Are you and your company reaching out to customers and potential customers with social media? The answer is probably a resounding yes. Of course the level of your involvement varies from business to business, but rest assured social media will be an ever growing part of a two-way conversation between the public and your company. This infographic from VerticalMeasures shows us how we do and should interact online.
![Your-Social-Media-Roots1-640x3126[1]](http://www.the.vg/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Your-Social-Media-Roots1-640x31261.jpg)
How many emails did you receive last year? What? You forgot to count? That’s OK….who can blame you? According to Cue, a mobile app that helps organize emails and schedules, you probably got about 5,579 emails (the average in 2012). You also probably sent out 869 emails. I can say I beat those averages exponentially.
The number of emails words written by the average person in 1012 was 41,368, which about the same amount of words contained in the novel The Lord of the Flies, though I doubt most of us were as eloquent in our writing as William Golding in our emails.
A few more email trivia points while we are at it. The average reply time lengthened in 2012 to 2.5 days from 2.2 days in 2012. The busiest hour of the day for emails is 11:00AM and the busiest day of the week is Tuesday. The most popular emoticon? : ) typed together constituted over 50% of all emoticons sent.
Recently, I was doing some online research related to a project for a client, and stumbled across a website from the UK. The information this website posted was absolutely terrifying, and made me wonder what else is out there, for public viewing, and how little most of us know about this ‘mis’ information.
The site I found is www.contactswithoutaprescription.com. It lists links to other sites that sell contact lenses without an Rx as well. On their front page, in plain black and white, was the following: Is it perfectly legal to order contacts on-line without a prescription if you live in the United States? It is not legal for a US based company to sell and ship contacts to a US address without a prescription. That means a possible alternative source to buy contacts, like many prescription drugs, could be outside of the United States…..The UK (United Kingdom) for example has different trust levels with consumers and different governmental laws. They evidently trust that people have been to the eye doctor at some point in the past and know their base curve and left and right eye powers and wouldn’t spend good money on contact lenses that don’t fit or don’t correct their vision properly.
Umm…WHAT???? So, not only will these sites allow you to order your contact lenses without a prescription, I suppose guessing at the base curves and powers, they also insinuate that we as ECP’s don’t trust our patients as much in the United States. Nothing about health care issues, about the possible adverse effects and ramifications of wearing lenses you haven’t been fit […]
The holidays are here, again. One thing you will discover, no matter if it is in your own office, driving around town, or out running errands of your own and making purchases at other stores…people are GRUMPY. And it is very easy to fall into this same bah humbug mindset when you are surrounded by bad attitudes. So, while taking care of your own customers, some of whom might be a bit…testy….keep a few things in mind about WHY they might not be feeling so Christmas-cheery.
Think of your own situation. We all have some of the above to contend with during the holiday season. So, how do you take this negative attitude and turn it into a positive, both for your customer and your bottom line?
One of the best ideas I’ve ever seen is the one some retailers and restaurant chains are now using to sell gift cards. If the consumer spends a certain amount on a card, they get a bonus card for free, somewhere in the neighborhood of 10-20% of the purchase. Use this same concept in your office. Offer something for ‘free’ to everyone, […]
Ever have a patient run into your practice in a panic because they lost their only pair of eyeglasses and need someone now? The first statement out of your mouth is “Sure, I would be happy to sell you a new pair of eyeglasses.” The second is “You should always have a backup pair of eyeglasses, so let’s look at multiple frames.” We are always trying to get our customers or patients to buy that second pair. If you want to speak with someone who is masterful at that, my partner, Robert Bell can help you.
What about you though? Yes, I know, you probably have a dozen pair of eyeglasses. You are after all in the optical business. I was thinking about your computer files. I am amazed at how many people operate their practice with a computer system you purchased a half dozen years ago on sale and expect it to keep up with all the demands you place upon it.
I had this discussion more than once with an associate who couldn’t understand why the computers he bought almost 10 year earlier were in desperate need to be replaced. His argument was that he owned cars far older than those computers that worked perfectly fine. So I made him a bet. He could purchase any car he wanted. I wasn’t going to put restrictions on the type of vehicle as he did on the purchase price of the computers. The caveat was that he let 8 employees drive that car 10 hours a day every day of the week with no more service than gasoline and regular oil changes and tell me what […]
When USA Today was first published in 1982 it forever changed the face of newspapers. Until that time, images were use sparingly and color even more sparingly. USA Today really shook things up not only with short easy to read stories, but with lots of photos, graphics, colors and graphs. Online today, the same thing can be said for successful brand engagement. This infographic from MBooth demonstrates how graphics rule the online world as well.
No matter what business any of us are in, we like to have fun with what we sell. He is a fun infographic based on the evil antagonistic of the Lord of the Rings trilogy of books and movies, Sauron and the eyewear the evil might choose. We hope you enjoy this as much as we did.
As many of us ready our trip to Vision Expo West next week, many of us are looking to maximize our investment in participating in this or any trade show. This infographic from Northwest Creative Imaging helps us maximize our social networking at the shows we network at.
So, looking through one of the optical forums the other day I came across this posting. The name of the author shall remain anonymous, however I have heard the same sentiment expressed multiple times…certainly enough to write this.
Thinking of putting up a sign in the office that basically states we don’t want to adjust or work on glasses no purchased at our office. Special circumstances like out of state etc will be made but I can’t have my staff spending time on these products at the expense of loyal patients. Anyone have a good way to word it?
My suggestion for a sign?
Yes, it is disappointing when someone buys from another retailer. It’s often more than disappointing. The first question to ask yourself is why did you lose that sale? If it was a pair of glasses or sunglasses purchased online, more than likely it was over price (or perceived price). We all know we can buy almost anything online cheaper than in a brick and mortar store. The difference most of fail to remember at the time we do buy online is the service we receive at local store (hopefully).
Let me ask you a question. What is the most famous amusement park in Southern California? Disneyland? Is Disneyland the cheapest amusement park in Southern California? Hardly. So, if it is all about price…how does Disneyland stay in business? What is the most famous ski area in Colorado? Vail? Aspen? Once again is either of those two ski areas the cheapest? Not by a long shot. They, like Disneyland thrive because they have created an experience that goes beyond price.
Are […]
I have visited literally dozens of opticals in the last several years. One of the biggest issues I find in the dispensary is what I have termed “optician bias”. This encompasses two different realms of concern: The act of buying frames, and the pre-judgment of potential customers. This article will focus on the first, and the second side of this will be addressed in a forthcoming post.
When I walk into a dispensary for the first time, I immediately begin assessing the inventory. A quick estimated count of frames, as well as manufacturers and collections. Inevitably, I find many lines that look alike on the frame boards, in some cases exactly the same, simply with a different name on the demo lenses. We have all been guilty of this, at one time or another. So how does it happen, and how do we fix it?
The Cause:
The reason this duplicate buying happens can be many reasons. We, as individuals, have our own tastes, and those tastes are reflected in our purchasing habits. We tend to lean toward what we like, and we end up with a dispensary filled with frames that appeal to us, but are not necessarily what our customers want.
Another mistake many frame buyers make is to become too “safe” in their buying habits. This results in a dispensary full of brown and black plastic frames, and similarly basic colors in the metal frames being shown.
The Solution:
The good news is that the solutions for ‘optician bias’ in frame buying are simple, and easy to implement.
1. Have more than one person order frames. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you need […]
