Case Study – Eye Care Associates

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Quick Facts

  • Conducted overall business audit to identify opportunity areas for growth
  • Managed RFP for new platform to monitor patient experience/loyalty, key metrics
  • Deployed secret patient shoppers to review each step of patient experience
  • Conducted Call Center & Distribution Center Studies to improve efficiencies
  • Contributed to writing of Offering Memorandum and selling process

Company Overview

Eye Care Associates (ECA), one of the three largest privately-held clinically-based retail optometry practices in the U.S. with 27 locations, 37 eye doctors, and 300 employees, had the strongest eye care brand in its region.

The Challenge & Savvy Solution

ECA’s CEO and founder, interested in doubling revenue from an already strong base, hired Savvy to conduct a strategic audit of their business including reviewing marketing. After gaining new insights on what new initiatives to consider, what areas to stop that were not working, and areas to change focus, the company made many changes.

The CEO and the President retained Savvy to help in many areas including advising on the hiring of a new marketing leader, managing the RFP process to bring on the most suitable patient satisfaction platform provider to measure NPS and continuously monitor patient experience/loyalty metrics, and to conduct secret patient shopping to better review each step in the patient care process.

In the course of their work together, and seeing the consolidation and changes in the optometry category, the CEO decided to focus on EBITA with an eye on potentially selling the business.  The CEO and the President hired Savvy to conduct a Distribution Study as well as a Call Center Study to improve efficiencies with an eye on the bottom line (puns intended!) 

After Savvy’s process improvement analysis, the client moved from a completely centralized call center to a hybrid format by automating some calls and having the ability to direct calls to either the local stores of the call center, depending on local staff capacity and call demand. This move decreased costs by reducing call center staff, while simultaneously improving customer service levels through reduced hold time and connecting patients more efficiently when they need direct interaction with their doctor’s office.

Savvy was retained as an ongoing advisor to the CEO and President and coach resource to doctors and management team for a multi-year period.

Results

Decisions were taken on all key items and Savvy provided observations and recommendations on marketing, product line management, investment banking partner, M&A, corporate governance, strategic outreach and contributing to the process of match making leading to a successful exit to a strategic investor.

Grace provided advice for several years for Eye Care Associates in areas ranging from marketing to strategic planning and corporate culture. The diversity of her support has enabled us to utilize an objective and wise outside voice to help guide key decision-making. Savvy became an invaluable resource to our group until our exit.

Bob Brodney, President
Eye Care Associates
(acquired by MyEyeDr.)