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Sponsored Content
Contact lens ordering platform enhancing patient experience and providing strategic tools to support my patients’ needs
By Janelle Davison, OD*
Dec. 1, 2025
Independent optometry practices have been looking for ways to modernize their practice and meet patient needs to improve practice outcomes. At the same time, staff time is stretched thin and inventory management takes time and resources.
Enter MARLO Pro—one of the enhanced versions of MARLO, a turnkey digital platform from Alcon that puts us back in control of ordering and patient follow-up.
I’ve been using MARLO since its earliest e-commerce days in 2018 and then upgraded to MARLO Pro when the new membership levels became available. Today it makes me more strategic in managing my practice, more efficient and it makes sense as an investment. From prescribing contact lenses to ordering allergy eye drops like Pataday, MARLO has become one of the backbones of my successful practice.
Closing the Gap on Contact Lens Sales
Before MARLO, I’d write a script and work hard with my team to aid the patient in purchasing on the date of the exam. If our efforts failed, I didn’t have an efficient strategy to follow up with those patients. Once I added them to MARLO’s platform, automated reminders would ping them based on their wearing schedule. This MARLO feature has significantly enhanced patient engagement, which has been a valuable tool in supporting my practice.
A Dashboard That Drives Decisions
MARLO’s dashboard shows me in real time how many Alcon orders funnel through the system. Year to date, 100% of my Alcon contacts come direct via MARLO. That clarity helps me forecast inventory rebates and cash flow with precision.
Contact Lens Ordering Technology That Extends My Reach After Hours
A significant portion of my contact lens sales now happen outside business hours. Patients have convenient access to MARLO via the app. With a few taps at midnight, they can have their order ship in three to five days. With this digital arm I am able to keep patients and reorders in my practice. MARLO makes it easy for my patients and lets me stay top of mind for them around the clock.
Prescribe and Ship More Than Lenses
Included with my MARLO Pro membership, I’ve been able to recommend and sell select over-the-counter products—dry eye drops, contact lens solutions and eye allergy itch relief drops—alongside contact lenses via MARLO. I set my own retail price then get a monthly statement from Alcon for the product sold along with my contact lens invoice. I don’t hold inventory, yet I still benefit from added opportunities with allergy eye drops and contact lens solutions like Pataday or OPTI-FREE. It’s a low-risk way to keep patients happy while seeing a return on my investment.
Invest in Technology That’s Like a Strategic Partner
MARLO isn’t just an ordering tool. It’s a strategic partner that improved my patients’ experience, increased my contact lens reorder rate and gave me a digital storefront that never sleeps.
According to Alcon, thanks to MARLO, 90% of practices report that they can now compete with the convenience of online retailers, 93% believe MARLO keeps them more connected to their patients and 90% feel that MARLO helps them modernize the patient experience.1
If you’re running a private practice and want to level up efficiency and patient satisfaction you owe it to yourself to explore MARLO.
Read another article spotlighting MARLO on ROB here.
*Paid Alcon Consultant
References
1. Alcon Data on File, 2024.
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Janelle Davison, OD, is the CEO/Founder of Brilliant Eyes Vision Center and Visionary Dry Eye Institute. To contact her: info@brillianteyesvisioncenter.com |
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