Show your team members some Valentine’s Day love. Chocolates and a card with a few words of appreciation go a long way.
WEEK 1 / FEB. 1-5
CUSTOMER SERVICE Offer to ship contact lenses to a patient’s workplace — and give referral cards to your client for co-workers who ask about the service.
NETWORKING Build your business’s local presence. Join a country club or historical society. (You’ll reach seniors.) Or sponsor a local Little League team. (You’ll reach families.)
STAFF Be a better boss: Ask your employees for their birthdays and those of their children … and remember those occasions.
PROMOTION Some flex dollars are still floating around. Remind people who rolled over 2015 benefits or have spring deadlines.
WEEK 2 / FEB. 8-12
ACCOUNTING Last year’s financials are only now being finalized as late-2015 insurance claims are processed. Report on the practice’s year-end numbers at your next staff meeting. If results were strong, a staff reward — maybe a trip? — could be in order.
STAFF Show your team members some Valentine’s Day love. Chocolates, a card and a few words of appreciation — “Love your work!” — mean a lot.
MARKETING Email reminder: “Three days left ’til Valentine’s Day!” List your top 10 gift ideas.
TRAINING Examine the Review of Optometry’s annual continuing education book and consider which of your staff would benefit from attending a conference. Or hire a consultant for a one- or two-day in-office seminar.
WEEK 3 / FEB. 15-19
ONLINE Your “About Us” page is among the most important on your website. So be creative, have fun — and make sure you have an offer or another call to action (“Book Your Eyewear Styling Appointment Today”).
ENVIRONMENT Jump-start spring with fresh flower arrangements. Your clients will love it, and they’ll boost your mood.
MOTIVATION Ask staff to write their answer to this question: “Why do you get up in the morning and why should our customers care?” You may find a new mission statement in those answers.
SOCIAL MEDIA Start an Instagram account. It’s a fun way to interact with clients and showcase new styles. If you take patients’ photos, don’t forget to get permission to post (and include the frame name). See this issue’s Benchmarks article on page 60 for creative examples of what ECPs are doing with Instagram.
WEEK 4 / FEB. 22-26
PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE If your doctors do not do the frame buying, have them straighten up the frame boards at least once every two weeks. This way, they’ll become much more familiar with the product — and your frame sales will increase!
ANALYTICS Audit this month’s frame sales to identify trends. Using your EHR or inventory system, create a report on gender, brand, material, color, style and bridge type. Then be sure you offer more of the kinds of frames your patients want to buy.
SALES TRAINING Review your “sales scripts.” Don’t have them? Get writing!
BUYING Start your buying research for Vision Expo East. Buy the latest fashion magazines, or start a private Pinterest wish list board. Have each team member identify new looks to shop for in New York April 15-17.
This article originally appeared in the January 2016 edition of INVISION.