By D. Penn Moody, OD
Good ideas come from anywhere–not just from within our profession. Joining a peer advisory group with business owners outside optometry can provide great ideas for running an optometric office and dispensary.
Brainstorming with business people outside of the profession of optometry, as well as optometrists, can give you the insights you need to grow your practice. Hearing about innovations from outside of optometry can guide you to think creatively about the patient experience you provide.
The practice pearls to be gained by sharing insights with other optometrists is well established. After all, who hasn’t heard a pearl of wisdom or two while waiting at the buffet line at a conference or while chatting with another OD at a professional social gathering? But it may come as a surprise to some that there also is a lot to be gained by sharing business success stories and challenges with individuals outside of our profession. Joining a peer advisory group with individuals from a range of professions can kick-start your creative business thinking. Here is what I have learned by participating in the peer advisory group, Vistage Connect.
Revenue-Boost Following Peer Advisory Group Participation
I have been active with Vistage Connect since mid-February of this year. We have seen our per-patient revenue increase over 30 percent, our exam numbers increase over 25 percent, our referrals increase, and, maybe most importantly, the atmosphere in our office improve. In addition, I meet monthly with a personal business coach.
My group has dues of $3,600 a year–but I believe this is a bargain considering the long-term benefit to our practice.
Bring Challenges to Advisory Group
One of the requirements of Vistage Connect is that you participate in the discussions. They encourage you to bring specific issues your practice is facing, but there is also a lot to learn from listening to and presenting potential solutions to other members’ issues. One key concept I learned is “business is business.” Sure, optometry has some specific ingredients, but overall we face similar problems to those faced by other professions: human resources, marketing, supply chain, customer service, etc. Here are some of the issues that I have brought before my Vistage Connect peers:
1. How do we enhance our customer / patient experience with consistency?
2. How do we develop a key differentiator; then how do we explain this differentiator to our patients and prospective patients?
3. How do I balance seeing patients and with my need to have time to develop the business?
4. How do I develop better skills to lead my staff?
I have been able to implement innovative solutions after bringing these challenges to my Vistage Connect peers. For example, a restaurant manager noted: “We’re in the transition business. Everyone who eats with us has come from somewhere and is going somewhere afterwards. We only have so much time to seat them, take their orders, prepare their food and serve them.” I realized that our patients are the same way. So, we have taken steps to streamline our patient flow with the goal of completing each patient’s visit within an hour.
Set Aside About 15 Hours a Month
I typically participate in three to five two-hour peer advisory sessions plus the one-hour coaching session per month, and several hours of preparing. The biggest challenge is the commitment to implement what I’ve learned. This is a process I’m still learning. I decided I would only get involved with a peer advisory group if I am truly committed to change.
Can Also Connect with Group Online
Along with regular in-person meetings, you can exchange questions and insights with others in the group in an ongoing fashion thanks to the internal messaging center on the Vistage Connect member’s web site. I can send / receive messages from other members, present issues to a personally selected advisory board, and contact my coach between sessions. There are also posted recaps of past sessions and resource materials.
Value of Business Lessons Beyond Optometry
Most discussions I’ve been involved with in our profession are colored by the optical profession’s history and perspective. Every profession seems to have its prejudices, its habits, and its holding onto “the way we’ve always done it.” I have not been nearly as challenged in my thinking by our alliance and buying groups as I have been by Vistage Connect. I consciously have avoided groups within Vistage Connect that are optical profession-oriented because I joined to have access to a broader business perspective.
Customer Service Lessons from Other Professions
Most of us have thought seriously about patient comfort from an optometrist point of view, but what if that thinking was enhanced by the experience of a person who runs a bed-and-breakfast or a restaurant? Many small businesses in other professions have thought at least as much, if not much more, about customer service, since for many of them, their whole business is dependent on it. Doctors often think providing great comprehensive eyecare is enough. I have found patients expect the eyecare, but also are looking for convenience, shorter wait times, more clarity as to what they are buying, and many other aspects of the total patient experience. I have learned how to successfully handle an unhappy customer experience from a person who owns a restaurant and how to exceed customer expectations from the owner of a small inn.
…And Many from Other Professions are Eyecare Patients
One aspect of working with others outside our profession is most of them are patients. Not only do you get the “business person” perspective, you also get the “patient or customer perspective” in an open and safe environment. I believe this has been invaluable to me and my staff.
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D. Penn Moody, OD, is the owner of Moody Eyes, in Indianapolis, Ind. To contact him: penn@moodyeyes.com.
