Holiday Prep Tips for Busy Optometric Practices

Key Takeaways

• Improve scheduling and staffing with digital self-booking, early reminders, cross-training and staff perks to help handle holiday patient volume smoothly.
• Prepare inventory and communicate clearly by stocking popular frames early, running promotions and using texts and social media to reduce no-shows and keep patients informed.
• Help promote sales with holiday deals and financing like CareCredit, and offering bundled packages and gift cards to help patients move forward with care they want or need.

The last quarter of the year may bring a welcome but challenging rush for many optometric practices. Patients may scramble to use vision benefits before they expire, holiday promotions may boost optical sales and schedules may fill up weeks in advance.

Proactive planning can help your practice maximize revenue, maintain patient satisfaction and keep your team energized through the busiest months. Here are some strategies that may help your optometric practice finish the year strong.

Review and Optimize Scheduling

As the year winds down and calendars fill with holiday commitments, patients may decide it’s the right moment to get their eyes checked or pick out new glasses. A smart digital scheduling program can make the difference between a chaotic holiday season and a smooth one, and become a core component of your optometry business management systems. For example, in 2023, a multisite, multispecialty clinic’s self-scheduling program coordinated more than 733,000 completed visits using seven different patient workflows for booking and rescheduling online.¹

By allowing patients to book appointments quickly and conveniently, they may experience reduced wait times and a better overall patient experience. Streamlined scheduling can help minimize last-minute cancellations, keeping your schedule full and allowing staff to focus on patient care rather than managing the calendar.

Practical scheduling steps

Consider adding the following adjustments to your scheduling process to help reduce stress for your team during the holiday rush:

• Encourage early bookings by sending patient reminders in September and October.
• Add online scheduling tools so patients can secure appointments outside office hours.
• Offer flexible hours in late November and December for patients with urgent needs or limited time.

Try online self-scheduling

If your practice hasn’t already adopted self-scheduling, now may be the time. Research shows digital self-scheduling reduces no-shows, boosts efficiency and can improve patient satisfaction.² According to a Digital Health study in ophthalmology, new patients were significantly more likely to book online appointments than to try to book an appointment by phone.³

For high-demand times like the holiday season, an automated scheduling tool can help organize your optometry office’s appointment slots based on patient needs, provider capacity and urgency.⁴

Staffing and Training During the Holidays

Holiday volume can potentially push your team to its limits and challenge your optical practice management skills. The American Academy of Ophthalmology notes that “smart scheduling” strategies can help reduce burnout during busy times.⁵ This would involve creating a daily schedule template that may reduce bottlenecks and wasted time. Additionally, you could consider hiring extra staff during busy periods.

These tips for staffing may help keep things running smoothly:

• Review last year’s appointment data to forecast staffing needs.
• Cross-train optical and front-office staff now so they can step in where needed during the holiday rush.
• Plan coverage for vacations well in advance. You might also consider creative ways to boost morale, like festive break-room treats, recognition programs or mini bonuses tied to sales goals during this time.

A busy schedule and long hours can take a toll on the office staff and optometrists in your optometry office. Take some time to coordinate and align workload and staffing before the holidays arrive.

You may also want to offer seasonal perks, like catered lunches during peak weeks. Take time to acknowledge your team’s hard work. Add a recognition board to your lunch room to highlight team members who go above and beyond during the busy hours.

Other ways to acknowledge staff and optometrist team members could include writing thank-you notes and offering flexible schedules for post-holiday recovery. These efforts may help keep morale high into the new year.

Inventory Management

In addition to eye exams, the holiday season may bring an increase in patients shopping for new frames and lenses. Planning ahead to meet this demand can help make it easy for patients to find what they’re looking for without lengthy orders and delays. Stocking up early on high-demand frames and lenses and monitoring supplies may help avoid potential delays.

Consider offering early-season sales such as 50% off selected frames in November. This might help you clear out older inventory and make room for new and more fashionable arrivals.

According to a 2024 Review of Optometric Business case study, optical revenue can account for approximately 44% of total practice income. One practice achieved double-digit growth by implementing a “One-For-Show/One-To-Go” static frame board system, keeping curated inventories on the board and using drop-shipping options to ensure popular styles were always available.⁶

Enhance Patient Communication

Clear, timely communication can help manage patient expectations and fill your schedule year-round, but it can be especially important just before and during the holiday season. Along with traditional phone calls and email reminders, adding text reminders and social media updates may help patients receive information in the way that’s most convenient for them and reinforces your practice’s commitment to accessible, patient-centered care and communication.

These additional communication methods via scheduling tools can automatically send confirmation and reminder messages, reducing no-shows.² Plan out your social media calendar, and use your channels to share the following:

• Post holiday hours on your website and Google Business profile.
• Announce seasonal promotions early.
• Remind patients that vision benefits may expire at year’s end.

Improving communication may also enhance the overall patient experience and boost patient engagement, and may help patients feel more informed, valued and connected to your practice even during this busy time of the year.

Office Preparation and Ambience

Consider the busy holiday season an opportunity to create a warm, welcoming environment in your optometry practice. Add tasteful seasonal decor, festive music and small touches like a coffee station with seasonal blends or teas to help patients feel valued.

If your practice sees more foot traffic during this time, consider ensuring your waiting area is clean, organized and stocked with up-to-date reading material. Increasing cleaning frequency may help maintain a fresh, hygienic atmosphere during the peak season.

Optical Practice Holiday Promotions and Specials

Holiday shoppers are ready to spend. The National Retail Federation projected that average holiday spending in 2024 would reach $902 per person.⁷ Capture some of that spending by offering flexible patient financing for services at your practice, as well as offering the following:

• Accessories such as straps, glasses cases and cleaning kits
• Bundled lens upgrades
• Giftable eyewear, like stylish sunglasses
• Optical gift cards
• Premium frame packages

Black Friday and holiday bundles

Black Friday and Cyber Monday can be prime opportunities to boost sales.⁸ Consider running limited-time frame or lens package discounts, offering buy-one-get-one deals on eyewear accessories or promoting same-day gift card purchases for last-minute shoppers. Another consideration is offering a holiday bundle that combines frames, lenses and coatings at a reduced rate, which may help attract budget-conscious patients. For practices with e-commerce options, extend promotions online through Cyber Monday to expand reach beyond your local patient base.

Offer Financing Options

Not every patient may have budgeted for premium lenses or multiple pairs of eyewear, especially around the holidays. Offering financing for specialty vision care can help remove barriers to purchase.

According to the 2023 Healthcare Journey Research Consumers and Providers report, more than 56% of ophthalmology patients say they struggle to pay out-of-pocket costs.⁹ By offering financing options like the CareCredit credit card, you can help patients move forward with the care they want or need.

CareCredit and Solutionreach can make it even easier to integrate financing conversations into patient communications. This collaboration can help practices present payment options earlier in the scheduling and care journey, improving both patient access to vision care financing and practice efficiency.

Holiday Opportunities for Your Practice

The holiday season may offer opportunities for optometric practices to serve patients and maximize end-of-year revenue. From optimized scheduling and smart staffing to strategic promotions and financing options, the right plan may help you and your staff make the most of the holiday rush.

Take proactive steps now so you’ll be ready to welcome the holiday crowds, keep your team energized and end the year on a high note.

A Flexible Financing Solution for Optometry Practices

If you want to help your patients or clients manage the cost of the vision care solutions they want or need, you may want to consider offering the CareCredit credit card as a financing solution. CareCredit allows cardholders to pay out-of-pocket expenses over time (for needs such as premium frames, contact lenses and vision care) while helping to enhance the payments process for your practice or business.

When you accept CareCredit, patients or clients can see if they prequalify with no impact to their credit score, and those who apply, if approved, can take advantage of special financing on qualifying purchases.* Additionally, you will be paid directly within two business days.

Learn more about the CareCredit credit card as a financing solution for your optometry practice or start the provider enrollment process by filling out this form.

Author Bio

Sarita Harbour is a freelance writer with more than 15 years of experience covering personal finance, consumer banking, small business banking and credit for online audiences. Her work has appeared on sites such as Forbes, TIME/MONEY, MSN, The Motley Fool, First Horizon Bank, Investopedia and more.

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