Boosting Capture Rates Through Effective Communication

Over the last two years, Jeremy Ciano, OD, noticed a significant reduction in his practice’s frame capture rate. Armed with this information, he decided to be proactive to turn things around in his practice. 

Dr. Ciano joined forces with six of his fellow ODs at RevolutionEYES to go through different “prescription scenarios.” On a weekly basis, the ODs would meet and discuss different situations that come up throughout the practice, brainstorming different ways to approach things in a new way that would lead to more optical sales. Dr. Ciano reported a significant improvement in his optical capture rate after just one week of these meetings.

Outlined here is the first situation that the group tackled: patients who present with no change in prescription. With the success that Dr. Ciano found in his own practice, he thought sharing these discussions would be just as valuable for other ODs who may be struggling with their capture rate. 

SITUATION 1: NO CHANGE IN PRESCRIPTION

Dr. Ciano presented a case that many ECPs are familiar with: a patient comes in for an annual eye exam, their prescription hasn’t changed at all and they bought glasses last year. He explained that in his office, the current approach with these cases is to inform the patient that their prescription hasn’t changed, and then suggest new glasses for fashion or prescription glasses.

Here’s a sample conversation that would typically take place in this scenario:

OPTOMETRIST: “I see you just purchased glasses last year. The great news is that your prescription did not change at all. If you’d like something different for fashion reasons or are interested in prescription sunglasses, feel free to browse today. Otherwise, those glasses should continue to serve you well, and we’ll reassess again at your exam next year.”

While this response is factual, it fails to address the patient’s broader needs, and many patients aren’t inclined to buy a new pair of glasses when their optometrist tells them they don’t need to. After conversations about how to fine-tune this approach, Dr. Ciano and his team came up with several ideas to better serve patients and boost their capture rate. Here’s one:

OPTOMETRIST: “Your prescription did not change this year, which is great news since the progressive lenses you purchased last year will continue to work well. Given that your entire day is spent in front of the computer, I would recommend using your vision insurance toward a pair of glasses tailored to your workspace this year. These will prevent you from constantly having to adjust your head and neck posture to find the sweet spot for the computer distance and will keep your eyes more comfortable while you are staring at a screen for long hours. They can also be fully customized for your work environment based on how many monitors you have and your exact visual needs.”

Celebrate No Prescription Changes

Another idea that came out of this session was celebrating with patients that their prescription has remained stable for another year. Many of the doctors reported that they were excited to tell patients they wouldn’t need to purchase a new pair of glasses this year. However, this presented a new opportunity: celebrating with patients that they can get a matching pair of sunglasses or a new fashion-forward frame for the upcoming season.

One OD shared this was the old way of “celebrating” with patients:
OPTOMETRIST: “Awesome, there no changes. You are all set this year!!!”

Instead, think about how you can make this conversation more appealing to the patient, while addressing their needs, and also thinking about your optical’s bottom line. Here’s the updated version of this conversation:

OPTOMETRIST: “Awesome, there are no changes. Did you know your insurance covers sunglasses and computer glasses this year? It’s the perfect time to look at that, since you don’t need to make any changes to your primary pair. At the very least, you should look at a pair of driving sunglasses, or upgrading your professional office pair, especially if you’re eligible with your insurance. Let’s have the opticians take a look for you.”

Get Personal with Patients

Asking patients questions about their lifestyles, their jobs and their current issues is a great way to learn more about their potential optical needs. One of Dr. Ciano’s ODs reported asking patients questions to help uncover a need they may not be aware of, but it often leads them to a dead end when a patient declines. The updated approach includes removing any “yes or no” questions, and instead emphasizing taking advantage of insurance benefits.

Here’s what one OD came up with:
OPTOMETRIST: “Yay! it looks like you didn’t have a large change in your prescription this year. Since everything is super healthy as well, it’s a great time to get you set up with a pair of prescription sunglasses, or the office lenses we were talking about. This will allow you to still use your insurance for the year so it doesn’t get wasted. I’ll get you paired with one of the opticians that can help!”

If the patient is a better candidate for computer lenses, the OD would add: “I know the extra set of lenses designed just for the working distance of your computer/laptop is really going to help your eyes not feel as tired at the end of the day!”

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