MARKETING
Hiding in Plain Sight
Are you in an office park? Throw a sale for your neighbors. Jeanne Bogdal of CNY Eye Care in Syracuse, NY, says a Michael Kors sale brought in tons of people from the 100-plus offices in her complex.
PATIENT CARE
Don’t Box Yourself In!
Some practitioners gain a sense of comfort booking patients far in advance, but that doesn’t always work to everyone’s advantage. Cindy Dunn, a consultant with the MGMA Health Care Consulting Group, tells the story of a large office that had its schedule filled six weeks out. But doctors would often ask patients to return in three or four weeks, resulting in extra work for the receptionists. The fix was easy. “All they had to do was change the process by leaving spaces open for returning patients,” Dunn told an advice column for ECPs on American Express Open.
MARKETING
Search, You’ll Find
More people are buying brand frames, ordering online and exploring alternative supply channels. You can resist these changes or embrace them. The first place to do that is your website. Adjust your SEO terms so anyone in your area needing “adjustments,” “repairs,” “emergency services” and even upgrades for their “Ray-Bans” or “Maui Jims” find a warm welcome, and maybe a new ECP, with you.
MARKETING
All in This Together
Roadrunner Eyecare in Albuquerque, NM, is active in the community, sponsoring youth groups, sports teams and more. And at the mention of any of those partnerships, patients get a discount. If customers bring in a receipt from a partner, they can choose a discount on their exam or glasses. “We ask for support from our community; it is also our responsibility to support the community,” says general manager Erik Lawrence.
PSYCHOLOGY
Keeping it Cool
A conversation or negotiation getting out control? Refocus on agreement, says Joseph Grenny at Harvard Business Review. “When people feel threatened, they tend to focus … on areas of disagreement. It’s remarkable to see parties who agree on 90 percent of an issue obsess over and even magnify the 10 percent they disagree about. … Change the tone …[by] saying something like, ‘Can I pause for a moment and point out what we both agree on?’ Then deliberately, slowly and sincerely you can enumerate common interests, beliefs or histories.”
MANAGEMENT
Keep it Simple
Have you ever ended a long email with “Thoughts?” Bad idea, says email app maker Sanebox (see their email guide at invmag.us/021801). Be specific. Say “Do you think we should do X, Y or Z?” to save time .
SALES
Hit the Road
Trunk shows offer portability. Frameology Optical in East Syracuse, NY, tried a show at a client’s hair studio. “It was a huge success,” says owner Stacy Daniel-Murphy. “We had an afternoon of fashion, make-up and hair tips to go with the frames. Having the show offsite, I was able to get my name out.”