PRESBYOPES

Today’s SPECIAL

MAKING SURE EMERGING PRESBYOPES IN YOUR MARKET DON’T KEEP YOU…AS WELL AS THEIR MENUS…AT ARM’S LENGTH

BY ERINN MORGAN

I knew something was wrong but I wasn’t quite sure what. Sitting in a dimly lit, trendy downtown New York City boîte, I simply could not read the menu, no matter how much I squinted or squeezed my eyelids.

Granted, the menu’s type size was fashionably downsized and the restaurant’s lighting was stylishly sparse. Despite my decades in the eyewear industry, my inability to read a menu for the first time ever was still quite shocking—and even a little bit scary. The friend next to me chuckled, diffusing my fear, and passed me her reading glasses. And, so began my descent into presbyopia.

The point is that, with one in every 11 people in the U.S. (that’s nearly 25 million) requiring reading glasses today, there is a large population of new presbyopes out there that may be afraid, uneducated, and confused about their condition—and the options for its treatment.

“As we all know, the baby boomers are here—my practice is 60% or more into presbyopia,” says Eric White, O.D., with Complete Family Vision Care in San Diego. “The 40- to 45-year olds have disposable incomes, and they are panicking about presbyopia. So, I try to make it a fun thing and educate them. That’s part of the reason why my Yelp scores are so high—I take the time to comfort them.”

While some ECPs do a good job of targeting emerging presbyopes, how many of these consumers are actually seeking out the services of an eyecare professional? And, how many instead head to the drug store to grab a pair of low-quality reading glasses as a first line of defense?

There are many good reasons why emerging presbyopes—even those who have never been to an eye doctor—will benefit greatly from an eye exam and the presentation of options for correction, from prescription reading glasses and progressive lenses to multifocal contact lenses.

“We try to do a good job of educating presbyopic patients on why they’d want to have a pair of glasses professionally made,” says Rachael Click, O.D., with Preferred EyeCare Center in Mount Pleasant, SC. “Over-the-counter readers are potentially setting wearers up for eyestrain because the PDs are usually off and people’s eyes are generally not the same prescription. We also try to work our patients’ vision benefit into a sale even if it’s just for prescription reading glasses.”

How can ECPs reach out to new, emerging presbyopes in their community to educate them on the beneficial services and products they offer? While eyecare professionals may have many existing patients that move with them naturally into presbyopia, it can be much more difficult to reach the other people who have never required a prescription—or have possibly never been for an eye exam.

Here, we outline a few ways in which veteran ECPs are reaching out to new presbyopes via marketing, events, and social media.

REACHING OUT

To reach out to new (and existing) patients about presbyopia and a host of other eyecare-related products and services, eyecare professionals are shying away from traditional advertising and instead turning to unique, crowd-pleasing events and creative social media promotions.

“I don’t put an ad in the paper that says ‘If you’re over 40 come see me,’” says Dr. White. “Reaching this person is something that takes time—we email, we blog, we write Facebook posts, and we send out newsletters, all on a variety of topics including presbyopia. And, we ask people to please pass the information on to friends.”

At Envision Eye Care in Marian, VA, where 50% of patients are presbyopic, Susan Keene, O.D., put a focus on presbyopia on social media by working with a contact lens company representative to provide a year’s supply of multifocal contact lenses. “We ran a ‘Like us on Facebook and be entered to win a year’s supply of contacts’ contest,” she says.

Dr. Keene’s practice also makes multifocal contacts a focus at open houses, where free trials of this product are offered. “In addition, at our last frame show, one of our contact lens reps offered all attendees trials of contact lenses,” she says. “Very often at frame shows patients can’t really visualize themselves in the frames because they aren’t wearing their correction while trying on frames.”

Other ECPs put together charity or community outreach events outside the office to help educate local consumers about the products and services they offer.

For example, Envision Eye Care partners with other businesses to organize high-profile, educational events. “We do a ‘Ladies Night’ with our local hospital during Breast Cancer awareness month and a local wine shop provides refreshments, a local salon does mini-makeovers, and our office offers a preview of the latest in women’s sunwear and the latest in contact lenses,” says Dr. Keene. “This helps a deserving patient base feel better about themselves—and provides exposure for our office.”

Clarus Optical in Lacey, WA, also organizes an annual, high-profile event to help the community and gain local recognition. “We organize a cancer benefit called ‘Cruisin’ for a Cure,’ which is a hot rod and classic car show, blood drive, bone marrow drive, and education awareness for cancer—as well as the services we provide at our practice,” says administrator Kimberly Manthe. “We ask attendees to fill out an ‘Education Passport’ with one of our education staff and it enters the individual in for a drawing.” Manthe adds that the attendance for this annual event ranges between about 1,500 and 2,500 people.

Clarus Optical also strives to educate the local community by engaging in outreach activities like health fairs and by sponsoring school-based events and programs. “We also provide an education series called ‘Eyes on Health’ at local country clubs and 50-and-older communities,” says Manthe.