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Eyecare Business

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Buyer’s Forum

Shopping Trip

Eyecare Business April 1, 2013
buyer’s forum

Shopping Trip

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Amy Spiezio

This month, Erinn Morgan’s feature on mystery shopping for sunwear revealed some interesting information about what’s going on out there in the sunglass side of the optical market. In some spaces it seemed that sun was outside the realm of the ECP, while others were savvy in the way they presented their product.

All in all, it was a great learning experience for all of the editors here who participated, myself included. After a day on the road, there were some sunglass insights—and oversights— that really stood out, and may provide you with food for thought.

WINDOW UP. While this isn’t the 1950s with the bustling downtowns and elaborate window displays, it was surprising to see how many of the shops located in today’s ubiquitous strip malls are ignoring their front windows or treating them as a non-cohesive display space. While some opticals had eye-catching banners that were provided P.O.P. from manufacturers, there was not much more to see in the window, and that’s a real missed opportunity to catch eyes and potential sales.

TECH. Over and over again we were impressed with the opticians’ knowledge of lens technology and their intelligent, effective presentation of AR and polarization in lenses. The next logical step in this would be to speak about frame technology. While color and shape are great stories to tell, hinges, materials and the latest bells and whistles of frame construction can be an effective selling tool as well.

THE SAME GAME. I will never know if this is a coincidence or a spiff, but two very different practices suggested the same exact sunglasses for me. Though the likelihood of your patients hitting half a dozen dispensaries on the same day is unlikely, consider how special your specials are when selling.

Inventory Question of the Month

When it comes to presenting sunglasses to patients

■ We start with the lenses, just like any other eyewear consultations.

■ We consider the brand and cuteness factor first.

■ It really depends on who is doing the buying and how the wearer is going to use them.

To reply to this month’s survey, visit eyecarebusiness.com.


HIT THE ROAD

Want to know what your competition is doing? The best way to find out is to hop into your shopping togs and hit the road.

Wondering how to create your own effective secret shopper campaign? Consider the following.

WHO?

The first step of getting a secret shopper plan in action is to decide who will be doing the shopping.

According to MarketingZone.com, there are several good options for a secret shopper plan:

■ Engage the services of a professional who will analyze your competition and report their findings back for a fee.

■ Hire freelancers, folks who are not affiliated with a professional secret shopping service.

■ Ask friends. Who can you trust if not your friends? Turn to those around you to hit the bricks and do some shopping.

■ Another option is DIY…that is, you or your staff head out and shop.

SHOPPING LIST

Once you have the who settled for your secret shopping program, it’s time to get specific. You can have the best team in the world, but if you don’t give them specific parameters of what they should be checking out, your results may not deliver the rich load of information you’re hoping for.

Create a basic questionnaire for your shoppers like the following:

1 What was your first impression of the optical?

2 How were you treated by the staff? Highlights/specifics?

3 What was the overall appearance of the practice?

4 Was there a kids/sports/sun (whatever you’re particularly interested in) section? Describe.

5 What did you like best about this particular optical?

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