retail ops

Year-End Initiatives

Karlen McLean

At every venue I’ve worked, we held year-end sales, usually of slow-moving products. We also ramped up our accessories inventory and gift card promotions. These basic initiatives are still good business, but “basic” can get stale year after year.

Kick it up a notch like the following ECPs and put excitement and profits in year-end.

PUT IT IN WRITING

Sending clients seasonal cards, invitations to a sale, or newsletters can keep your clients engaged and ramp up holiday and seasonal sales.

“We send out a year-end newsletter around Thanksgiving,” says Richard Rubin, LDO, optical manager of The Eye Center in Pembroke Pines, FL. “We make it smaller, using it to offer incentives to visit our website where there’s the full newsletter. There, we talk about what’s new at The Eye Center, new products, and offer coupons.”

’Tis the season that may leave you pressed for operating dollars, so limit marketing to what works best.

“We don’t have much of an advertising budget, so we produce promotional flyers or place print ads in local newspapers,” says Pat Kuhl, LDO, at Eye Care Optical in Montgomery, OH.

Other ECPs opt for a more personal touch.

“We routinely mail a thank-you note to every customer who purchases eyeglasses from us,” notes Dianna Finisecy, president of Wagner

Opticians in Washington, DC, “but during November and December we change [it] to a generic holiday-themed card that promotes the joy of the season.”

Getting a jump on the holiday rush can garner more attention.

“I’ve always had great Decembers since I started sending holiday cards the day after Thanksgiving,” says Kat Leek-Tedeschi, owner of Kat’s Eyes Optical in Phoenix. “I enclose my business card with a handwritten note reminding clients of their HSAs and other tips.”

GET AN EARLY START

Year-end events can be held prior to December. Starting your promotions early allows clients an extended action period and longer exposure.

“We have a big sale in late September through October, as we’ve found that trying to compete with the Christmas advertising push is unsuccessful,” notes Andrea Reis, ABOC, clinical manager–optical, with Davis Duehr Dean—Regent Street Optical, based in Madison, WI. “With 19 locations, pre-planning is crucial for us. Generally, the big sales are planned around September of the preceding year, making sure we’ve planned for the expense of those campaigns and have the resources needed to create the ads/promotion, capture co-op funding, and have the right staffing for that time frame.”

SALES THEMES

Themed promotions typically work best, and tying into an industry message gives it a stronger voice.

“We do sales promotions like ‘sunwear is just as important in the winter months as summer,’” Kuhl explains. “We offer special discounts on sunglasses as a second-pair purchase. We promote plano sunwear as a great gift and remind patients about going back to school with an ample amount of contact lenses. We also offer gift certificates and remind patients to use their HSAs and insurance benefits before they expire.”

Davis Duehr Dean—Regent Street Optical taps local sports fans to secure year-end sales.

“Around Thanksgiving,” says Reis, “we create holiday displays with stocking stuffer ideas for purchase. These include Wisconsin Badger-themed items, such as Bucky Badger cleaning cloths and plano sunglasses paired with cleaner. We have gift certificates and put signage in our displays to remind customers of that service.”

At The Eye Center, unique promotional events are created by playing up partnerships.

“This year we [hosted] Christmas in September,” Rubin says. “We’re the doctors for the Miami Dolphins, so opening game was our theme. We featured a major manufacturer’s sports eyewear line, and gave away Dolphins jerseys and a high-definition TV to promote high-definition lenses.”

For others, the enticement of deep discounts is theme enough. Such is the case for Wagner Opticians, who launched an aggressive year-end sale two years ago. This promotion includes in-stock frames only—no hold jobs and no ordering of colors, sizes, or specific frames. Orders must be a complete pair of eyewear and large deposits are required.

“The offer was every in-stock frame except drilled rimless at 50 percent off when ordering a complete pair during the month of December,” Finisecy says. “It was initially a painful decision to make, but business was slow and we needed a jump-start. Our customers loved it and it’s become a tradition. It’s a great way to increase cash flow, move inventory, increase multiple-pair sales, and get a warm fuzzy [feeling] from our customers.”

DÉCOR AND MORE

Not going overboard (or under board) on decorating keeps the attention on the products and makes clean-up easy.

“I just add a few holiday things to my existing display: bows and bells hanging throughout my frame racks,” Leek-Tedeschi says. “I’ve created eyeglass trees out of frames and used cases as presents with bows on them. It doesn’t matter how minimal or ornate your display is as long as the attention on the frame stays primary.”

Be sure to increase inventory of impulse purchases for gift-giving and have appealing, well-packaged gift cards sale-ready.

“We bump up our accessories inventory,” Finisecy affirms. “We update our window display to promote accessories as holiday gift ideas. We have a following of ladies who purchase eyeglass-related fun stuff for gifts. We periodically add purses, watches, and football-themed items. We also promote gift certificates to ‘give the gift of vision’ and increase signage for HSAs.” EB