Maintain Competitive Pricing

     To stay competitive, it is necessary to assess local market prices on a regular basis. We've found that shopping the competition is the most effective means of gathering data from the field. Every 6 months, a member of the optical team visits a sampling of optical shops from low-end to high to gather apples-to-apples price comparisons on a variety of key products.

     This is an essential reality check, because the biggest misconception among doctors-and patients-is that medical practices are more expensive than the chains. More often than not, the opposite is true. In some cases, shopping the competition has allowed us to raise prices and still undersell the competition.

     To compete with bargain outlets that offer inexpensive eyewear of a lower quality, we have our Specs for Less™ board. While serviceable, these frames and lenses are clearly less attractive than the more expensive frames on display. This works in our favor. When seen in the context of our other offerings, patients who are drawn to the price of the Specs for Less™ soon see what they sacrifice when they settle for a cheap pair of glasses.