"There is no money in contact lenses" is a sentiment the industry has been hearing for the past decade. With the launch of online sales, ODs have begun to see a steady decline in sales, and often give up on trying to sell all together. The average ECP generates 33% of their gross revenue from contact lens sales and fittings. So, it can be quite a profitable part of any practice. The key is understanding what each patient is worth to your practice.
SAMPLE PRACTICE:
A 1-2 doctor practice will see about 100 patients a week, and generally 20-30% of them will be contact lens patients. That is roughly 1500 patients a year who need to purchase contact lenses. If we put an average value of $200 per sale, that is $300,000 in potential revenue in contact lens sales, and another $300,000 in exam fees. The key to generating great revenue is attracting patients who walk with their Rx or re-order online. Auto-reminders and marketing to patients overdue to see you is an easy way to utilize technology that can bring these sales back to your practice.
Staff can worry that their position might be eliminated, or feel that the new process is a lot because of the change in habits of ordering and selling.
Sometimes, a practice doesn't have enough staff - and the sales simply aren't happening. Staff turnover can cause a loss in sales and connection to the patient.
Implementing an ordering and selling system can be utilized to any degree for a practice. A lot of practices use elements of technology to help them capture lost sales, while keeping some of the orders done the traditional way. Technology can be used to suite the need of any practice.
Staff issues can be hard to manage with all an ECP has to do to serve patients. Turnover or lack of sales skills are areas a practice could be dealing with. Perhaps you've wanted to use technology to sell contacts because you know it would minimize patients re-ordering online, or walking with their Rx.
The question to ask is - does your staff have the time and skills to sell to patient's who just want their Rx?
Does your practice have a way of capturing after hours orders?
Identifying and then admitting weakness is not an easy thing to do.
Staff often has to juggle so many tasks - greeting patients, managing calls, administrative tasks, billing, selling. This is one of the reasons optometry practices utilize contact lens selling technology to assist staff with their day to day tasks.
If you can ask yourself "Where can I improve in contact lens sales?" and "would it help to auto-remind my patients and sell online?"
At 15 minutes an order, utilizing technology can save 150+ hours a year in staff time. Sometimes this can take the place of an entire staff member. Technology can become another member of your team generating revenue while you focus on your patients.
The most common time patients re-order their contact lenses are at night. What tools are you offering to capture some of that? Can you offer an easier way than other online retailers by offering easy ordering, no verifications and the ability for them to use their insurance? Do you remind them when they are due to order? Do you give them a digital copy of their Rx? These are all ways to capture that leaking revenue.
Patients come to your practice because they feel taken care of.
Offering a painless way to purchase from you and staying connected with reminders from your practice is a way to meet a patient's needs in an on demand world. Patients often don't want to admit to you they don't want to drive and pick up their contacts, so sales leave your practice and get ordered online where they feel it is more convenient.
Offering online sales that skips the data entry and verification is one way your practice can capture these sales and focus on caring for your patients. It offers a positive experience that will surely have your patients coming back, and telling others.