Virtually Successful
Are you getting the most out of your virtual try-on system? Check out these ways to build business with this high-tech dispensing advantage
By Erinn Morgan

Top, Interactive Visual System's Swing unit and, bottom, American Bright Sign's Smart Look offer new business opportunities

Some eyecare professionals place them near a window to draw attention. Others use them in TV and radio ad campaigns, or as the showpiece at a trunk show. To get the most for your money, consider the following try-on system tactics to increase business, speed up the try-on process, and help customers choose their frames.

A MARKETING TOOL

Publicity is part of the plan for getting the most out of the three virtual try-on systems Angie Murto purchased for the Pearle Vision stores she manages in Charleston, S.C. "We are handing out brochures with our location information on them to get the word out," she says.

A marketing person goes out several days a week to distribute the brochures to local businesses without insurance plans. "We offer a discount plan to them, and we show that we have the try-on system, something no one else in the area has."

Getting the word out about the exclusivity of this product shows customers that you are dedicated to technology and polishes your retail image.

Raising the bar even further, Murto is about to launch a TV and radio campaign featuring try-on technology.

Another optical retailer, Barnes Vision Clinic in Ardmore, Okla., also uses its system as a marketing tool. "We mention that we have it when people call in to schedule an appointment, and we also show it on our Website [barnesvisionclinic.com], as well as in our phone book ad," says office manager Traci Royse.

The dispensary is moving to a new office, and Royse says she plans to feature the system at an open house event as an item not seen at other local dispensaries.

AN ATTENTION GRABBER

Use the marketing power of a street-front location by placing your try-on system near a window. "We have our system in the front window area," says Paul Janiuk, optician and office manager at the office of Donald Janiuk, OD, in Poway, Calif. Shoppers see the system and are drawn in to find out about the standing mirrored unit.

The goal is to get the people in the door--then your try-on system will speak for itself.

	Narrow it down: Camirror North America's Eyewear Selector

A TIME SAVER

Because customers can view and compare up to four frames at a time, a try-on system will help expedite the dispensing process.

Stocking close to 20,000 frames, David Ulrich, owner of The Spectacle Shoppe in suburban Minneapolis/St. Paul, has hundreds of pieces of every color, shape, and style in his dispensary. "We have to have a try-on system. Without the machine, it is so much harder," he says. "We give each customer a tray to carry around and pick what they want, then come to the mirror to try on."

A try-on system streamlines the selection process. "We start out with oval, square, and rimless, then eliminate what they don't like. When you have this many choices, you have to simplify it. I couldn't live without it."

A REFERRAL BUILDER

Every customer who uses a try-on system may share their experience with friends and family. "The referrals that our system creates are tremendous," says Perry Epstein, manager of Solon Valley Optical in Ohio. "Patients usually mention that a friend used it."

Optical Innovation's iPoint Kiosk

Encourage referrals by suggesting customers share their experience with their peers or by sending them home with a brochure, or a printout or Web link to their photos.

"Word of mouth is better than any print ad you can run," says Sheila Rupercht, managing optician at St. Cloud Eye Clinic in St. Cloud, Minn.

A FUN DISPENSER

A try-on system can help make the dispensing process less intimidating, and more fun, for customers. Imagine customers who are enjoying themselves in your dispensary simply by using this equipment to its fullest potential.

"When you see that patients are frustrated with a regular mirror, you can have them pick out three or four frames and take them back to the try-on system," Epstein says. "It really speeds up the dispensing process, and makes it more fun."