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By Deirdre Carroll: Senior Editor

NEW YORK—Today’s consumer is motivated differently. Retailers and brands, who until recently had a clear sense of who their customers were and how, when, why and at what prices they bought, find themselves in a new world where all of these variables are in constant flux.

A lingering recession and uncertain economic times mean consumers are more aware of how and where they spend their money. It has changed the role of the retailer in the consumer’s eyes from solely that of a purveyor of goods to a potentially valuable source of information, education and service, as well as curator of quality product.

Some retailers, however, have been slow to make the adjustment.

For others, the current business climate has created a significant opportunity to cultivate loyal relationships with skeptical consumers who demand a sensible justification for every dollar they spend. These retailers have become what Vision Monday calls “storytellers” and they sell the customer not superficially on the brand name but on what the brand stands for, why it’s worth the price and most importantly why they should buy it from them. Ultimately, it matters less to customers what the brand’s name is and more about the story behind it and how well that story is told.

Vision Monday talked to several eyewear retailers who are excelling in telling these stories to prompt today’s consumer to buy and are realizing sales gains even in this still-tough business year. Regardless of their size or their number of locations they all had one thing in common: the consumer is their focus. How they are manifesting that focus varies from retailer to retailer:

• Establishing a corporate-wide emphasis on associate training

• Demanding more participation from sales reps

• Changing the way brands are discussed and presented in store

• “Edu-taining” or educating the consumer in entertaining ways

These consumer-centric strategies are giving the retailers we spoke with a sustainable competitive advantage.

The good news? Many of these initiatives can be adopted by any retailer or ECP—large or small, metropolitan or suburban, a family-oriented practice or a high-end boutique. So VM distilled the core of each retailer’s focus and pulled together a downloadable Action Plan. This Action Plan, available only on VisionMonday.com., can help other retailers begin to implement this new consumer-centric approach through their own stories in their stores.

CONSUMER CENTRICITY

So what exactly does consumer-centric mean? Well according to the “Winning at Consumer Centricity” report by Brian Ross, general manager of Precima, an analytics firm that translates retail customer data into critical insights for retailers and manufacturers, available through the National Retail Federation (www.precima.com), the definition of consumer-centricity “is a strategy based in the belief that if you are able to identify your most important consumers and understand their needs better than your competitors, then you can align every aspect of your value proposition to meet those needs.”

That’s just a fancy way of saying:

1. Identify your core consumer.

2. Figure out what they want.

3. Give it to them.


Of course, giving it to them better and faster than your competitors is the key to building loyalty.

For an optical retailer like Eyetique in Pittsburgh it means recognizing that that there are a high number of major corporations based in the area and a large population of savvy executives, senior level managers and corporate types who are looking for the best place to purchase their eyewear. For Cleve Barham, owner of Fine Eyes in Ridgeland, Miss., it means strengthening his identity as a high-end retailer by relocating to a shopping plaza full of other retailers that cater to affluent consumers. And for an organization like Eye Care Centers of America (ECCA) which is a part of HVHC Inc, a Highmark company, it means focusing on a consistent “consultative lifestyle selling” approach and regularly monitoring the experiences of their customers through frequent customer satisfaction evaluations.

The point is you can’t be everything to everyone, especially now that consumer behavior has changed, but you can be the “go to” eyewear retailer for a specific consumer segment if you clearly identify who they are, support their values and start telling the stories that resonate with them.

REDEFINING ‘VALUE’

As the recession brought about this shift in customer behavior, many of today’s shoppers became focused on the concept of “value”—but not as we in the eyewear sector traditionally know it. Value now means a lot of things—unique design, excellent quality, and superior service—but it no longer just means price.

“For us, value does not mean the cheapest or the most expensive product in the store, it means the best product for the consumer based upon their lifestyle and what their needs are,” said Jim Eisen president of ECCA, which operates a total of 537 total locations nationally, 447 under various brands as ECCA and 90 more as Empire Vision.


“We have practiced consultative lifestyle selling for years,” Eisen continued. “We create value by providing consumers with a good quality frame they like and the best lenses for their lifestyle. Forget about price, our lifestyle selling model means providing our consumers with an end product of value because it is the best product for them at a fair price,” Eisen said.

“Our boutique is in a high dollar area of town, so there are still customers who can and want to spend money but they have become a little pickier,” added Daniel Protz, owner of Eye Elegance in Houston. “Value is perceived, and in order to make your product something they are willing to spend money on it is all in how you word the thing and how you interact with the customers. We provide our customers with our undivided attention and take all the time needed to help them find what they are looking for,” Protz said.

“We are driven by third party insurance, so the customer’s experience is one of – If I can buy this amazing ic! berlin frame that normally sells for $495 and I can pay $300 with insurance, than I am going to get it,” said Brad Childs, vice president of seven Eyetique locations. “It’s a different mindset. As long as you offer them a little bit of value, it doesn’t even have to be a lot, they respond to it.”

Luxottica Retail’s Kristen McCabe, associate vice president of product, sun and luxury brands, including Sunglass Hut, Ilori and Optical Shop of Aspen, agreed. “The Polarized Destination in Sunglass Hut is an example of how we demonstrate the features and benefits in a real and tangible way. We are seeing the results in our growth of polarized lenses and average unit retail. Really, you just need a sentence or two about what make a frame special. Customers are just looking for a good investment,” she said.

THE BRAND NARRATIVE

The truth is, optical retailers tell VM, there is no more blind allegiance to a specific brand. Today’s consumers want to know what a brand stands for, where it was made, how it was made and what makes it special. They want to know there is a message attached to their purchase that resonates with their own new values system and each brand presents a unique opportunity to tell a different story.

“We see consumers making this connection more and more to brands with heritage; brands that tell a story and have endured the test of time,” explained McCabe. “These brands also carry added value through their reputation for authenticity and quality. Our dialogue with customers in store has evolved into something much more sophisticated. Through different levels of storytelling in multiple touch points throughout the store we have the opportunity to provide detailed product information; the designer inspiration behind the frame, features and their direct benefits—what makes this model special.”

Barham of Fine Eyes echoed that sentiment. “Each brand needs a message. Is the brand exclusive? Is it a limited edition? Does it have tech bells and whistles? I’m nearly 14 percent up over last year and a premium brand that’s doing real well for me is Salt. It’s all polarized and has a great story and is selling even with a $300 to $400 price tag,” he said.

“It isn’t about a name, it’s about a story,” agreed Childs of Eyetique. “My number one private label is Norman Childs Eyewear; it sells more than every other frame collection combined. They are amazing handmade frames, and it doesn’t matter to customers what the name is, but the story behind it. Where it was made? How it was made? What is it made of? It’s the story lines that matter, so we have had to make stronger demands on our reps to do staff training, do trunk shows, my staff needs to believe in it, so the rep needs to believe in it and if they don’t it just isn’t going to make it. It’s a vertically integrated belief system. If you offer the best product and believe it is the best product, customers will buy it and our business is stronger than it has ever been.”

But be cautious. “Your story has to always remain consistent,” warned Protz. “An educated consumer knows if you are constantly changing the story. Our strength is in the integrity of the message, as well as strength of our brands.”

CONNECTING WITH CUSTOMERS

At its most basic level “telling stories” is just a clever way of saying talk to your consumers, not at them. As Eyetique’s Childs mentioned, relying on sales reps to educate staff about their brands and arranging trunk shows are two great ways to get started. And learn some of the methods of larger retail organizations with proven track records of success and the sales figures to prove it.

 
“We invest heavily in training, both in-store for all associates and all the way up to the management level,” said ECCA’s Eisen. “We focus on two things; product knowledge, our folks have to be technically correct on all aspects of the product, and selling knowledge. They ask customers questions like—How do you use your glasses? How much driving do you do? How much time do you spend outside?—so that they can recommend the best product. We also provide training materials to our associates around trends, brands, etc. on a regular basis. It is about training our associates to build a rapport and establish a relationship with the consumer.”

Luxottica’s McCabe agreed, “Training is critical. You must invest in your associates so they have the confidence to share the stories and to recognize a brand enthusiast when they walk in the door. Look for the heritage cues—‘I love your Tory Burch shoes… did you know we launched her sunglass brand this spring?’ Storytelling is as important to the aspirational category as it is to the luxury brands.”


For Luxottica Retail it also means beginning to connect with consumers externally. “The viral world is a key avenue for ‘edu-taining’ the customer. More often than not, consumers are spending time researching online to make the best decision, and sizing up the different retailers. So reaching them through email and the web is becoming increasingly effective,” stated McCabe.

They aren’t losing that effectiveness once the consumer comes through the door. “We are exploring ways to highlight collections on shelf too, to help the customer make sense of the product portfolio,” she said.

That’s a story Eisen has also identified as a road to success. “ECCA began testing a new brand merchandising strategy which calls out the brands we offer with more signage and presentation. It helps the consumer understand our brand selection more effectively. We want to ensure that the customer clearly sees the outstanding brands that we offer; such as Guess. All new locations will have this new look. We are currently working on a roll out strategy to update all of our key markets over the next 24 months and we have an aggressive growth plan. We’ll be opening 22 stores this year and even more than that next year.”

“The best stories are meant to be told and they’re not always so apparent to the consumer, so you have to empower your team to get the story out,” concluded McCabe.

Look for more ideas like these and a bulleted Action Plan on effectively telling the “stories” that matter to your eyewear customers by going to VisionMonday.com.  ■ ■

dcarroll@jobson.com