Endless Summer
Promoting polarized lenses year-round can benefit both your patients and your bottom line
By Erinn Morgan

While most consumer attention focuses on sunwear in the summer months, the truth of the matter is that sunlenses can benefit anyone year-round. The sun does not discriminate by season--its exposure happens all year long. Polarized lenses, in particular, will help resolve visual issues that can happen any time of year. For example, glare can be just as much of a problem for those who ski as it can be for boaters. Glare issues from driving during either day or evening are also year-round problems for both commuters and soccer moms alike.

These facts have led more and more dispensers and wholesale labs to focus on polarized sunlenses year-round. As a result, sales have increased--in some cases even doubling for dispensers.

"We're seeing more of year-round business," says John Ragazzo, owner of Brothers' Optical, a wholesale laboratory located in Anaheim, Calif., that services eyecare professionals in California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and Arizona. "I think back to when plastic first popped. There were not a lot of people using it. But then more and more manufacturers started to produce plastic. I have seen that with other products as well. As soon as a particular manufacturer produces and promotes a particular product, you begin to see it grow. We are seeing this happen now with polarized lenses."

The keys to gaining business with polarized lenses are simple. First off, present this lens option to each and every customer in the dispensary all year long and explain the benefits of polarized sunwear.

Second, be sure to promote this option with advertising, special promotions, package pricing, and P.O.P.

With a bit of attention from a knowledgeable staff, your polarized lens sales could experience a healthy increase and provide a boost to your overall year-round business.

Drivers face glare on a daily basis, not just in summer, and need polarized lenses year-round PHOTOS COURTESY KBCO

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

Polarized lenses truly can benefit almost any patient, which is why it makes sense for dispensers to present this lens option to everyone. Whether they are looking for plano sunwear or prescription sunglasses as a second
pair, adding polarization to their purchase will undoubtedly enhance their visual experience.

"We present polarized lenses to every customer," says Paul Glaser, owner of Captree Opticians, which is located in Babylon, N.Y. "As a result, 90 percent of our customers are getting polarized. I almost don't sell non-polarized sunglasses."

The explanation for each application of polarized lenses is tailored to the individual, Glaser notes. "If someone comes in for a single vision lens, we explain the benefits of polarized. If someone comes in for a multifocal, we explain the benefits of polarized. For example, we explain that the tints don't fade or change color on a polarized lens. This is because the polarized filter is molded in the lens. It is not a clear lens that is tinted."

Explaining how this lens choice can benefit wearers throughout the year is crucial, since many view sunlenses as a warm- weather option.

Showing polarized lenses in action is key to selling. Shown is a demonstrator from Younger Optics

While they present this lens option year-round, many dispensers do report increased sales during warmer weather. "We do sell more in the summertime," says Mike Moore, owner/manager of The Optical Center in Winchester, Va. "There is a 15 to 20 percent decrease in the wintertime."

One of the best methods for presenting polarized year-round is to find an angle for potential polarized users that is effective 365 days a year.

"We are 60 miles west of Washington, D.C.," says Moore, "so we have a lot of commuters. They travel east in the morning and west in the afternoon, so they are traveling into the sun both ways. Plus, we get plenty of snow here, and the glare is just as bad as glare on the water."

Presentation is everything. So take the time to promote polarization personally with each patient. "Customer awareness is key," says Moore, who says he takes the takes the time to speak with patients about the available lens options. "Let them know what the advantages and disadvantages of polarized lenses are. We have four opticians here, and they're all schooled in it and know what they're talking about."

A WELL-DESERVED PROMOTION

It is one thing to talk to every customer about the year-round merits of polarized lenses. It is another thing entirely to get them excited about the lens option.

Polarized displays and demonstrators, advertising, posters, and package pricing are all excellent vehicles for creating an interest in this product.

"We advertise polarized lenses in the local newspaper and TV," says The Optical Center's Moore. "We also run special promotions and discounts here all the time. If someone wants a second pair, we can drop the price to make the sale."

As a result, The Optical Center has doubled its polarized sales in the last few years--about 30 percent of all the dispensary's customers walk out the door with the lens option, Moore says.

Manufacturers' displays and demonstrators are extremely effective ways to grab customers' attention and educate them first-hand about the benefits of polarized lenses.

"We use a manufacturer's little black box with a fluorescent light set on it," says Moore. "There are four scenes--one for each season. The fluorescent light creates a glare on the scene, and there is a polarized hand-held monocle to see the difference. If you show them the display, it will basically do your job for you."

Simple methods of demonstrating the power of this product can also be effective sales tools, Moore says. "We are able to show it easily because we are a street location and people can quickly step outside to test the products. We also have a shiny floor and can show the reduction of the glare off the floor," says Glaser, who also uses polarized demonstrators from his lens suppliers.

A storefront location can also be beneficial for displaying polarized marketing materials in the windows. "We have Main Street exposure with posters and signs in the windows to get customers interested," says Glaser.

Like presenting polarized to customers all year, demonstrating and promoting it should follow suit. "We actively promote it year-round," says Michael Francesconi, vice president of Katz & Klein, Inc., a wholesale laboratory in Sacramento, Calif., that services eyecare professionals in northern California.

This lab supplies its customers with demonstrator kits so patients can see how polarized works. They also offer package pricing so the option becomes affordable to the patient and profitable to the doctor. Packages include single vision lenses in all powers with or without a backside AR coating. There is also package pricing available for progressives, bifocals, and trifocals.

In addition, Katz & Klein, Inc., offers a lot of in-office services. "I am in the doctors' offices every day," says Francesconi. "We do 90-minute seminars on progressive lenses, and we talk about polarized lenses as well during this time. It does no good to have these programs if they don't understand how they work. The eyecare professionals have to be educated--and educated constantly--as there are always new products on the market. Our job is to try to educate them as best we can, and it is a full-time job."