PREMIUM LENSES

PREMIUM SALES PLAYBOOK

How can you meet the ever-changing needs + desires + moods of today’s high-end customer? Read on to learn exactly how two ECPs are pinpointing the right focus—and winning with luxe lenses

BY STEPHANIE K. DE LONG

“Trust is a very big factor when upgrading a patient to newer technology.”

Today’s high-end lens customer has different wants and needs. And, enter the mighty millennial—today’s buzz-worthy trending topic in the luxury arena—and delivering the right goods at the right price in the right way becomes an even more complicated proposition.

But, how do veteran purveyors of upscale eyewear translate their winning strategies specifically into selling premium spectacle lenses?

To find out, we sought out two leading high-end players who are highly successful with their luxury stance in both frames and lenses.

10/10 Optics Playbook

Ruth Domber, along with husband and business partner, Stephen Rozenberg, O.D., has focused on luxury eyewear and superior service at 10/10 Optics in Manhattan since 1979. Dr. Rozenberg is a contact lens and orthokeratology specialist, while Domber runs the optical boutique, which has a decidedly high-end focus.

Here, Domber shares key points about their spectacle lens business strategy.

PHILOSOPHY: “Whether it’s eyewear, technology, or service, patients expect us to provide them with the best and the newest.”

PATIENT PROFILE: “There is no ‘typical’ patient in our practice. The only thing they all have in common is that they want the best and can pay the price.”

10/10 Optics has been a private-pay business since dropping all insurance about a decade ago. As for its reach, 10/10’s website stresses that its luxury offerings include Asian fit, petite, and plus-size eyewear.

PRODUCT MIX: “Our patient demographics have evolved to match the inventory we carry and the price points of the products we offer. Coming up with the right mix is a process.”

LENS TECH: “We use digital technology for all of our lens designs. When we made that decision, we quickly realized that there was a strong visual ‘bang for the buck’ with them.”

LENS VENDORS: “We spent a lot of time narrowing the field as we experimented with quality, delivery, communication, and price to come up with the best mix of lens vendors.

“When we introduce a new product, we start by educating our opticians. Our lab manager is responsible for getting all the details. Then we have a store meeting to learn about the product and how to present it. If relevant, a representative from the lens company will attend and speak to staff.”

LENS RECOMMENDATIONS: “Trust is a very big factor when upgrading a patient to newer technology. Our patients know we will only recommend lens products that have a benefit to them, so that makes upgrading easy.”

LENS SELECTION: “Once we extrapolate information from the patient—Rx, lifestyle, and expectations—we are already planning choices and suggestions that will give the individual what they desire…and then some.”

PRESENTATION STRATEGY: “It’s very different for each patient and is based on individual needs. We explain the advantages of the newer technology, but with the caveat that if they are not happy, we are responsible for switching them into anything that will make them see comfortably. The most important part of this entire process is to deliver what is promised.”

LENS PRICING: “Our pricing is competitive to peer boutiques and practices. It also reflects a feel for what the market will bear within our demographics and the fact that we are brick-and-mortar, with qualified and trained staff who will walk the patient through the entire process, including follow-up.”

BOTTOM LINE: “In our industry, we are almost always dealing with an uninformed consumer. It is our responsibility to make sure they don’t leave that way!”

10/10 Optics owner Ruth Domber (right) dispensing to patient Leah Edelboim

Eyetopian Optical Playbook

Craig Chasnov credits the success he and his wife, Kelly Chasnov, have achieved at Eyetopian Optical in Fort Myers, FL, to lens finishing. “We started 18 years ago, and doing our own lab work is a major reason we are still in business,” notes Chasnov, who discusses his lens strategies with EB here.

PHILOSOPHY: “We needed to provide on-site, quality lens finishing to differentiate us from the chains.”

Chasnov also quickly built a reputation for one-of-a-kind rimless work—from facets, etching, edge cuts, and edge color to embedded gems and custom shapes.

PRODUCT MIX: Over 60% of sales—with a typical price of more than $1,000—are in three-piece mounts. “We tell our customers that we specialize in things most places say can’t be done and that if it can be built, we can do it! That makes it fun for them.”

PATIENT PROFILE: “The majority are over 60…and rising as people live longer. They normally have had a not-so-great experience elsewhere and are surprised that our glasses are perfect the first time. Their second purchase is always the best because they trust the work already and for them money is not the issue. Returning clients spend the most and have fun with our custom work in the process.”

SMART STRATEGY: “Because we can do any shape and tint, many customers have what they see as ‘my own shape and tint.’ And, they like bling! If we offered a picture of their pets on the lenses, they’d love that. In fact, our next project with the laser will be to offer anything they want.”

LENS TECH: “The right edger is just as critical as lenses for custom work. We have a Santinelli Me 1200 with custom roughing that is replaced every nine months and a custom-made polish wheel to keep lenses from being too reflective on the edges.”

LENS VENDORS: “We always use the lightest-weight lens, so 94% of our work is in Trivex. Premium AR is a given, not an option.”

LENS RECOMMENDATIONS: The fee structure underscores Eyetopian’s lens capabilities. “Custom shapes are no charge unless we did not sell them the frame. In that case there is a $50 charge for all the extra work. We also charge $35 to set up an appointment to have lenses edged while they wait. Stones set are from $25 each up to $50 for diamonds.”

LENS SELECTION: Choices are expanding, says Chasnov, who along with partners and investors just launched LenSync, a cloud-based platform that he says “can connect every facet of the industry by building a lens for the frame chassis specifications. We see it as the Uber/Amazon of the industry.”

BOTTOM LINE: Looking ahead, Chasnov says, “I see custom aspects of lenses growing because of the improvement in drill equipment as well as software platforms like LenSync. Consumers will be shown what is possible so they don’t have to just imagine it.”

Eyetopian Optical president Craig Chasnov