HOT TOPIC A new look at old problems
Can Clicks BUILD BRICKS?
Why your website could be your best marketing tool—plus eight low-cost ways you can capitalize upon it to support, not compete with, your location
By Erinn Morgan
The web wields much power when it comes to influencing consumer purchasing decisions. This does not, however, necessarily relate directly to online product sales.
"Internet sales are only about six to seven percent of total retail sales today, but what we have found is that the influence of the Internet is much higher," says Ellen Davis, vice president of shop.org, the online retailing division of the National Retail Federation. "The amount of products people buy online is small and will probably stay small, but the Internet influences up to 30 percent of what we buy."
That is why it is crucial for independent optical retailers to invest some time and energy into creating a website that provides existing and potential customers with key information.
"Why do you have a telephone? Why do you have a business card? Why are you in the yellow pages?" asks Terry Adler, co-owner of EyeVertise, a website design firm for the optical industry. "A website serves the same marketing purpose."
This doesn't mean ECPs necessarily need to be selling products online; their websites can instead be an invaluable marketing tool. "If you're a retailer who is not selling online, it doesn't mean you shouldn't be online," says Davis. "You need a website with information on your products, staff, store hours, and even how to select the right frame."
Your website can be an essential information source and a community building tool. "It's really simple—it reaches out to a possible client base that may never walk into my brick-and-mortar store," says Brad Childs, vice president of the four-store, Pittsburgh-based Squirrel Hill Eyetique. "You have to have that in your portfolio because it could be the reason someone comes in."
How can you best capitalize on this economy-necessary business tool? Here, web-savvy experts recommend eight simple, low-cost ways to ensure your website is working overtime for your business.
FOCUS ON THE BASICS
1 First and foremost, ensure that all of your basic location information—including address, directions, map, and phone and fax numbers—is listed in multiple areas on your website. "All primary contact info should be on every page, quickly and easily available," says Bob Negen, author of Marketing Your Retail Store in the Internet Age and founder of WhizBangMarketing.com. "You also need to have a site that expresses your store's personality and tells people why you are the best option."
GET THE WORD OUT
2 Propel the success of your website and its results by getting the address out to a broader audience. Retailers are putting their web addresses on "everything from store signage and receipts to print advertising and shopping bags," says Davis. "They are also investing in online marketing and search engine optimization to get more hits."
At Squirrel Hill Eyetique, Childs says they put their web address on everything they do, including business cards and letterhead. At Europtics in Denver, web designer Dan Feldman says the address appears in all their advertising, including all radio spots. "We list it with equal importance as if it were one of the stores," he notes.
ENGAGE THE CUSTOMER
3 Once you have drawn the customer to your site, there are a number of unique ways to keep them coming back.
"Build a community with things like an email sign-up for a monthly newsletter and special promotions," says Negen. "It's important to stay in front of them on a regular basis, letting them know when it's time to buy. People underestimate the importance of consistency and quantity."
Squirrel Hill Eyetique actually enables their website visitors to sign up for "Mytique," an online "club" that offers discounts, a one-time $25 gift certificate, and online appointment scheduling.
"It's an avenue to pique their interest and more or less obtain their information and keep them coming back," says Childs. Feldman also adds that interactive features such as quizzes and optical illusions are popular with optical website visitors.
JOIN THE SOCIAL NETWORKING REVOLUTION
4 Do you Twitter? Or, perhaps you have a Facebook or MySpace account. The wave of fast-paced and fast-growing social networking opportunities are also being utilized by many businesses to market their goods and services.
Retailers can launch a Facebook group for their optical shop. Or, Twitter about new product arrivals on a daily basis.
"A lot of retailers, both large and small, are trying to get their arms around social networking," says Davis. "From a branding perspective, it makes a lot of sense. From an advertising sense, it's not proven to be profitable quite yet, but a Facebook group, Twittering, or even having a blog is a good way to get customers interested and coming back to your business."
| MARKETING INSPIRATIONS |
|---|
| Here are smart snippets of what optical retailers and vendors are doing to get customers excited about their products. Could one work for you? ■ SOCIAL PROMOTION: Valerie Vittu, owner of Margot & Camille Optique in Old City Philadelphia, gained momentum (and attendees) by promoting her anniversary party on Facebook. ■ ON THE BLOGOSPHERE: Frame supplier Baum Vision keeps its happenings, media mentions, and celebrity sightings in the forefront with its up-to-date blog, http://www.baumvisionnews.blogspot.com/. ■ EMAIL BLAST: Berlin-based frame vendor Mykita reaches out to the industry with a savvy series of email blasts, including a recent email that linked to a behind-the-scenes video of its spring campaign photo shoot. ■ WEBSITE PROMOS: Wescan brand Fysh boasts an interactive website platform (www.fyshnation.com) that draws visitors in with contests to win free eyewear, a model search for the next "Faces of Fysh," and a challenge to rate new pairs of eyewear. |
| Tips for the Siteless |
|---|
| Is your location still without a presence on the web? Perhaps it's time to take the plunge, but consider these tips first: ■ Terry Adler, co-owner of EyeVertise, a company that creates websites for optical retailers, says, "To create your site, you don't have to use someone in the eyecare business, but it could help. Just get someone professional to do it, otherwise you are losing out." ■ Bob Negen, author of Marketing Your Retail Store in the Internet Age and founder of WhizBangMarketing.com, recommends that any independent retailer planning a website should have a basic working knowledge of customer-focused marketing. "If you know nothing about marketing and what you need for your site, and you're going to a web designer, you are at their mercy," he says. "Don't get stuck with something you don't want or need." ■ When interviewing web designers, ask them targeted questions. Have they worked with any other optical retailers or anyone who is a service provider? If they have, ask them for the web address and that client's phone number for a referral. ■ Is a website an expensive endeavor? "Heavens no," says Negen. A site can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to upwards of several thousand if you want a Flash design and all the bells and whistles. "Plus, email marketing can be cheap, cheap, cheap," says Negen. |
PERSONALIZE IT
5 Make your website reflect the atmosphere of your location as well as the style of your products. "Personalize it—it's not just a big old billboard," says Negen.
He suggests including a section that talks about the doctors and staff, even down to hobbies and charitable causes. He also recommends including customer testimonials about your services and products.
"You have to establish credibility from the beginning," he adds. "You are setting the stage for a relationship with the patient."
APPEAL WITH PROMOTIONS
6 At Europtics, all in-store sales and promotions are also advertised on the website. "Right now have we have a 25-percent-off sale on anything in the store and that is up on our website," says owner Ira Haber. "We have also done some coupons for $40 off on the website, but today to sell something you really need a much better deal than that."
MAKE IT EASY
7 By placing medical forms online, your website can also provide a tangible service for patients. EyeVertise's Adler is also an optician at Palermo and Associates where, he says, about 50 percent of the patients who come to the office now fill out their forms ahead of time.
"Also, most of the sites we design feature the medical forms which can be filled out by the patient before they come into the office," he says.
This can also be a benefit for the practice. "If they've done the forms on the web and they come in five minutes late, it's not a big deal. Plus, then they have nothing to do if they are waiting, so they get up and walk around and look at the frame boards," he says.
At Squirrel Hill Eyetique, an impressive amount of eye exams get booked through their website. "We probably book a hundred exams online every month," says Childs. "That's a hundred less phone calls and a hundred less minutes spent on the phone by our staff."
| Clever Copy |
|---|
| Here are some quick tips to woo customers with website and email marketing copy they can't resist. ■ Consider bringing in a professional copywriter. This investment will likely pay off in spades. ■ If you sell high-end eyewear, your website copy should reflect this and provide more information. The higher the price, the more important the copy, especially if you're selling online. ■ Avoid turning customers away by using too much sales jargon. While words like "New," "Free," and "Save" are powerful eye-catchers, they can also put people off if they are used too often on your website or in email messages. ■ When sending out email marketing, make sure you have a great, impactful subject line that encourages viewers to open your email instead of tossing it in the trash. |
MARKET YOUR PRODUCTS—EVEN IF YOU DON'T SELL THEM ONLINE
8 While the number of optical retailers selling their goods online is small, a growing number are featuring those styles they sell in-store as a marketing tool.
"The ones that are successful are talking about the brand itself and what the collection looks like—they pique the interest of the customer," says Adler.
Europtics' Feldman says Europtics.net's most popular pages feature the frame fashions. He notes: "We used to link directly to the vendors, but to keep customers on our site and their purchases in our store, we build these pages into the site as an eye frame that is embedded within our site—it allows the vendor websites to be visible within our site but it keeps the customer on our page." EB
![]({"src":"/media/b0wp5kxj/52009.jpg","focalPoint":null,"crops":[{"alias":"thumbnail","width":1110,"height":700,"coordinates":null}]})