A Few Discounting Strategies That Can Be Incorporated by Optometrists

1. A Few Discounting Strategies That Can Be Incorporated by Optometrists Eyeglasses, contact lenses, and other eyewear products are often expensive, and they’re not becoming any less costly. Patients might be facing financial challenges and wonder if your optometry practice is their best option for their eyewear needs. By acknowledging the cost of eyewear and taking measures to reduce it, you could help convince these patients and future customers that you’re the right choice. Apply sliding scales and payment plans Developing discounts on optometric care and payment might require a little creativity and thinking outside of the box. It might help to think about how your patients typically pay their bills. Not everyone who visits your medical practice and optical has health insurance. Many health insurance plans don’t cover eye clinic optometry services and goods, or many only cover a portion. To acknowledge patients’ situations, you could offer unique payment plans and discounts. For instance, you might provide discounts for people who don’t have insurance coverage if they pay the entirety of their bills in full. Offering sliding scales, or different billing amounts for people based on their incomes, might be another solution. To help you establish these scales and what to charge, you might want to visit some government web pages for guidance and a few examples. Compile price lists of the products you and competitors sell You could also provide examples and guidance yourself. To keep your patients informed, create lists that provide the prices of your optometric goods as well as the goods of your competitors. You could give rough estimates or ranges of costs, explaining how different prescriptions and other factors might affect the price of products such as eyeglasses, contact lenses, and medications. Seeing your and your competitors’ prices side-by-side could show patients and potential customers how your costs are not that different, or even help highlight that your costs are lower.

2. Anticipating your patients’ concerns about costs shows that you understand their worries. You’re providing tangible proof that you know how people worry about money and potentially pricey optometric care and services. It also indicates how you’re also taking actions to alleviate these patient concerns. As an added bonus, these lists will give patients a rough idea of the costs awaiting them and thus prevent the bills from causing sticker shock. Create optical goods and services web pages that list prices Lists aren’t the only way you could visually acknowledge patients’ worries about costs. You could also list your prices on your web pages. Again, be sure to explain that the prices are estimates and may differ based on different conditions, prescriptions, and other factors. If your prices are lower than some competitors, emphasize these differences. Incorporating explanatory web pages on your website makes things clearer for patients. It answers questions so you and your office don’t need to, especially if patients frequently ask the same or similar questions. Adding these prices and other information makes your website and your optical services appear more thorough. These inclusions will make your website more comprehensive and authoritative, illustrating how it’s a resource, not just a promotional tool. Posting fees on your website, just like providing pricing lists, is another way to spare patients the shock from bills that are considerably higher than they may have expected. Such cost lists also help potential patients/customers determine if they want to use and pay for your goods and services in the first place, which could save everyone’s time if they decide you, aren’t a good fit. Offer free products, trial periods, or discounts Other tactics might cost your optical a little initially but could ultimately boost your optometry practice revenue. Giving discounts for bulk or long-term purchases might be one such tactic. You could charge patients a reduced price if they buy a year’s supply of contact lenses at one time, for example.

3. Trial periods are another tactic to consider. Consider allowing your patients to try their eyeglasses or contact lenses for a set period of time, such as 30 or 90 days, then refund their money if they don’t notice marked improvements in their vision or eye health or aren’t satisfied in other ways. Even if you refund their money, patients may be eager to buy another product from you in the future, products that do work and suit their needs. They may be willing to buy something else from you–and recommend your services to others–because you demonstrated a willingness to help and cared about their needs. Consider other discounts, coupons, and matching prices It’s no secret that there’s fierce competition within the eyewear market today. There’s a good chance that you’re competing with other optometrists, chain optical stores, and online optical retailers for people’s eyewear business. The supply might be higher than the demand, so people might be eager to offer lower prices to entice customers. You could do the same. Do you offer high-end, expensive goods? Consider offering a discount on these products because the profit margin will likely still be high. Rewarding loyalty could also be a good idea. For current patients or ones who have just received eye examinations at your practice, you could also provide coupons that take a certain percentage off the price of a pair of eyeglasses or contact lenses. Also consider matching the prices of your competitors. While some may be charging less, making fewer dollars on a sale is still better than not making a sale entirely. Emphasize personalized care and its potential savings When offering discounts and other strategies aren’t enough, consider appealing to your patients’ interests and emotions. Sometimes, you might not be able to offer a discount or the lowest cost. If that’s the case, don’t be afraid to acknowledge that. Your patients might admire your honesty. Instead, emphasize that you’re a small local business. You and your coworkers are members of the community, just like the patients and

4. customers that you serve. Add that while you might not offer the lowest costs at all times, you always offer personalized, customized services and goods. Knowing your patients could help you anticipate their needs. When you see patients over time, you learn the regular state of their eyes. This familiarity could help you determine if something looks suspicious. If it does, there’s a greater likelihood that you’ve prevented a problem, or prevented one from worsening. Catching a problem early might require less care (and less expensive care) to resolve it. Regular visits also establish relationships between you and your patients. You’re helping them feel comfortable. This comfort could translate into future sales and potential word-of-mouth business. If patients are happy with your assistance, they may share their experiences with others, positive words that could drive customer visits and revenue. For additional help with promotion and revenue, contact Eye Care Leaders. We’ll help you find ways to boost your optical sales, medical practice, and customer satisfaction.