You can always count on The Optical Vision Site for some great optical marketing resources and ideas! Check out their latest contest, just in time for July 4th!
From the OVS Blog:
We recently did a post about Made in America and realized that we have a lot of patriotic eyewear fans! With July 4th comping up we thought you could have some opti-fun and create your own over the top patriotic eyewear! So we had a party and got very patriotic using Wiley X glasses and a few embellishments, here is our favorite Wiley X patriotic creation from our party:
So have your own party with your optical staff, or you can even include your customers! Wiley X will provide a $100 Visa gift card to the best entry, and two runner-ups with get one free pair of Wiley X eyewear each!
"Wiley X is proud to be a US Veteran owned company, to provide products that protect our fighting men and women in the armed forces and to have many products Made in the USA," said Rob Maser, Commercial Sales Director. To win, send The Optical Vision Site your patriotic eyewear party pictures by June 26th. Winners will be announced July 1st, just in time for Independence Day!
All you need is a little creativity, some old glasses, and a few supplies to show us your patriotic creations! Please email your entries to theopticalvisionsite@gmail.com before June 26, 2012. Get Patriotic with Wiley X and win $100!!
It seems like since the dawn of marketing that referral programs have been around. After all, we know that a friend's recommendation is the strongest marketing message a business can generate. And your customers are likely to talk about the service they experienced at your business anyway, so why not reward them for referring a new customer to you?
Here are some of the biggest benefits that we've found from referral marketing programs:
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Use Employees Time More Effectively - the beauty of a referral program is that your staff isn't forced to make cold calls to prospective customers. This means that your employees can spend more time focusing on your current customers and ensuring that they are satisfied enough to recommend your business to a friend of theirs.
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Increase Number of Satisfied Customers - Referral Programs are a little like paying it forward, because it allows you to build your level of satisfied customers by promoting satisfied customers. In other words, the sales cycle moves itself as more satisfied customers refer other satisfied customers to your practice.
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Minimize Costs - Referral programs do not require a lot of capital to get started. This makes it really easy to come up with a program, because the program doesn't have to be advertised externally, which means you won't be paying for an ad to be in the local newspaper and can use those savings to reward referred customers.
And, the best part is that there is data to back up the benefits of referral programs!
A study conducted by the Goethe University Frankfurt and the University of Pennsylvania, on referral programs and customer value which followed the customer referral program of a German bank that paid customers 25 euro for bringing in a new customer, was released in July 2010. According to Professor Van den Bulte, this is the first ever study published on the financial evaluation of customer referral programs. The study found that referred customers were both more profitable and loyal than normal customers. Referred customers had a higher contribution margin, a higher retention rate and were more valuable in both the short and long run.On whether customer referral programs are worth the cost, the study mentioned - "Our findings are important news for practitioners considering deploying customer referral programs in their own firm. Assuaging prior skepticism, we document a positive value differential, both in the short term and long term, between customers acquired through a referral program and other customers. Importantly, this value differential is larger than the referral fee. Hence, referral programs can indeed pay off."
VisionWeb's Referral Program
At VisionWeb, we also offer a referral program for current VisionWeb customer's' enrolled in our electronic claim filing service. Do you know of a practice that could benefit from VisionWeb's insurance transaction processing service? Send them our way! If they enroll in our insurance services, we will give you a $100 credit*! Send as many referrals as you want, there is no limit to the number of credits you can earn! Click here to start referring! We'll reach out to your referrals and let them know that you recommended them for our insurance services. If any your referrals decide to enroll in our services, we will give you a $100 credit for each enrollment!
Want to give the referral form to a colleague in person? Download and print the referral form here and give it to your colleague when you tell them about VisionWeb. All they need to do is return the form when they enroll with us. Just like that, you get a $100 credit. It's that easy!
* Some restrictions apply. Click here for a full list of restrictions.
Resources:
7 Sure-fire Ways to Build Your Referral Business
Referral Marketing
REM Eyewear recently introduced a new way for you to take advantage of special offers on their products and frames called REM's E-Club. Essentially, REM customers can join the E-Club and they will receive a weekly email featuring a special offer on a particular product. E-Club members will be able to take advantage of tremendous savings on all of REM Eyewear's best sellers and great brands. There will be one exclusive email offer each week and it only goes to E-club customers. And, the offers are "Flash Offers", so they are only available for 24 hours. All the more reason to join the E-club and act fast to get the rewards!
Learn more and join the E-Club at http://www.remeclub.com/?page_id=23
Don't forget to subscribe to VisionWeb's Blog to learn about more special offers!
When it comes to driving customers to businesses, nothing has been more popular, or trendy, than the social buying site Groupon.
By collaborating with local businesses, Groupon is able to offer consumers deals that take off 50% (at least) of the normal retail price of the product or service being offered. For obvious cost saving reasons, consumers have jumped on the Groupon bandwagon and made the company wildly successful ($750 Million Initial Public Offering). By creating a new market, Groupon quickly found itself surrounded by competitor spin-off companies offering similar services. There's even an Eye Care Industry specific site, Eyedeal.ly, that offers group buying for eye care providers.
Business owners have rejoiced because these extremely deep discount opportunities attract a lot of new customers, which owners are betting on turning into repeat business at a full price. But, is that a good bet to be making? Like all things, it seems to have pros and cons that are worth exploring.
Why It's Good:
1. It Drives Sales - Across all deals and locations in April2011, the average Groupon drove 350 sales and $8,750 in revenue
2. Exposure - With a membership base of 70+ million, Groupon gives your business the opportunity to reach your target market - wherever they might be.
3. New Customers are Guaranteed - Since a minimum number of people must buy for the offer to be valid, Groupon guarantees paying customers. And since the deals, on average, discount 57% of your product, you're bound to have new customers!
Why It's Bad:
1. It Destroys Market Profitability - Once consumers become accustomed to paying 50% less for certain products, it's difficult to get them to pay full-price again. If you and your competitors use Groupon within your industry too much, you could be degrading the overall profitability of your market.
2. It Affects Service and Customer Satisfaction Levels - By selling your product over and over again for only 25% of your normal revenue could eventually eat into your profitability, which can cause companies to hire less expensive people, reduce staff, start offering less product or service for the same price, or start raising prices on their regular customers. All of which will ultimately affect your customers level of satisfaction.
3. It Destroys Customer Loyalty - It's almost impossible to build customer relationships based on pricing. If customers buy your products based on price, they will go wherever the best price is. It's that simple. They use the business while they have a coupon and move on to the next one as soon as they have another coupon. This is why business owners count on Groupon buyers to buy additional service at full price while redeeming their coupon, but studies show that only 13% of buyers add a product at full price.
So what do you think? Have you used Groupon for eyecare practice marketing? Was it good or bad for business? What advice would you give others who are thinking about running a promotion?
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Here are the details on a few spectacle lens ordering promotions eye care providers can take advantage of this summer!
Free Hard Coat with Every Job* from P.O.G. Labs
Set up a new account with P.O.G. Labs and receive Courage Coating® hard coat with every job – a $16 value! Courage Coating® is a double-sided dip coating that is thermally cured and can be applied to most materials. Available with or without AR. Call (800) 497-9239 ext. 4 to take advantage of this offer.
* Offer valid for 1 month after setting up new account. Some restrictions may apply. Contact P.O.G. Labs for details
2-for-1 Summer Sunsation from Central Optical
From now through August 31, 2011 purchase any iCentauri Polarized with Oc2+ (premium AR) from Central Optical and receive a clear iCentauri in the same material for FREE!* 2-for-1 Eyewear – A Great Patient Pleaser! Call 1.800.322.6678 or visit www.centraloptical.com for more information.
*Standard charges will apply on AR, Transitions or Drivewear on the free clear pair. No other coupon or discount may apply. All prices are net. Both pairs must be ordered at the same time.
Check out these lens and many more using VisionWeb's Online Ordering Service!
The latest installment of our Money Madness Sweepstakes kicked off today! This is the fifth time we've held the Sweepstakes since 2009 and the number of participants increases with each new sweepstakes. So, we decided to increase the prizes! A total of $13,000 to be awarded to seventeen winning practices, nearly doubling the amount of winners and prizes as awarded in previous sweepstakes. It's definitely our biggest Sweepstakes ever!
The sweepstakes runs from today through September 10, 2011, and is open to all U.S. VisionWeb members. Participating accounts earn entries into weekly and grand prize drawings for meeting an assigned weekly order goal on VisionWeb. Additional entries into weekly drawings can be earned by ordering to multiple supplier types (spectacle lenses, contact lenses, and frames).
New to this Installment!
- Participants ordering to a frame supplier on VisionWeb will qualify to have their weekly entries doubled.
- Each participating account will earn one entry into the grand prize drawing for each week that they qualify for a weekly drawing.
Prizes will be awarded in eight weekly drawings, held each Monday during the sweepstakes, and one grand prize drawing which will take place at the end of the Sweepstakes period. Two winners will be selected in each weekly drawing and will receive $250 cash and $250 credit with the VisionWeb supplier of the winner's choice (a $500 value per winner). One winner will be selected in the grand prize drawing to receive $2,500 cash and $2,500 supplier credit (a $5,000 value).
Eyecare providers interested in participating in VisionWeb's Money Madness Sweepstakes are encouraged to log in to their
VisionWeb account and enroll their practice in the sweepstakes today. Click on the “Money Madness” icon to enroll, and to access the Official Rules and instructions for How to Play.