Free-Form

State of the Economy

Taking a step into reality when planning your practice's free-form ambitions helps set goals and make sales

By Karlen McLean, ABOC, NCLC

Eyecare Business' annual report on business and economic trends, detailed in the July 2010 issue, identified free-form and polarized lenses as the biggest growth categories of the year. While the South's free-form sales dipped slightly from 27 to 25 percent last year, overall free-form in 2010 showed the lenses taking priority status, especially in the Midwest, where sales jumped from 15 percent in 2009 to 27 percent in 2010, and the West, up from 17 percent in 2009 to 22 percent in 2010.

This indicates that free-form/wavefront/digitally produced lenses are achieving steady growth in the marketplace.

Statistics aside, those of you on dispensing's front line face many challenges when working with free-form, especially when starting to adapt free-form into your practices. These real profiles on free-form start-up, with frank talk and recommendations from your peers, can help you plan and hone your own approach.

Free-form design allows lenses to be set for the best visual acuity at any task. Free-form designs that are specifically for diverse patients' visual demands offer optimal acuity for a wider range of individuals. Images top to bottom: Courtesy of Shamir Insight (top) and Essilor of America

BABY STEPS: CHILDREN'S EYE DOCTORS & WOODLAWN OPTICAL

Although primarily serving children, this practice in Redmond, Wash., a suburb of Seattle, also sees its fair share of adult patients. Of the adult clients, about 50 percent wear multifocals. Because clientele is young, 95 percent of the multifocals sold are PALs, and the practice only sells upper-shelf, name-brand PALs. To date, the practice sells about 15 percent free-form lenses.

“We recommend digital lenses to everyone,” reports Diane Charles, LDO and manager, “but because of cost, most choose to stay with the lenses they're currently wearing. Because we sold them quality PALs from the beginning, they like what they have; it's hard to get them to change when everything about what they already have is working well.”

The increased popularity of larger frame styles make PALs in general easier to adapt to, she adds. However, there is a point at which free-form PALs are strongly recommended.

“The people we recommend digital lenses to, strongly, are high cylinders over +/− 2.00D, high powers over +/− 4.00D, and those people who are nonadapts from years ago who are willing to try PALs again,” Charles says. “Techies in our area are interested and come in asking for digital, but they are currently few and far between.”

Charles recently had her first free-form ‘wow' experience: “A client who wanted to try them after wearing others for two years upgraded to see if he liked them,” she reveals. “He came in after wearing them for two weeks and said he no longer takes his glasses off to read. He loves them and is telling everyone about them!” She adds: “Incidentally, his Rx is not one I would've pushed for digital; he's a low hyperope with a +2.00D add. But after our explanation, he wanted them. Success!”

Some free-form products, like this one, are made by using proprietary free-form molds. Photos courtesy of Augen Optics

DUE DILIGENCE: EYE APPEAL OPTOMETRY

“For the moment, my office has not sold one free-form lens yet,” says Henry Oishi, OD, owner of this one-year-old start-up practice in Temecula, Calif., between Los Angeles and San Diego. He cites similar responses as Diane Charles does for the reason: high cost and the weakened California economy.

Free-form produced lenses appeal to patients of all ages, especially those with high-powered Rx's. Image courtesy of Ophthonix, Inc.

Eye Appeal Optometry remains optimistic about the future of free-form and is doing all it can to change the scenario from no free-form sold to more free-form sold; the practice is projecting a 10 to 15 percent free-form sales goal for 2011.

“I and my staff continually educate patients about the benefits of free-form,” Oishi says. “We hope that through this continuous repetition of free-form benefits patients will be willing to switch over.”

Free-form is the basis for wrap lens function and fashion. Courtesy of Carl Zeiss Vision

Courtesy of Hoya Vision Care North America

Oishi recently completed one company's free-form certification program, “So that I can educate my patients even more about this wonderful technology. I am working diligently to build a patient base.”

RAMPING UP: AN OPTICAL GALLERIA

This combination of art gallery and optical shop in Centreville, Md., a town east of Baltimore and Washington, D.C., is currently reporting free-form sales at 17 percent of total sales. Forty-six percent of all PAL/trifocal sales are free-form.

“I'd attribute our success in free-form sales to spending the time to educate patients,” says Robert Pino, optician-owner. “Some of our patients have tried PALs elsewhere and they've had nightmare experiences due to improper fit, which makes it a much tougher sale.”

The practice's free-form sales strategy is to share stories of success and back up the product if there is a nonadapt, which is rare (one percent).

The practice also chooses to only use one manufacturer's free-form product line. This can help simplify the sales and marketing message to patients, plus allows the practice more attention from and perks with the manufacturer.

Return patients and a solid referral base keep patient's free-form aware and purchase motivated. A mindset and sales-set to do what's right for each patient is the driving force behind An Optical Galleria's current success.

“Patients are now returning and purchasing their second and third pair of digitals,” Pino reports. “Most experience the wow factor when they put them on; seeing is believing! We've gained patient trust over the years as we've helped them improve their quality of life. Spending the money for digital lenses is a small price to pay for something that can really simplify your life.” EB