May 27, 2015
Many of your patients are primed for a conversation on protecting their eyes from sun and glare, according to findings from the 2015 annual Employee Perceptions of Vision Benefits survey, supported by Transitions Optical. Almost half (48 percent) of survey respondents said they want more protection from harsh artificial light and glare from devices indoors, and 70 percent want more protection from sunlight and ultraviolet light outdoors. However, currently only 37 percent of employees report that their vision plans offer discounts on, or coverage of, anti-reflective treatments, and only 31 percent report the same for photochromic lenses (like Transitions lenses), which automatically adjust from clear indoors to sunglass-dark outdoors.
Do you know what your patients want and how to help them get it? The findings from the 2015 annual Employee Perceptions of Vision Benefits survey reported the following data:
• Seventy percent want more protection from outdoor sunlight and UV
• Forty-eight percent want more protection from indoor harsh artificial light and glare
This begs the question: are we talking to all of our patients about these two topics? It is far easier to help a patient buy a solution they want rather than to try to convince them they need a solution. If 70 percent of patients are walking through the door wanting more protection from outdoor and indoor light and we are not helping them buy the solution they want, then we are missing a tremendous opportunity.
Let’s take this week to review our internal systems for presenting indoor and outdoor light management solutions. Look at five areas and make sure they function effectively in the practice.
1) Let’s start with the pre-examination lifestyle questionnaire. What changes do we need to make to the pre-examination lifestyle questionnaire so it becomes an effective tool for both identifying patients who are looking for light management solutions – both indoor and outdoor – and for helping pre-set patients for their experience in the exam room and in our opticals?
2) How can we better utilize the position of pre-tester to go beyond just testing to the higher function of pre-setting the patient for the exam room experience? Polarization, adaptive lenses, AR … these are a few of the solutions we carry. Can the pre-tester identify which of these solutions the patient has (or doesn’t have), the solutions the patient is looking for, the solutions the patient needs, the benefits to the patient, and can the pre-tester even go as far as planting the seeds of potential payment plans that allow the patient to spread payments over time (eg: CareCredit)?
3) In the exam room there are two major issues that can be summed up in one statement: prescribe everything the patient needs. First is prescribing. Is the doctor prescribing or just recommending? Surveys show patients want the doctor to prescribe, not just recommend. Then, is the doctor prescribing everything the patient needs or just what the doctor thinks the patient can afford? The doctor’s role is to be the eyecare professional, not the banker. Does the doctor utilize a tool that helps create solutions for home, school, work and play?
4) In the optical, are patients experiencing polarizing lenses versus lenses that just darken? Experience trumps discussion. Repurchase rates of both polarizing lenses and adaptive lenses exceed 90 percent. That statistic tells us how much patients love those solutions. When time gets tight, demonstration of lens solutions often gets dismissed. This is a mistake. Don’t make that mistake.
5) When patients feel they cannot afford a solution they often reject the solution. Staff needs to be trained in how to manage “closings” so they can help patients through potential objections. If doctors and staff have not been trained in closing-the-deal techniques, then arrange for that to happen this week. Click HERE to view Warren Buffet’s Four Tips for Closing the Deal
