What is the TruCost™ of Your Frames?
How vendor selection can impact what your eyewear really costs
Choosing the right frame vendor is one of the most important decisions ECPs can make when it comes to the profitability of the office. The first step? Identifying what is important to your business.
“It's critical to sit down and decide who you are, who your customer is, and what buying criteria are in line with your image and mission,” says Rene Soltis, director of training and education at The Vision Council. “Is it quality, service, brand names, vendor support, price, etcetera? Determining all the reasons you buy will help you partner with appropriate vendors.”
The second step is to share your criteria with potential vendors. “One key question to ask before forming a relationship is ‘What is the current backorder status of your top ten frames?’” suggests Soltis. “If they are running, for instance, at 20 percent backorder then we have a problem.”
It is also crucial to ask vendors what type of sales support and merchandising programs they offer. ECPs can learn about prospective vendors by reading industry publications, attending trade shows, and asking peers for their opinions. Your due diligence will pay off with better sell-through, satisfied patients, and the best TruCost for your frame dollars.
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The Clear Advantage 4 Key Ways ClearVision Optical Works to Deliver Outstanding TruCost™ 1 Inventory you can count on. “We make a financial investment in our inventory and track our fill rate daily,” says president David Friedfeld. As a result, CVO ships a minimum of 96 percent of all orders every day and most backorders take no longer than two weeks. 2 Pricing that's right from the start. “We work backwards to look at where we think a frame is going to sell at the fastest turn rate and we mark it up from that price,” says Friedfeld. Its market responsiveness has also inspired CVO to recently lower its prices. 3 A OneSource ™ Philosophy with Highly Trained, Longstanding Reps. Unlike other vendors with two or three reps, CVO presents their product lines to you via one sales consultant. “Our outstanding consultants save you time and money,” says Friedfeld, who notes they also deliver with extras like trunk shows and window displays. 4 Enhanced Sell-Through via Award-Winning Merchandising. In addition to its extensive marketing programs placed in trade and consumer publications, CVO has an award-winning marketing department that creates standout P.O.P., displays, and even customized merchandising materials. |
TruCost™ vs. Real Cost
TruCost is the bottom-line cost that takes into account the policies of the vendors with whom you do business. For example, do your vendors consistently have frames on backorder? This inconvenience may actually cost you money in lost patient sales.
What about the vendor warranties, return policies, and shipping costs associated with your products? All of these factors contribute to the indirect, hidden costs involved with frame purchasing.
“You have to rate the whole experience. If the frame is great but the service is unreliable and causes you grief and time, this costs you money,” says Mary Rose Jaszczynski, ClearVision's business development manager.
ECPs can benefit greatly by trying to lower the TruCost of their frames. The most obvious contributors to raising the TruCost are poor vendor polices, service, and quality. “It's important to work with your vendors to create an efficient and effective purchasing process.” says Soltis. In today's increasingly competitive marketplace, ECPs cannot afford to work with vendors that do not offer the best price-value relationship.
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