Good Times
Warming up the fall with back-to-school marketing moves
By Judy Canty, ABOC, NCLE

Packages for children, such as buy-one-get-one-half-off specials, are perennial favorites. Shown: Disney style 91 from Marchon

In the optical business, you just gotta love August. The kids are already bored, they've broken their glasses at camp/summer school/on vacation, and the new school year is just around the corner. So what are you going to do to capture your share of the back-to-school market?

First things first. Take a hard look at what you've done in the past. Did it work for you? Will it work again this year, or is it time to make some changes? We asked some savvy optical retailers around the country and picked up some ideas that you can tailor to suit your individual practices.

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT

Last year, Jana Lewis at the Westlake Vision Center in Austin, Texas, offered a "buy-one-get-one-half-off" promotion that worked well. "It worked because, as we all know, kids need backups," says Lewis. "We sold many of these packages, and I think we'll try it again this year."

But you've done that before, you say, and you need a new angle.

Well, so did Lewis. So her office also held a Kids' Day, scheduling all the kids together. Since nothing could be more nightmarish than a room full of waiting kids, the folks at Westlake brought in a storyteller and served cookies and punch.

The Kids' Day was such a success that they followed up with Teen Day and College Day. The staff re-merchandised the frame displays to highlight young and hip eyewear and even convinced a vendor to supply backpacks as a gift-with-purchase for some styles.

Kids' Days can draw families into dispensaries for back-to-school eyewear. Shown above: Chesterfield Kids style CH432 for Sàfilo. Shown below: Tommy Hilfiger Kids styles TH2000 and TH 2001 for Viva International Group	Fall into good vision. Shown: SmartFlip 451 for Elite Eyewear

NOT JUST KIDS

Sometimes it's easy to forget that back-to-school isn't always yellow buses and bicycles--sometimes it's cars and bicycles.

Joann Raytar at EyeCarePlus, an optometric practice with offices in Danbury and Newtown, Conn., reports that the calls for back-to-school appointments actually start in early spring. Parents call hoping to get their children in as soon as school is out, especially their college-age children.

Last year, the practice concentrated on eyewear by offering a discount coupon toward a complete pair of eyeglasses. "Honestly, we did not see more back-to-school business than normal," Raytar says.

The practice employees came to the conclusion that most of their back-to-school patients are college age--they need an annual exam and a new supply of disposable contact lenses and the staff has planned accordingly. "We are trying a buy-one-get-one this year and discounting a year's supply of contact lenses," Raytar says.

Before dismissing this idea due to mail orders and such, consider her rationale. "By discounting a year's supply of disposable contacts, we are hoping that students will purchase a year's supply to get them until their next break, then think to make an appointment for an annual eye exam," she says. "We believe this will help younger contact lens wearers think more about their eye health than previous generations. Even though our college-age students are Web savvy, they seem to be better about regular exams than our 30-something patients, and we are trying to keep it that way!"

Reinforcing the idea that the back-to-school season doesn't end when school starts, Raytar reminds us that the second wave of calls for appointments comes about two weeks after school starts when younger children have failed their school vision screenings.

To help parents understand the need for regular eye exams and good eyewear, Becky Coast Fertig of Brahm & Powell Guild Opticians in Alexandria, Va., recommends that eyecare professionals become involved with local schools as a speaker for PTAs or as a guest in the classroom.

"I really enjoy talking to school children about eyes and eye protection," Fertig says. "Nothing drives my point home more effectively than allowing a student to hit a plastic lens with a hammer and then trying again with a polycarbonate lens. I've witnessed more than one wide-eyed teacher viewing the results."

These ideas are just a sampling of what ECPs are doing to capitalize on the lucrative back-to-school season. From buy-one-get-one offers, to coupons, to gifts-with-purchase, the possibilities are almost endless. It's time to put on your thinking caps. Imagine the ideal promotion for your practice, and then get as close to that as you can within your budget. Then, start humming "It's the most wonderful time of the year..."