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Academy for Eye Care Excellence
By mivision
June 1, 2008
By mivision
June 1, 2008
Ciba Vision has taken an enormous step in improving the all-round skills of optometrists, by setting up the Ciba Vision Academy for Eye Care Excellence (AECE).
The purpose of the Academy is to help optometrists, practice managers and decision makers:
- Stay current with the latest clinical aspects of contact lenses and lens care,
- Develop strong leadership skills,
- Manage the business side of the practice,
- Communicate effectively with patients, and deliver the highest standard of care and Prescribe the most appropriate vision correction solutions
The Academy held its first meetings last April called the Leadership in Practice series which will continue through this month (June) and next month (July). One topic is on ‘the Customer Journey'. As part of Ciba Vision's ongoing commitment to helping you make a greater success of your business, they have identified eleven key touch points which your patients will go through as part of their Customer Journey.
Over the next 11 months, the Academy for Eye Care Excellence, in conjunction with its official media partner mivision, will bring you these eleven touch points with advice on how to make them memorable for your patients. The aim of the Academy is not just to teach optometrists better business practice, but also the best practice clinically.
Staff play a vital important role in the promotion of an optometrists practice. As an incentive to help your practice improve, the Ciba Vision Academy for Eyecare Excellence is offering a DVD based self-learning training program specifically designed for practice staff called ‘First'. For further details please contact your Ciba Vision Territory Manager.
Further Leadership in Practice seminars will be conducted later in the year. To register your interest email: helen.gleave@ci
TouchPoint 1. Recognition and choosing a practice
When someone feels that their sight is not as good as it used to be, they will usually book an appointment for an eye examination. If they have not been to an eye care professional before they will need to choose a practice to visit. Typically most will visit a practice following the recommendation of friends, family and work colleagues. Alternatively, they may select a practice that they feel has a good reputation or because it is in a convenient location.
The challenge for most practices, is how to promote themselves, so that they will appeal to those selecting a practice to visit for the first time. The purpose of any promotional activity should be to highlight what it is that your practice does that is different from your competitors. However, many practice owners and managers only promote their practices when they are less busy or competitors are promoting themselves. Often the temptation is to use promotions that others are offering for example, ‘Half price frames' and ‘Twofor- one' deals. Consider these offers as if you were a patient, looking for an optical practice to visit, for the first time. If every practice in your area appeared to be similar because they were promoting these or a variation of these offers, would you feel that you had a choice? In fact, by appearing to be the same or very similar to other practices means that you are really promoting confusion. This leads to the public feeling that all optical practices are probably very similar, so it does not matter, which one they choose. To ensure that there will not be confusion when people consider the merits of your practice, you will require a promotions strategy.