One of the greatest advantages of being registered on Dr. Contact Lens is that you can provide your customers with a variety of shipping options to help increase your sales and loyalty.
Dr. Contact Lens is a platform and marketplace for practices to create an efficient ship to home system. Shipping orders saves you 325+ hours of staff time for every 1,000 orders. It also sends a very clear message to your patients: We offer convenience.
In small business, it is easy to get caught up in the cents and dollars of cost. When shipping gives you the ability to scale and grow in volume, the benefits outweighs this cost. Dr. Contact Lens gives you the tools to sell to more, making shipping costs a worthwhile expenditure.
We have put together a run-down of the shipping strategies and cost analysis to keep your customers coming back and building your revenue.
Shipping costs & options
What does a consumer want when they shop on an e-commerce site? You guessed it, free shipping. Online stores offering free shipping will widely see more orders. Aside from allowing customers to track their orders, we offer fast, premium shipping options that enable you to improve the customer experience by communicating a clear delivery day. So what does it cost the average practice to ship all their orders home? Let's take a look at a typical practice.
The average practice does 500 orders a year
On average, about 15% of these orders won't qualify for free shipping from the distribution center. So what does that cost you? At $5.99/order it will be roughly $479.20 for an entire year's worth of contact lens orders to be direct shipped to your patients.
One-Day & Two-day Delivery – About 20% of Dr. Contact Lens customers select premium shipping options. Why? Because it is offered. Contact lens patients often order at the last minute and are need a quick and easy to way to get their next supply. When you offer this option to them, you become their hero. Premium shipping options are not free and can help build revenue further.
Staff time – We have tracked the steps it takes to order and dispense contacts from start to finish - and it is 28, or 15+ minutes or more per patient. Saving this cost by shipping everything home will allow you to utilize your staff time to better serve your patients, and make more sales. Dwindling profits in ordering time is a thing of the past.
Scaling with technology
Shipping direct to your patients with Dr. Contact Lens will bring you more future business. Our program will auto-text and email patients when they are due to re-order. Your patient's data is auto-loaded and saved, so they can order in one easy click.
Wonder why your patients place one order from you, but re-order elsewhere?
Barriers to re-ordering:
Most orders online happen at night – just like you, most consumers are shopping when they are done with work. The most common ordering times are between 5-9 pm.
Commercials – most contact lens commercials play in the evening and on weekends - while your office is closed. That is when your patient is reminded to re-order, and without your convenient ordering app, they may be swayed to go elsewhere.
Calling isn't as popular – we have all seen the world change. In the new age of business, it is essential to offer easy ordering options online.
Price Illusion - many consumers have the perception that ordering online is "better" or will offer them a better deal. By offering them a price competitive product with free shipping that is easier to use than any other site out there - you finally have the tool you need to win that sale.
Closing thoughts
As a contact lens re-seller, you can only compete so much on price. Offering concierge services can help you stand out from your competition. While other websites still require the 12 step process of data entry from your patients, you get to offer the one thing they never can - and easy one click to order solution with shipping options. Offer convenience and watch your practice grow. Don't delay your online sales, your future self will thank you!