All over our newsfeed lately, we’re seeing new (gorgeous!) frames, reminders of the harmful effects of UV exposure and enough eye health statistics to scare your socks off. Then, I came across this ad from the Vision Council, which I shared on our page, but haven’t been able to forget. You can view it here: http://msp.imirus.com/Mpowered/book/vds2016/i2/p90. What a powerful image paired with thought-provoking content. Anyone else notice immediately that the model isn’t even wearing glasses? She’s all prim and polished but is surrounded in a worn out environment with a pair of beat up tennis shoes. Additionally, the shoes aren’t appropriate for the situation. She’s resting on a skateboard, which the tennis shoes make sense for, but how would those shoes perform in the dance studio? In my opinion, this image and reference to one pair of shoes accurately parallels the idea of a person wearing one frame every day for an average of two years. The shoes on her feet aren’t in terrible shape for “730 days” of wear and tear, but are they supporting her? Are they comfortable? Are they appropriate for her weekly routines? She looks annoyed, so why is she settling? I have so many questions that stemmed from this ad. It really got me thinking about the reasons behind a consumer’s hesitation when considering a second pair. From a lab’s perspective, being business to business, we typically spend a bit less time focusing on the consumer since the eye care professionals take care of them. Instead, we focus on delivering the consumer a top-notch product, based on the requests and expectations of the ECP ensuring we meet their needs. Sure, we see the numbers and are aware of the accounts that sell multiple pairs regularly, but in this case, numbers don’t give us an answer. As the eye care professional, where do you get hung up? Is it an implemented sales technique that’s too rigid, a challenging RX, high price points, a lack of knowledge on the benefits of certain products/materials, the frame lines available on-site, or is it the patient’s education level on the need for multiple pairs? Tell us what hurdles you are facing when discussing this with your patients. We’d like to work with you to answer as many of these questions as we can. It’s the obvious time of the year for adding Sunwear, but what tactics do you have in place for other eyewear needs? We offer options for you and your patients with unique challenges and requests. We urge you to challenge us with your tough jobs. There are numerous options from lens material to treatments, which cover almost every situation, and we’d like to help you find the right fit - twice. Contact our Customer Service team to fulfill your patient’s needs today: (920) 469-2559.