Summer is on our radar, and with that comes changes in behavior from both clients and staff. Spending days inside the optical can feel harder when the sunshine is calling. Utilizing the shift in season to bring the focus onto sunglass sales, sports eyewear, and safety, while getting outdoors and engaging with the community, can have everyone feeling more fulfilled and keep the mood in the business thriving. 

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RELATIONSHIP

Maintain balance with staff relationships. Employees can quickly become discontented if there is any exclusionary behavior among team members. Be conscious of perceived favoritism or preferential treatment from management.

□ Post a calendar to inform of approved vacation/time-off requests and make sure there is no overlap with requested time off that will negatively affect the shop.

□ Hold a staff meeting to discuss changes in business hours during the summer: holiday closures, shortened hours, events, or celebrations. Review time-off request policies with staff.

□ Get an updated availability sheet. If you have any younger employees who are on summer break and want to work more, use them to cover vacation absences.

CONNECTION

Community interaction is much easier with nice weather. Make use of the neighborhood to ingratiate yourself with your neighbors and your patients. Introducing or reintroducing the business through a face-to-face connection is a valuable marketing move.

□ Get out and invite your neighbors in. Make a flyer to highlight the brands and the services you offer and incentivize sales with a special gift with purchase or discount.

□ Host a sunglass trunk show and ice cream social or pop up a vendor tent at a community day to showcase the new sunglass styles of the season you are offering.

□ Create a social media campaign to explain the benefits of eyewear sun protection. Make a correlation between skin protection and eye protection.

DEVELOPMENT

Kids might have just finished the school year, but now is the perfect time to develop a back-to-school business plan. A well-rounded plan should cover inventory, marketing, advertising, and social outreach.

□ Budget for back-to-school marketing and advertising. Review analytics from your website to see where traffic is coming from and check engagement rates on social channels to determine where dollars work best.

□ Review your current inventory of children’s eyewear, identify missing sizes/styles, and make appointments with vendors to add new inventory prior to August.

□ Target eye exam recalls for anyone under 18 as they are on summer break. During regular recalls, ask if the patient has a child they would also like to book.

REWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Mother Nature is giving us all the perfect way to reward our teams. Begin looking for ways to allow the staff to take advantage of nice days by incentivizing them with paid hours off outside of the optical.

□ Reward a staff member who has done something exceptional by letting them go home early. Make the announcement to motivate others to go above and beyond.

□ Find ways to give staff access to the outdoors. Create opportunities for lunch breaks to be taken outside or give a couple of extra minutes on breaks to go for a walk.

□ For any special occasions (staff birthdays, work anniversaries, etc.), plan a beach or park picnic. Inviting spouses and children can encourage a better connection to career and family.