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As we begin a new year, how do you define what an optometry practice does, in terms of products and services, both now and into the future? Optical expertise and personalised consultations form the core patient experience but, as online communication evolves, it can be a useful exercise to review the value your practice offers as a modern entity. Here are the most common value drivers:

The patient appointment – a face-to-face connection to help a patient maintain their best possible vision, enhanced with personal style and lifestyle options.

The vision solution – the reason patients are coming back to you. An opportunity to renew trust, deliver optical performance and foster positive experiences that are share-worthy.

The aftercare follow-up – just asking how things are going can be enough to evaluate your practice’s eyecare and eyewear outcomes.

The replenishment cycle – contact lens patients have a routine period when reordering becomes necessary. Could you make this easier for them?

The promotional cycle – everyone loves a good deal or an event, including your patients. Do you have a mechanism to run promotions or community-minded initiatives?

The recall cycle – timely reminders that patients are due for their next eye examination. It can be as simple as a text message. But what if patients don’t respond or don’t return within the expected timeframe?

You may be thinking your team does most of these things as part of its regular duties during practice hours. However, with the advent of online booking systems, it has become clear that a large percentage of bookings come via that route after practice hours. What else could you be doing online?

This brings us straight to your practice’s four walls and your digital portal to the world – your website! Think of it as a piece of digital real estate. It’s a space where you can offer additional value to your patients and make your services more accessible, in terms of information and online convenience. A website isn’t just for people who are new to your practice – it no longer serves as just an online brochure. Modern practices are using their websites as a productivity tool that integrates with their practice workflow to take more bookings, sell more products and get more word-of-mouth feedback. Let’s explore this.

Digital patient forms – enable paperwork to be completed online, in advance or while waiting in practice.

Interactive promotions – an example of this is using a digital ‘promo wheel’ on your website. Add an element of luck to redeem promotions and make it fun with the ‘spin to win’ concept. Make your promotions interesting, dynamic and fresh. Keep your promotions page updated.

Contact lens reorder forms – make it easy for your patients to reorder contact lenses from you. Web technology enables you to keep track of orders and notify patients to reorder at the right time.

Take click-and-collect orders – patients can pre-pay online and collect purchases in-store. It’s perhaps unconventional for our industry, but consider what you could offer for easy payment and pickup – cleaning kits, accessories, plano sunglasses, or even optical frame pre-orders to be fitted in the practice. You won’t know the potential of this until you try it and you may be surprised at the results. At the very least, it’s a form of lead generation. You may not sell in great volume, but you could see your practice enquiries increase.

Showcase your social media feeds – display your social media posts on your website, especially if your feeds regularly show happy patients and the eyewear community you are cultivating.

Publish your opinion – become the focal point of patient-friendly optometry discussions. Publish on your blog, even just a few times per year. Authenticity and personality are the new currencies of the modern world and, as a trusted member of the community, your opinion will be valued by many.

As practice owners and managers, your goals are related to efficient operation of the practice and keeping patient needs top of mind. Having a polished and well-organised online presence can function both as a symbol of vibrance and success, as well as a really functional digital space for patients to be more time efficient and well informed about your products and services.

The recipe for success in establishing a strong practice presence within your community is to have your imagery and core messages well presented in all the places your target patients frequent. In the online world, this means Google Maps, and Google search results for services offered, specialty areas and contact details. Facebook pages are still the standard for community word-of-mouth and evaluating the suitability of local businesses, including healthcare providers.

When you put up some fresh new window signage, chances are you feel energised by dressing up your shopfront and showcasing your brand proudly. Likewise, transforming your website into a feature-rich productivity tool for your team and your patients can really open up the possibilities, build your confidence in future planning and perhaps even stay a step ahead of your competitors.

What do you wish your website could do? There’s no need to re-invent the wheel – there are plenty of ready-made modules that can easily be added and tailored to your needs.

Robert Springer is the managing director of OptomEdge Technologies, which operates OptomWeb.com, a specialist hosting and web development company making the latest technology available to independent optometry practices. Contact Robert on 09 889 3179 or support@optomedge.com