DRIVER #1

POWER + CONTROL: How do kids gain power and control? “One way is by asking for brands and products,” says Geller. “When it comes to eyewear, choosing is terribly important. But kids need choices. You can’t just ask them what they want for lunch—you have to give them specific choices.”

She adds that kids also gain control by making their own choices for style and design in products. ECPs can assist in this process by encouraging parents to let their children be a part of the decision-making process.

“This is something retailers should be working on—approaching the process with kids in that they get to make choices and they’ll have a say in how they look. The more the kids can have a say and feel good about it, the more likely they are to have a good experience.”

DRIVER #2

MASTERY + LEARNING: Geller explains that this driver relates to mastering skills and choices. “This is about ‘I get this. I have figured it out,’” she says. “Kids can learn and understand the concept of why some people need glasses and some don’t—and understand how the eye really works.”

ECPs can make kids feel more a part of the eyewear selection process by explaining how the eye works—and why they might need glasses. “When you get the kids to really learn about what they’re doing, it also takes the fear out of it,” Geller says.

DRIVER #3

SOCIAL INTERACTION: This driver is where the cool comes in. Kids thrive on social interaction and like things that are “cool.” “The little ones even as young as five will tell you, ‘My sneakers are cool.’ When you ask why they say, ‘Because my mom told me so.’” By the time they are six to eight, colors become the cool, along with brands and celebrities.

“How do you make their eyewear cool—and something that other kids will want?” asks Geller. She suggests showing photos of “cool” kids on TV or celebrities wearing glasses. Another idea is to give a gift with purchase to up the cool factor of the sale.

DRIVER #4

ATTACHMENT + SEPARATION: “The over-arching theme of this driver is ‘How do kids grow?’” says Geller. “How do they learn and develop to not have mommy sitting on the couch with them when they are 30 years old? This process is a movement backward and forward between attachment and separation.” She notes that every kids’ product or service that’s really successful today exhibits a balance between what is known, comfortable, and familiar, and that which is risky and unknown.

“Look at how your products and services are positioned for kids,” she says. “Make your child customers stretch with their imagination without making it too uncomfortable, because then they won’t try it. What can you do? How cool would the eye exam be if it were like a video game? Or if the kids could sit in a car or rocket while they choose eyewear? Eyecare practices would be really successful in following this path.”