Products & ideas for the laboratory professional.
Issue link: https://opticallabproducts.epubxp.com/i/442985
january 2015 15 opticallabproducts.com LENS ADD-ONS FEATURE Me 1200 Multifunction Drilling Edger • Eliminates need for outsourcing complex jobs • Customizable shelf beveling, faceting with polish*, 3-D grooving & 3-D drilling, partial grooving & beveling and Design Cut • Drills perpendicular to base curve of lens for customizable hole types, slots, notches, partial countersunk & jewel holes *High Index & CR only www.santinelli.com 800.644.3343 extension 325 Santinelli. Expect Creativity. Differentiate your lab offerings and increase profits with Click Mode software to create all Chemistrie ™ Lenses. Vision-Ease Lens recently moved into the equipment space with MyCoat for AR and mirror coatings. This approach may require the purchase of new equipment but with all the technological advances being made by Leybold Optics, there are more equipment options than ever for any size lab allowing them to stay within their budgets. EDUCATION IS KEY Product education, as in so many other areas of the optical trade, is paramount in increasing job orders that demand add-ons and enhance- ments. The more labs help ECPs understand add-ons, the better they are at informing their patients about a product and increasing the chance of a purchase. "The main driver of patient choice in lenses and lens add-ons is, and I suspect always will be, the ECP's recommendation," Hopkins says. "Since patients know rela- tively little about these products, the expertise of the ECP is crucial. This is why we expend so much time and energy in educating ECPs about our products." Carl Zeiss focuses on patient awareness— knowing that an informed ECP passes on that knowledge to their patients which in turn leads to sales and larger profts. "Since we don't sell directly to patients, our special promotions usually focus on ECPs, to encourage them to try a new product, for example," he adds. When asked how Carl Zeiss enhances patient awareness, Hopkins replies, "We provide training presentations to our sales team for use with their ECP accounts, and we generally create continuing education courses on topics related to our products. We provide product brochures that can also serve as a presentation aid for ECPs talking to patients. We have extensive product information on our website. Finally, we often create demonstration tools that show product benefts. These can take the form of countertop displays, videos, or even interac- tive apps." SELLING THE BENEFITS Heffner concurs. "Take AR coating, for example. Almost every pair (apart from some safety applications) should have it. Why would a pair not? The answer is either the coating is too expensive, Private label branding of AR coating can be very proftable for optical labs because of lower manufacturing costs. or the ECP doesn't have the right level of education about it in order to successfully communicate the benefts and advantages to their patients." Additionally, it is important to "keep ECPs aware of what new products come out, and what patient groups the products are aimed at. Take blue light, for example. This is one of the more recent products to come out, whether it's a coating or a lens that blocks blue light. ECPs are going to need to know why they should dispense it, and who they should recommend it for," he says. "If the ECP is unsure of a product, then there's no way they're going to be able to communicate effectively with their patients about it." ADD-ON AWARENESS Essilor's Bertrand agrees with the necessity of increasing the ECP's awareness of add-ons. "Through our investment in R&D; to deliver new products that address unmet patient needs, ECP University, industry events, and other training programs, and value-added approaches developed with their Essilor consultants, ECPs beneft from tools that help them not only to sell products that beneft their patients, but also help them retain those patients and ultimately grow their practices," he explains. It is without question a priority for labs to keep ECPs informed about lens add-on products and features, and to educate them about how to use these products. More specifcally, they should stress why their patients would beneft from them. Steven Warfeld is a lab technician and freelance writer based in Harrisburg, PA.