THE PRACTICE MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT

Turn being ‘‘lunchtime entertainment’’ into a marketingopportunityGary Gerber, O.D.

ccording to philosopher-king Woody Allen, ‘‘80% of

Asuccess is showing up.’’ While there may be a gooddeal of truth to his premise, this author would dispute

the math.Scheduling a presentation in front of a group of high

school coaches and athletes on the topic of sports vision

Lining up speaking opportunities canhelp support practice building, but onlyif an effective marketing effort accom-panies it.

training, or hosting a seminar for seniors on the latesttechnology used to diagnose glaucoma, can help generateexposure for a practice and the specific services it offers.Yet many practitioners mistakenly believe that simplybooking the engagement and showing up is enough.In fact, there needs to be a marketing effort made before,

during, and after the presentation. This begins with the pre-event push that may involve developing fliers for distri-bution to a group’s members, or getting a press release orcalendar item published in the local newspaper or on cableTV for a meeting where the public is encouraged to attend.The focus should not be on the speaker – it is highlyunlikely that the optometrist will be the drawing card – buton the topic itself.To generate interest, the practitioner needs to make the

subject sound as compelling as possible. Rather thanhighlight the fact that the topic will be, say, on Ortho-Kfor children, the emphasis should be on the hook. Forexample: ‘‘Your child is already wearing glasses at theage of 7. Must you stand by as his or her vision grows pro-gressively worse? Learn about how wearing a custom-made and perfectly safe contact lens overnight can stopchildren at virtually any age from growing more andmore nearsighted.’’At the presentation itself, make sure the introduction has

the desired impact. It does not matter if a practitioner is

Gary Gerber, O.D., is the president and founder of The PowerPractice�, a

practice management consulting company. He can be reached at drgerber@

powerpractice.com or (800) 867-9303. Opinions expressed are those of the

author and not necessarily those of the AOA.

1529-1839/$ - see front matter � 2011 American Optometric Association. All r

doi:10.1016/j.optm.2011.08.007

speaking before a captive audience composed of membersof a local business or fraternal organization – where, likelast month’s banker and next month’s French pastry chef,the practitioner is, for all practical purposes, this meeting’s‘‘lunchtime entertainment’’ – or at a special event, con-ceived and promoted by the practitioner specifically toattract people who are interested in the presentation topic.The practitioner needs to be introduced in a way that willget the audience tuned in to and excited about the topic,rather than dwelling on the fact that the chicken may beundercooked. This means preparing an introduction for thehost that will grab the audience’s attention. For example,‘‘10 million Americans suffer from computer eyestrain.This means living with headaches, eye fatigue, and blurryvision that often forces them to turn off the computer andrest their eyes. I’d now like to introduce Dr. Susan Smith ofClinton Eye Care, a computer vision expert who has savedpatients for more than 10 years from the discomfortand inconvenience that accompany computer visionsyndrome.’’At the conclusion of such presentations, practitioners

must let their audiences know they are available to scheduleoffice consultations. To encourage a positive response, andto make them feel they are receiving a courtesy forattending the presentation, the practitioner may want tooffer a free office consult or discount coupon.To reinforce those points made during the presentation,

it is a good idea to hand out reprints or information aboutthe subject that members of the audience can take homewith them. People may be very interested in the topic andimpressed by the presenter, but may not be prepared toact immediately. Several weeks or months later, whenthey are ready to act, they may have forgotten thepractitioner’s name or even where they heard the presen-tation. To prevent this, hand out a retention piece that willfeature information on the topic (ideally, an articlepositioning the practitioner as an expert) and includesthe practice contact information (phone number, e-mailaddress, Web site URL).Follow-up is critical. Whether the practitioner is invited

to speak before a group or the practice hosts its ownseminar, try to obtain names and home and/or e-mailaddresses of the people in the audience. Send theseindividuals a follow-up letter in a timely manner, notonly thanking them for attending, but reiterating the

ights reserved.

Practice Strategies 649

importance of the topic and encouraging them to contactthe office if they are in need of help. For the same reasonthat people may not be ready to respond at the time of thepresentation, and because studies show that it often takesmultiple ‘‘touches’’ before any business converts a prospectinto a client or a patient, practitioners should add these

people to their e-mail and mailing lists to receive practiceupdates, newsletters, news articles, and so on.A speaking engagement is a great opportunity to boost a

practice. Yet, apologies to Woody Allen notwithstanding, itwill take more of an effort than just showing up to fullyreap the rewards.