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‘Tis the season for packages! No, not the gaily wrapped bits of excitement under a tree or stuffing a stocking. ‘Tis the season for packaging those little bits of profits that can make the coming year a little brighter.
The concept of packaging products is an old one. The film industry packages movie stars. The auto industry packages everything, even the paint job. Why? To create value in the minds of consumers.
The optical industry is no different. The key is to know what to package and how to market that package to the patient.
The first step is to understand the concept of value. According to Warren Buffett, “Value is what you get.” Yes, it really is that simple. Value is not selling a cheaply made product for a healthy profit. Value is providing the patient with a well made product or products at a fair price.
Because there are so many products available to the average patient, the idea of “bundling” or “packaging” is gaining popularity at every price point, from bread-and-butter products to high-end lenses. Why? Because as the expert ECP, you know that certain products just belong together, like high-index lenses and anti-reflective lens treatments, or polarized lenses with a back-side anti-reflective treatment. Rather than “piling on” product after product and risking a lost sale or a less than satisfactory visual experience, you combine these products as a “premium” or “sports” package. Everyone benefits. The patient has the best combination of products for a single price and the practice benefits from the additional revenue and a satisfied patient experience.
As an example, I worked in a high-end practice where everything on the lens menu could be packaged in one way or another. The package saved the patient a whopping five dollars. Every time I explained the price for the a la carte items and then offered the package with the five dollar savings, the patient wanted the package. Lest you think this was in the distant past, it was 2005 in two of the most expensive areas around Washington, DC.
Packages work when patients understand that you are offering value, not simply a low price.
Not sure where to start? Talk to your lab rep. Most wholesale labs have at least one or two package programs available. Generally, the programs are for children’s eyewear and insurance patients. If you widen your search, you’ll find larger labs with a wide variety of programs, everything from low-cost insurance programs to rimless packages including state-of-the art lens products, including task-specific lenses for office use.
The advantage of using your lab’s packages includes lower inventory costs, zero shipping or drop-shipping fees, and faster turnaround times.
Many practices choose to create their own packages. They generally stick to lens products, since that’s where the most options are and where costs escalate quickly.
The most commonly found tiers are “good, better, best.”
Good packages are the bread and butter of the options available. Not the high tech lenses we love to sell, but the tried and true products that do the job they’re intended to do. Perhaps scratch resistant CR-39 lenses with an entry level anti-reflective treatment. We used to rely on a lab’s “house brand” lenses for this level, but now even some “house brands” have different levels of technology. Stick with the basics. If you want your good package to have value, stay away from the “I can’t believe it’s that cheap” box of lenses you found on the internet. That’s not value; that’s cheap and it will come back to haunt you.
Value is not getting what you paid for; value is getting a little more than you paid for.
Better packages should be noticeably better than good packages. This is the place to introduce some of the newer technology. Perhaps mid-index, digitally produced lenses and aspheric designs with a mid-level anti-reflective treatment that is hydrophobic and oleophobic. You could introduce photochromic lenses or task-specific lenses such as computer lenses or specialty tints at this level as well. Again, it’s about creating value for the patient and increasing revenue for the practice.
Both the good and better tiers are great places to start when recommending multiple pair purchases.
Best packages are just that, the best you have to offer, your signature products. Your best package should use the most technologically advanced lens products you are comfortable with. Remember that if you are not comfortable enough with the technology to explain it to a coworker, you’re not going to be able to explain it to a patient in a way that conveys its value. This package should have all the bells and whistles; digital and free-form designs, premium materials, top of the line anti-reflective treatments with super hydrophobic and oleophobic properties. Once again, your best tier should be noticeably better than the better tier and not even close to the good one.
I recommend that you create some pricing space between tiers for one reason. You need the room to “tweak” a package when necessary for that occasional patient that really wants just one little thing more, like an edge polish or a drill mount. We’ve often talked about allowing frame merchandising areas room to breathe, so that the patient can see more than just a big pile of frames. Lens packages need to breathe a little as well.
Now, the real beauty and the logic of packaging is in the way it’s presented to the patient. Always, always, always present the best package first. Until you begin the conversation, you don’t know what is important to your patient and you certainly don’t know what they’re willing to invest in the final product.
It is far easier to begin removing products from a package or introducing a lower priced package than it is to build up from the bottom. Piling on is for football, and even then there’s a penalty (15 yards and an automatic first down). Piling on in your dispensary results in a loss of sale and a fast walk to the parking lot.
Explain the components of the package and their a la carte price and you can confidently offer the value of bundling or packaging those components to your patient.
As our economy continues to recover, the ability to offer your patients more bang for their bucks is a very sound strategy. It can set you apart from your competition and create trust in your knowledge and skills as an eye care professional.
"The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten."
-Anonymous
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