By Meredith Marmurek
Tuesday, September 6, 2022 1:30 AM
NEW YORK—Learning is undergoing a transformation. To help professionals in all sectors of the eyecare field and eyewear market,
VM is taking note of a new attitude toward training and education propelling programs, ideas and formats. The demands of the competitive and professional business climate, attitude and service expectations of patients and consumers, new technologies in products, care and interaction are all part of this trend. Factor in the impacts of COVID and each of these things are compelling and enable companies and groups to create new platforms to educate and engage their customers.
By Meredith Marmurek
Wednesday, August 31, 2022 1:29 AM
When it comes to education, CooperVision likes to stay abreast of their customers’ needs and preferences. “We’ve carefully monitored ECP preferences on how they’d like to receive educational content and what topics they’re interested in learning more about. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen these preferences evolve,” stated Jenn Palombi, OD, FAAO, senior manager of professional education and development at CooperVision.
By Meredith Marmurek
Wednesday, August 31, 2022 1:28 AM
For CECOP USA (Central Cooperative for Optical Purchasing), creating timely and relevant educational tools is one way the company brings values to its members. This association for independent eyecare professionals works with vendors across the industry and has recently added more than 20 offerings to serve members’ needs.
By Meredith Marmurek
Wednesday, August 31, 2022 1:27 AM
Vision care is a growing industry and having skilled professionals with always-on access to continuing education and professional development curated by subject matter experts will help advance the industry and provide the world with the best in eyecare and eyewear. According to Dr. Millicent Knight, senior vice president of the Customer Development Group for EssilorLuxottica North America, this is the rationale behind Leonardo (
Leonardo.EssilorLuxottica.com), which offers all the fundamentals in optics and practice management at an ECP’s fingertips, meaning every device, anytime, anywhere.
By Meredith Marmurek
Wednesday, August 31, 2022 1:26 AM
“The No. 1 struggle for independent eyecare professionals today is retaining and hiring staff,” said Sharon Martin, senior marketing operations and communications manager at ABB Optical. “Inflation is the highest it’s been in years and the economy has impacted practices as such. We have seen a steady interest in education and more recently, a larger interest in opportunities for staff training due to the increased issues related to staff turnover. Education is an important focus for us, and it’s essential that we provide solutions and support that help drive efficiencies and productivity to help our customers with this challenge.”
By Meredith Marmurek
Wednesday, August 31, 2022 1:25 AM
At Hoya, the focus is on technology. “We want our customers and our company to be on the forefront of the digital trend,” said Warren Modlin, vice president, technical marketing. This is evident in the type of education Hoya offers its customers. “Beyond the traditional lens topics that you’d expect—the features, the technical elements—we’re educating our customers on using technology in order to support the ECP-patient experience.”
By Meredith Marmurek
Wednesday, August 31, 2022 1:23 AM
“Since its inception, PECAA (Professional Eye Care Associates of America) has recognized the importance of education as the foundation for growth and success in independent eyecare,” said Kristy Stone, director of member education. “In the past few years (since COVID) with everything moving to a virtual-based environment for the most part, there has been more interest than in the past for our online educational offerings.”
By Meredith Marmurek
Wednesday, August 31, 2022 1:22 AM
When the pandemic started in 2020, Safilo USA (
www.mysafilousa.com) realized that their customers still needed education even though they could not hold in-person events. “The needs and expectations of customers are at the center of our organization and are always at the heart of what we do,” stated Victoria Hallberg, executive vice president, industry relations. “Our ability to create value for our customers is profoundly interconnected with our capability to build long-lasting partnerships and maintain an active dialogue with them. Understanding and meeting their expectations is crucial.”
By Meredith Marmurek
Wednesday, August 31, 2022 1:21 AM
For lens maker Shamir, education played an important role in the company’s relationship with its customers even before the pandemic. “We have always been dedicated to helping our customers grow their business in an increasingly competitive marketplace,” explained Phil Pasit, vice president of marketing. “We believe it is essential to share our knowledge and expertise to help ECPs overcome challenges, minimize customer non-adapts and increase sales.”
By Meredith Marmurek
Wednesday, August 31, 2022 1:20 AM
There’s no question that the demand for education is high in all areas of the optical industry. “We have seen a need for access to continued education and learning, especially right now,” said Chris King, global associate director, marketing education, Transitions Optical. “That’s one reason why, after two years, it was great to celebrate the 25th Transitions Academy in person with more than 850 industry experts from 45 countries around the world. Transitions Academy has always been about building a community of eyecare and optical industry professionals who are advancing the industry around the world, and the energy at this year’s event demonstrated the impact of being together in person.”
By Meredith Marmurek
Wednesday, August 31, 2022 1:19 AM
For VSP Vision, providing members with extensive education is the best way to help them gain a competitive advantage in the changing optometry profession. Premier Academy360 (
https://www.vspproviderhub.com/premier/academy360.html) is the company’s wide-ranging database of educational resources available to ECPs who participate in the VSP Vision Premier Program. There are more than 70 different courses on topics such as practice management, human resources and diabetes. Resources are available online, through on-demand webinars and via podcasts. Participants can also earn continuing education credits.
By Meredith Marmurek
Wednesday, August 31, 2022 1:18 AM
Zeiss Vision Care US prides itself on having a wide variety of educational resources for ECPs covering topics such as product knowledge, medical technology and sports optics. Recently, though, customers have been asking for training on a new subject. “There are more requests now for applications that enable ECPs to manage their business holistically,” said Matt Woelbern, head of marketing, U.S. go-to-market, Zeiss Vision Care U.S. “In response, we created training about how to use Visustore, our online ordering portal. Visustore is designed to teach opticians about optics as well as ordering. It can help users save time, increase efficiency, and get live order status and delivery date information.”