Etobicoke Optometric Centre and Liberty Village Eye Care Increase Traffic By Building Long-Term Patient Relationships

About Etobicoke Optometric Centre and Liberty Village Eye Care

Etobicoke Optometric Centre and Liberty Village Eye Care take a simple but comprehensive approach that helps patients maintain their overall eye health. They offer eye exams, virtual services, and eyewear and contact lens purchases.

The Challenge

Dr. Glen Chiasson, optometrist and owner of Etobicoke Optometric Centre and Liberty Village Eye Care, first came across DemandHub during a customer experience. “I wanted to book a beard trim with my local barber, MGL Barbershop, and I went on their website and noticed a messaging option,” Dr. Chiasson says. He immediately saw the value in being able to communicate with a business over text. The process for booking an appointment was so smooth, Dr. Chiasson got in touch with the barbershop owner to find out more about it.

“Before DemandHub, we primarily used email and phone to connect with patients about appointments and questions,” Dr. Chiasson says. However, this process wasn’t very effective. Angelita de Guzman, Manager, notes that “No one picks up their phone anymore, so all of our calls just went to voicemail. And emails just get lost in the inbox chaos, so lots of patients don’t see them.”

According to Campaign Monitor, text message open rates are as high as 98%, while email open rates are only at 20%.

In order to make it easier for the clinics to get in touch with patients, and streamline the process of booking appointments, they needed a different option. “Many patients shop around and call a number of clinics to find out how much an eye exam is or when the next available booking time is,” says de Guzman. “If we want them to book with us, we have to be able to connect with them right away, even after hours.” However, with email and phone, this becomes difficult as patients often need to wait till the next day to speak with staff.

The Solution

In order to communicate more effectively with patients and prospective patients, the Etobicoke Optometric Centre and Liberty Village Eye Care team use DemandHub Web Chat and Messenger. When a patient visits their website and sends a message, they get a response on their phone right away. “The messages go right to my cell, so my staff and I always make it a point to respond quickly, even if we’re closed,” says de Guzman. “This creates a sense of stickiness. The patient sees that we’re actively responding and making it easier for them to book, so they are less likely to book in with another clinic.”

Dr. Chiasson’s two clinics have very different demographics. The Liberty Village Eye Location sees a much younger demographic that is tech savvy and loves to text. The Etobicoke Optometric Centre, on the other hand, has an older demographic that includes a lot of seniors. However, Rosa Isadore, Patient Services Coordinator, notes that even seniors are able to communicate with text without issues: “Almost all our patients are comfortable texting us.”

In addition to booking appointments, the clinics use Web Chat and Messenger to reschedule appointments and order products for patients like contacts. They also answer questions about fees or booking availability. Having the ability to communicate via text was especially beneficial during the COVID-19 shut down. “We triaged patients, reassured their anxieties, made referrals to hospitals, and more,” says de Guzman.

In addition to Web Chat and Messenger, the optometry clinics also use DemandHub Reviews. “We make it a point to text our patients a link to post a review a few hours after their appointment,” notes Isadore. “Some of our patients don’t have Google or Facebook accounts, so before they wouldn’t have a way to provide us with feedback. Now with DemandHub, they can also post a Direct Review in addition to reviews on Google and Facebook.”

Up to 97% of people read reviews for local businesses, according to BIA/Kelsey.

From a business owner perspective, the case for reviews is clear. “Our website traffic has gone way up because our number of reviews has increased since we started using DemandHub,” notes Dr. Chiasson. “When patients see positive and realistic reviews, they are much more likely to come to you than another clinic.” De Guzman added, “The demand has definitely increased”.

Isadore says that patients actually mention they decided to pick their clinic because of the positive reviews they saw online. “Just today we had two or three patients mention they found us because of our reviews,” she notes.

The Results

By giving patients the option to communicate through text, Etobicoke Optometric Centre and Liberty Village Eye Care are able to build deeper relationships. “At the clinics we create a relaxed and professional atmosphere, and we can now extend that through text,” de Guzman says. “Patients like knowing they are talking to a real person, not an answering machine or bot.”

“I don’t know of other clinics using technology like this,” Dr. Chiasson says. “It really sets us apart.” The patients agree, which is clear in the data.

Take a look at the numbers:

• Etobicoke Optometric Centre communicated via text over 3,600 times in 8 months, while Liberty Village Eye Care had over 2,700 text conversations.
• Etobicoke Optometric Centre increased reviews by 160%, while Liberty Village Eye Care increased reviews by 93%.
• Etobicoke Optometric Centre star rating on Google increased from 4.6 to 4.8, while Liberty Village Eye Care’s star rating went up from 4.8 to 4.9.

“In this day and age, people want to be able to connect right away,” says Dr. Chiasson. “When customers go to our website, they don’t have to wait for someone to get in touch with them. Unlike with email, they can send us a message on Web Chat and be acknowledged immediately. They make that instant connection, and it’s more concrete.”

Patients make it a note to comment on the clinics’ responsiveness. “In some of our reviews, people will actually say they really liked that we responded right away or that we got back to them on a holiday,” de Guzman says. “It makes a big difference.”