Products & ideas for the laboratory professional.
Issue link: https://opticallabproducts.epubxp.com/i/472711
Bryan Schueler thanks Walman's customers, Craig Giles, Walman's VP/GM of sales and marketing, and Kay Jensen, Transitions' account manager. march 2015 23 opticallabproducts.com LAB OF THE YEAR WINNER WALMAN education. We are fortunate to have built great relationships with customers across the U.S., and we've noticed that everyone prefers to learn, or be taught, in different ways. One of the great things about our partnership with Transitions Optical is that they provide us with all kinds of educational tools like presentations, fyers, or hands-on activities. With all of these tools in our back pockets, our team members can decide what will best educate the team or individual. To meet the needs of those ECPs who like to learn through a "hands- on" approach, we put on Boot Camps and Walman University Seminars, where we get together with our customers and make it fun to learn with games and prizes. EVENT 2: INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY IN MARKETING Since we've been a partner of Transitions Optical for so many years now, our ECP customers have been hearing us talk about Transitions lenses for a long time. Just like training for a triathlon can probably get tedious, and dare I say it, even boring, it's important to shake up your routine once in a while with some creativity. We like to keep our customers on their toes by coming up with new marketing strategies and promo- tions. In 2014, one of our newer marketing strategies included asking some of our key customers to participate in the Transitions ® Trial Decal ™ program, so that they could help their patients experience what it's like to wear Transitions lenses before purchasing them. We worked with our customers to come up with new ways to distribute the decals and get more patients into their offces. We've also been able to take lens education up to the next level by developing an iOS app, called SpecTech, that makes it easier for our ECP customers to demonstrate the different aspects of an eyeglass lens. We are all about partnering with our customers to help them fnd new ways to talk about lenses to their patients. EVENT 3: COMMUNITY SERVICE When training for a triathlon, if you put all of your time and energy into training for the frst two events— what would happen during the last leg? While community service may not be top of the priority list when running a business, it's certainly not something that can be scratched off or forgotten about. Giving back is a core value at Walman Optical, so we're always looking for ways to get involved in the communities we serve. To name a few, last year we donated to the Think About Your Eyes ® campaign and held a golf tourna- ment that raised funds for the Upper Midwest Optical Golf Day/ Sight Preservation Foundation. We also held a Back-to-School promotion last summer for our ECP customers to give young eyeglass wearers the opportunity to receive a complimentary upgrade to Transi- tions lenses so that they could start preserving their vision for the future right away. By focusing our energies on the three main components of our business, we were able to make it to the Lab of the Year fnal—and even better, exceed our goals with Transitions lenses. As we continue to capture the needs of the market- place, being a partner with Transi- tions Optical is a must for 2015 and beyond. Bryan Schueler is Vice President/ GM of operations at Walman Optical. Santinelli. Expect Precision. Our Ice 900 provides advanced imaging with shape/design editing and rimless tracing in a compact and high capability blocker. The Ice Mini+ offers robust blocking with unparalleled ease-of-use and advanced image clarity, delivering highly accurate results. With a manual blocking arm, this unit is a great economical upgrade for replacing outdated blockers. We like to keep our customers on their toes by coming up with new marketing strategies and promotions.