July 20, 2016
Your patients have preferences for sports sunwear that are worth learning about, findings from The Vision Council’s VisionWatch 2016 Sports Sunglass Report suggest. To assess purchasing motivation for sports sunglasses or goggles, the survey the report was based on asked respondents to rate what was most important to them in sports sunwear. On a scale between “Not Important At All” and “Very Important,” respondents rated certain features that were valued at the time of their purchase.Almost 3-in-4 respondents stated that comfort was very important. Durability and UV protection were the next most important features for sports sunglasses (about 65-66 percent for each feature).Mirrored lenses were voted the least important feature when purchasing sports sunglasses by17.6 percent.Polarization and UV protection were a strong preference for water sports participants whereas comfort was the strongest preference among mountain sports users.
How would you rate the patient experience in your practice? Is it superior or less than superior? More importantly, would your patients give you the same rating? Bain & Company did a survey of 362 companies. Eighty percentof the companies described their “customer” experience as superior, however, only 8 percentof the customers rated the experience at the superior level. Ninety-two percentof the customers rated the experience as less than superior. It’s an understatement to say that is a wide disparity in perception between those delivering care and those receiving care.
Let’s take one simple area of the practice and see how much we know about the patient experience. Let’s look at high-quality premium sports sunwear. Here’s a question we should all know the answer to: What are the top fourmost important attributes to a patient when purchasing high-quality premium sports sunglasses?
According to the Vision Council’s VisionWatch 2016 Sports Sunglass Report, the top fourmost important attributes when purchasing high-quality premium sports sunglasses, in priority order are:
1) Comfort
2) Durability
3) UV Protection
4) Polarization
Since comfort is number one, we need to make sure we train our optical staff how to manage this area. They need to know how to choose a frame that has the proper fit, and make sure it is adjusted appropriately for the patient before letting them make a decision. The bridge must fit properly, the temples must be the correct length, the frame cannot be too tight or too loose. The glasses shouldn’t be tilted or off-center. The frame should not seem too high or too low. Knowing your inventory, and knowing how to manage this area, is a fundamental key to successfully fitting a patient.
Durability and UV protection are about even in importance.
In your office, do doctors and staff use this information to present high-quality premium sports sunglasses to patients?
Doctors, in the exam room, can present all fourattributes to patients. A sample script could be: “Based on your history and my exam findings today, I’m going to prescribe for you quality sports sunglasses. I’m going to instruct my staff to make sure they find a comfortable frame for you that is durable. The reason I’m prescribing these for you is to protect you from the damaging UV rays from the sun. I’m also prescribing these to be polarized for your comfort from the sun’s glare, but also for safety reasons. My staff will tell you more about these when you go into the optical.” That script takes less than 30 seconds to say, yet it covers all fourattributes patients desire.
In the optical, knowing what script the doctor is using in the exam room makes it easier to pick up the conversation with the patient and give them more information. In the optical, the patient needs to experience the frame and lenses, not just have a discussion about the eyewear.
The majority of the work was done when the doctor prescribed the sunwear as most patients will get what the doctor prescribes. The job of the optical staff is to make a demonstration-presentation about comfort, durability, UV protectionand polarization. It’s the experience that most often makes the difference.
In managing the patient experience in our practice there are three areas that we need to consider: past patterns, present patternsand potential patterns. What is the past pattern of quality sunglass purchase in your practice? How about the present pattern? Is it the same as the past pattern? Is this the pattern you want, or do you want a better pattern?
That takes us to potential patterns. Einstein taught us that we need to make a change if we expect a different result. So, if you want a better pattern, then make a change. By measuring before and after you make the change, you can tell pretty easily if the change had a positive impact.
To be more sophisticated in your understanding of patterns, you can measure three different types of patterns: persistent, periodicand pulsed. The type of pattern is dependent on what you are trying to achieve. Persistent is your long game. What are your goals for the year? Periodic is the more intermediate time frame. What are your goals for this summer? And pulsed is when you are running a short-term game. What are your goals for this week/month? A pulsed pattern may involve a special with a limited time frame.
A powerful tool you can use to improve your patterns is to map out the patient experience. This strategic approach creates a system where you are looking to advance a patient to subsequent interactions. An easy way to think about this is what happens at pre-test is picked up in the exam room and driven home in the optical. The key is to manage each step. (Sometimes these steps are called touchpoints). Make sure each touch point is viewed by the patient as a superior experience, and the touch point helps move the patient forward in the decision process.
Take note of anything that causes patients to stop moving forward, or makes them feel the touch point was not superior. By identifying and fixing these “stops,” your in-office systems will become better and the overall patient experience will become superior.
Patients have more channels today to purchase sunwear than ever before. We have to keep things in perspective–patients don’t know what they don’t know. Patients don’t really understand the differences between sunwear options available in the marketplace. So, when we miss the opportunity to deliver complete care to our patients by prescribing quality sunglasses, we are placing them at risk.
Reference & Resource
