For many communities, a new school year is about to start. This means families all over are spending money in preparation. According to a 2017 survey, the back-to-school season is the second biggest shopping season of the year, accounting for $27 billion in sales in the US. While many shoppers are looking to purchase school supplies and clothes, your optometric practice can take advantage of the shopping frenzy.
In this post, we provide a few tips for getting your optometric practice ready for the back to school rush.
How To Prepare Your Optometric Practice For the Back To School Season
Create An Essentials List
Most schools provide families with a list of supplies that each student must obtain before the start of the school year. While supplies like notebooks and writing instruments are standard items on all a supply list, you can get in on the action by creating an essentials list for your patients going back to school and send it out in a patient recall message. For example, an essentials list for contact lens wearers could be:
- Annual exam
- Supply of contact lenses
- Cleaning case and solution
- Contact care guide
- Back up pair of frames
Rework Frame Displays
For many, frames can be seen as fashion accessories. When getting prepared for the return of the school year, update frame boards with the unique frames and best sellers to help patients identify styles and increase your optical practice profits.
Sometimes getting patients to get excited about frames can be a challenge, especially if it is their first time wearing glasses. Offer different sales promotions and activities to make the selection process fun, such as having a photo booth or a selfie station.
Promote Your Practice
In order to get patients to come to your practice, you have to advertise and market your practice to your community. While many people in your practice may have perfect vision, they may not know that an OD does more than correct vision. Begin promoting your practice as soon as possible to get the attention of your community.
There are a few different ways you can promote your practice to your patients and community to spread the importance of an annual eye exam and other services you offer. Consider leveraging these mediums for promoting your practice:
For additional tips on how your practice can increase your optical dispensary profits, download this ebook!
