Best practices in optometry management

Successful optometry management takes more than just keeping a careful watch over your patients’ eye health. You also have to be a strong leader with a view to constant growth. Otherwise, it’s hard to get your business to prosper the way you’ve imagined ever since you set out on this great professional adventure.

If you want your practice to be truly profitable, you’ll know it takes a juggling act with many balls in the air at the same time: marketing, customer satisfaction, attracting employees, handling finances and improving sales services, among many others. So it’s easy to sometimes not spend enough time on each of these areas, and for the all-important optometry management to fall by the wayside.

Since managing an optical practice takes so much work, at CECOP we believe it is essential to provide a breakdown of how to tackle these challenges, with some best practices in optometry management that are strictly necessary for this business model.

6 key skills for optimal, successful optometry management 

It takes a lot of knowledge and professional credentials to own an optical practice. However, at times, little attention is given to the importance of the practical optometry management skills needed to run a practice successfully, or how to improve them.

So, below you’ll find the best practices for optometry management to implement at your practice. Keep reading!

Human resources 

Managing and growing an optical practice involves hiring and managing staff. If you have optometric technicians and customer care specialists, you’ll provide better service and hang on to current and future clientele.

Hire experienced staff that can solve any problems and inefficiencies that may come up in the day to day running of your business. It is important to have staff meetings to exchange ideas on potential solutions, getting your team actively involved in resolving any issues that arise.

Don’t forget to give them guidance whenever necessary, provide feedback on their productivity and reward them for a job well done. Discounts on your products are a good way to show your appreciation.

Marketing 

If you want your practice to prosper, you have to promote your business to potential customers. To do this, invest in marketing actions to achieve your goal:

• Communicate all the services your practice offers and the added services for current and potential patients.
• Promote your business with other professionals, like healthcare providers or eye care professionals in your area.
• Whether online, in print, in person, by direct mail or word of mouth, choose things that lead to exponential growth.

Develop a marketing strategy and don’t forget to be active on social media, Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.

Boost efficacy with a patient management service 

Take advantage of everything technology has to offer. To do this, use computers to streamline your optometry management. Consider using several software tools, including:

• Online appointment scheduling software to keep track of your appointments, cut wait times for eye checks and send patients reminders like “your glasses are ready for pick up”.
• Visit management software to handle information and help your staff keep track of all the details. This is useful for quick access to a patient’s prescription in glasses or contacts.

Two simple ways to boost productivity permanently.

Inventory 

Buying new equipment and material for your optical practice takes time and money. So taking inventory will help you know what you need when you contact your suppliers.

This is a great way to ensure your customers have access to the newest products on the market and top equipment all the time. If you haven’t done so already, you’ll find that keeping inventory will help boost income with less effort.

Improve customer service every day

An essential, no question about it. Without good service, it’s impossible to guarantee a successful practice. Make sure to:

• Implement policies that adapt to your customers.
• Encourage feedback to improve your services and boost customer satisfaction.
• Train staff on how to interact with, treat and serve current and potential patients.

Draft a plan to manage finances

Set goals for everything related to financial management. Analyzing and studying each step, you’ll see short- and long-term financial benefits. Keep a close eye on things like where each expense comes from or how to maximize income from each action you launch.

 

This post has made it clear that the owner of any optical practice wears many hats. So, using these best practices to help free up your time will bring a notable improvement in optometry management and help you provide each of your patients with excellent customer service. Ready to put everything we discussed in this post into practice for successful optometry management?