By Steven Indelicato

Presenting the complete eyewear package to your patients should be considered more art than science. It is here where you, as the eye care professional, should sparkle and shine bright! All your formal education and experience comes into play at this time. Your expertise and knowledge on all things optical start to rev up their engine and you suddenly shift from park into first gear. It is best to consider this complete eyewear conversation as providing the patient with knowledge of products and modern-day optical technology. Allowing the patient to fully understand the products that are available to them is key to offering the best optical quality eyewear for the best price. 

The beauty of every optical practice lies in the final stage of the patient’s visit. This stage is where the eye care professional holds the patient’s prescription and begins to determine what type of lens and add-ons are necessary for the patient’s needs. Once the prescription lies in your hands, the art of the modern-day optician falls into place. This next step is listening to the patient to understand their desires for a new set of eyeglasses. This process also assists in determining the patient’s budget. One way to provide a smooth and carefree conversation with your patient is to highlight a range of bundling packages offered by your practice. This not only will remove the sticker shock but ensure the patient a quality set of eyewear for an amazing price!

One of the better ways to illustrate bundling packages is to provide signage on your countertops. Here, you can easily show the patient the cost of a single vision, flat top, or progressive lens. This is extremely important as you are setting the foundation for the purchase. Underneath each lens type, you can list the price for each lens add-on option. Lens add-on options consist of anti-reflective coatings, photochromic lenses, blue light filter lenses and scratch coatings. The final list on your countertop signage should indicate what each would cost as a bundled package. Of course, each bundled package would be less expensive and more attractive to the consumer. One can even benefit from including a discounted prescription sunwear bundle when purchasing any ophthalmic frame. You can also profit from including a frame and lens warranty bundle, so the patient is provided with complete eyewear protection. The patient will benefit from a single purchase and this, in turn, leads to a better profit for your practice. Bundling increases efficiency and allows the consumer to look at one single package, as opposed to an itemized list that results in a confused and perplexed patient. 

As eye care professionals, we must educate patients about the different lens add-on options and the value of each bundling package. Understanding the patient’s lifestyle and needs can help produce a larger profit margin. It is best for us as eye care professionals to consider each bundle as a higher return for our optical practice and better-quality eyewear for our patients. Bundling helps the patient receive the best possible lens add-ons for less sticker shock. This improves profit for you and offers the complete eyewear package to your customer base—an art that all eye care professionals can master.