4 weeks to bigger profits in your dispensary

4 WEEKSTO BIGGER PROFITS IN YOUR OPTICAL DISPENSARY

An eBook by VisionWeb.com

IntroductionCreating a strong optical dispensary is a challenge that many practices face. There are a wide range of skills and strategies involved in running a great dispensary - from customer service to sales to inventory management. We hear from practices that say they are always looking for ways to improve their dispensaries. That’s why we’ve combined some of our greatest dispensary blog posts into a 4 week plan that will help get your dispensary well on its way to raking in more money. You’ll get our best advice on increasing sales, improving the patient experience, combatting online retailers, and making the most of your optical business. Each week you’ll also get a checklist to help you knock off the items you need to implement in order to start bringing in bigger profits to your dispensary. Let’s jump in!

ContentsWeek 1: Increasing Sales - Building an Attractive Frame Display - 6 Ideas for Switching Up Your Sales Strategy - Keeping Up with Trends in Optical Dispensing

Week 2: Improving Patient Experience - Understanding Why Your Patients Hate Buying New Frames - Helping Your Patients Find the Perfect Frames - Building Positive Relationships and Loyalty with Your Patients

Week 3: Beating Your Online Competition - Why You’re Losing Customers to Online Retailers - Put an End to Showrooming in Your Dispensary - The Best Way to Fight Online Retailers

Week 4: Managing The Business Side - 3 Ways Your Dispensary is Losing Money - Tools You’ll Need for Smooth Sailing in Your Dispensary - How to Calculate Two Important Benchmarks in Your Dispensary

Additional Resources

What Your Practice Will Learn In the Next 4 Weeks:

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1Building an Attractive Frame Display

6 Ideas for Switching Up Your Sales Strategy

Keeping Up with Trends in Optical Dispensing

Increasing SalesIt’s week one and time to get down to business. Hitting or surpassing your sales goals helps your practice remain operational. So chances are if your dispensary sales are suffering, your whole practice is suffering. Take this week to step back and focus on what changes you can make in your optical shop that will keep you up-to-date with the latest trends and help you meet those sales goals.

14 Weeks To Bigger Profits In Your Optical Dispensary

http://www.visionweb.com

Week One




Building an Attractive Frame DisplayDisplay merchandising is very important in attracting customers to your products, and keeping your frame sales up. Effective frame displays engage your customers to make a purchase and gives your practice some personality in décor! We know that not everyone has an eye for design, and your practice might not have the budget to hire a professional service to revamp your practice space. So today, we’ll give you some quick tips on visual merchandising to boost your eyecare practice marketing. There are 3 big things to consider when displaying your frames: organization, security, and overall appearance.

Organization

There are a couple of ways you can organize your frame selection. Common ways include organizing by style, gender, age, and brands. A fun way to help your customers pick out a style is by featuring a section of your display as “popular”, “trendy”, or “best-selling”. Having an optician in your practice who has a love for fashion and enjoys researching the latest trends will be a big help when selecting and organizing your displays. A great resource to check out for frame fashion trends is the Eyecessorize blog.


http://www.eyecessorize.com/


Week One




Sunglasses can also be a featured item that you can organize in a way that draws attention to the display. Most patients come in for eye glasses, but sunglasses aren’t just side sales. Magic Design advises, “If you want to make a difference in your bottom line sales of sunglasses, you must make a difference in the way you show your sunglass merchandise.” For example, you could create a “sunglass boutique” area in one corner of your dispensary. Find a unique way to make the “boutique” stand out by using complementary floor treatment, or paint color on a wall to set a small area apart from the rest of the dispensary.

Security

Name brand eyewear can get expensive and can be an easy target for shoplifters. When displaying your eyewear, you also want to organize it in a way that prevents shoplifting. Locked display cases look uninviting and might take your staff too much time locking and unlocking the case whenever a patient wants to try something on. An alternative is to simply put expensive eyewear closer to the front desk where your receptionist is always stationed and can keep an eye on patients browsing through your inventory.

Additional security in your practice can be achieved by implementing security cameras. Make sure that your cameras are placed in areas where visitors can’t easily hide their face, like at the exit. A smart thief is going to have knowledge of the security set up in your practice, and will be looking for ways to keep their face away from the camera. Don’t make it easy!


http://www.optical-design.com/MerchTips.html


Week One




Overall Dispensary Appearance

While it is important to maintain appearance throughout your whole practice, it is especially important in your dispensary. Your dispensary is where important sales happen; it should be clean, professional, and designed to make customers want to spend time in it. Take a step back and walk into your practice, or dispensary, as if you are a first time patient. What do you see? Is the entrance to your practice welcoming? Are the windows and mirrors clean? When was the last time you repainted the walls? These are some of the things that can easily go unnoticed on a day to day basis, but if ignored for too long can become noticeable for patients. What’s the lighting like in your dispensary? A well-lit area is important for displaying and trying on new frames! Every office should have a toolbox with some basic tools to do general repairs. You should also have a supply room stocked with a vacuum, broom, dustpan, sponge, rags, and glass cleaner. Even if your office has a cleaning service, things do happen between visits. Remember that you never get a second chance at a first impression.



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4 weeks to bigger profits in your dispensary

Healthcare