IcareLabs Blog

As you well know, being in retail business these days comes with some interesting challenges that entrepreneurs like yourself never had to consider. Today, Internet savvy consumers are doing their research before you ever get a chance to talk to them. Consumers with a desire to shop local small businesses, or those who are looking to be loyal patrons to a shop down the street are becoming harder to find as a more "global" approach sets in.

Over the past few years, several states have passed legislation relating to managed vision care. Many of these new laws prohibit managed vision care plans from mandating that the ECP must use a designated lab to make the lenses covered under the plan. This means many of our customers can now use IcareLabs for these managed vision care plans, depending on what state your practice is in!

In some states, the managed vision care plan is still entitled to set differing reimbursement rates for out-of-network supplies and services. Check with the managed vision care plan for more information.

According to The Vision Council, there have been 40 such legislative efforts, some of which were not signed into law, or died in process. Below is a summary of bills that have become law, or are currently somewhere in the legislative process. The summaries were provided by The Vision Council.

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.

So, you’ve worked hard to get your website and social media to a place where you can be found, and people can learn all about your optical business and it’s products and excellent customer service. Things are going along just fine. People are starting to follow you, like you, share your posts and visit your website.

Suddenly, a customer posts a bad review on your social media page!

It’s not the end of the world. Sometimes negative reviews happen. However, there are some things you need to know to make the best out of the situation. And, if all goes well, you could actually spin a negative online review into a positive one for your optical store.

We use the frame shape number for a few different things. The first thing we do with the frame shape number is to build the shape with the A and B measurements provided.

After we have done this, we will calculate the ED based on the new shape. Why do we do this?

Lets take this job for example. I have a +2.50 -1.50, with a 58 PD in a 53-21 Drill mount frame.

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.

There is a growing category in the optical business that is somewhat disregarded and certainly somewhat misunderstood. One in 28 Americans age 40 and above suffers with low vision. That number will grow over the next 20 years due to the fact that approximately 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day. It is estimated that more than 39 million Americans have low vision or a disorder that can lead to it.

Eyecare Business Magazine first referred to low vision as “the most underserved category in optical” back in the early ‘90s. Twenty years later, not much has changed except that the growing number of patients who suffer has increased as the population increases.

These patients, for the most part, are being told that “nothing can be done” or they’re not being seen at all. While it’s true that there is no cure, there are solutions that can help people improve quality of life, such as daily living aids, low vision devices and sophisticated spectacles.

Frame Measurements have become increasingly important with the addition of digital lens designs. As a lab, we have lost control over the safety margin on lens cutout. The lens designer gives us all of the parameters to process the lens, and we are at their mercy.

Our biggest issue has been the Frame ED (Effective Diameter) measurement. Unfortunately, many have been misinformed about how to measure this.

When we get a job that hasn’t cut out for a customer, what we often see is the LD, or Longest Diameter, placed incorrectly in the ED box. One of the top results in a quick Google search even incorrectly explains how to measure it.

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.