IcareLabs Blog

Today's Informed Consumers

The way business is being done now is very different from the way business was done even ten years ago. Today, 90% of Americans spend at least two hours a day on digital devices. When a consumer is interested in a product or service, they look it up and do research on the Internet. Don’t you? They are a more informed consumer than the customer of the past.

In doing business today, it is not just marketing campaigns with a message of, “We offer this great product, buy it”. It is about building relationships, getting the patient to be interactive with you as their eye doctor, with your staff and with the products you offer. It is necessary to inform the patient as to “Why” what you and your company offers is for them.

Trends for the Optical Industry

Though sales were up for ECPs in 2015, there are 1,000 locations nationwide closing every year. Private Practice Eye Care Providers (PPECPs) are losing 2-4% of their market share each year to the corporate optical ‘big box’ retailers. The PPECPs provide 65% of the eye exams but, sell 39% of the eyewear. How do you gain more of those sales and not let them walk out your door?

Have you considered selling Prescription Safety Eyewear to grow your optical business?

Savvy optical industry businesses capitalize on the prescription safety eyewear segment. According to the 2014 Vision Council ECP Report, only about two-thirds of independent eye care practices offer the ANSI-rated Z87 safety eyewear.

When asking questions on occupation, daily activities, lifestyles, habits, hobbies etc., safety eyewear may apply to your patient. Take a couple of minutes to inform and educate them in eye safety. Even if their employer does not mandate that they wear safety eyewear, you are in the position to recommend it. They may listen to your recommendation more than their employer’s.

If you have been in the dispensary area of your store, you may have heard a conversation between a couple of millennials that went something like this:

“Hey Joe, my new glasses with the anti-reflective coating make taking selfies easier!”

“Really? What about Instagram filter compatibility?”, and so on. It’s all about being able to shop for their eyeglasses on their smart phone and digital devices.

The millennial customer is unique and they are looking for products that appeal to their interests and lifestyle. They want the latest fashions with bold style, color and textures. The more choices they have to make it unique to them, the better.

Selling to Millennials with Technology

Millennials can really relate to digital lens process. Just as they can customize their music stream on their smartphone, ODs can customize a patient’s vision with proper measurements, including position of wear, frame parameters, etc. The digital process can optimize the Rx based on the position of wear measurements and frame specification with wider field of view.

Looking to grow your business? You might want to consider focusing a portion of your selling floor to the millennials. After all, in a few years they will be the majority of the population and more of your target market.

Let’s look at how millennials, a.k.a. ‘Gen Y’, shops and buys today and what you can do to sell to them.

Let's start with a definition: people born between 1981 – 1997 who have grown up on the Internet. This represents about 75-80 million young people, nearly one quarter of the total population of America.

Blue light and the health hazards of HEV, High Energy Visible light, have become available to ECPs wherever they turn. They find information in the industry news media, class credit articles, seminars, conventions and on the Internet when looking up vision health concerns. It is everywhere.

Even though the industry may be aware of the HEV health concerns, the general public may not be. This is the reason every vision health professional should make HEV part of the discussion with every patient. It is our job to educate and inform our patients of the dangers of HEV.

What is blue light?

The spectrum, of natural sunlight includes the high-energywavelength that humans are attuned to. It affects our sleep cycle, alertness, mood, cognitive functions and sense of wellbeing. Depending on the study³, there is a range in the blue portion of the light spectrum that has hazardous affects. The peak threshold of the blue color cone photoreceptors is 463mm, with a range of 400-500 nm. They can penetrate into the eye causing retinal damage, which is cumulative.

As you review an organization, look into what have they done within your local community. Prevent Blindness.org is a national non-profit organization that has coordinated events, medical information and collateral to help your business bring attention to a good cause. There are opportunities for you to promote support for Prevent Blindness. Your office can show your customers that you are supporting their community. Find out through local organizations, churches or schools what local need there is to help.

Other states passed laws previously forbidding Managed Care Insurance Companies requiring eye doctors to use their labs. Now, Texas joined them in June, 2015 as Texas Governor, Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 684 (Click here) into law.

This Texas law allows private optometric practioners to fulfil patient’s eyeglass prescription for their lab of choice, instead of being forced to use the managed vision care company lab. The law goes into effect in September 2015. Contracts entered into or renewed on September 1, 2015 and after the date will be covered by this law.