engaged.

□ 2. Task each employee to come up with a way to share their new single-vision lens knowledge with patients, both inside and outside the practice.

□ 3. Pull a sales report to track the sales of the new single-vision lens styles. Share the progress with staff.

Week 4: Introduce Yourselves.

To fully ingratiate your business into your community, be prepared to show off a little bit of your professional personality.

□ 1. Ensure that your website has a bio and headshot of each staff member. Remove anyone who is no longer an active employee and refresh staff bios with new milestones or achievements.

□ 2. Have each staff member choose their favorite frame and share it on your social media for #FrameFriday or #EyeStyleSaturday. It is a great way for staff to interact with patients outside the office and show their professional personality.

□ 3. Ask patients for a referral. Make it easy for them: Create a referral card and hand it out or attach it to each patient receipt.