Sponsored by ZEISS
By Preston Fassel, ABOC
Humans are narrative beings. From the oral storytellers of antiquity like Homer, to the earliest novels Asinus Aureus and The Tale of Genji, people have used narrative to connect themselves to one another and the world. This is why some of the most successful advertising campaigns have relied on fictional characters and tales. Bland, uninteresting commercials that simply present a product quickly fade from memory. On the other hand, who doesn’t remember Mikey really liking his cereal, or the exploits of “The Most Interesting Man in the World”? Profitable, long-lasting businesses intuitively get that a solid brand is, in fact, a solid story, one that allows consumers to connect with them through an engaging narrative. Apple users think different. Pepsi drinkers are those who think young.
The question is: What’s your story?
ECPs are uniquely positioned to tell a vision care story that incorporates a style and lifestyle story. Theoretically, you can simply open shop, throw up some P.O.P., and call it a day, but this doesn’t form any connections, and it does not differentiate you or make you memorable to your target audience. To illustrate this, I was recently in a bland, literally gray dispensary with opticians in generic scrubs, no music and virtually no decor. It wasn’t impressive and didn’t engage me. On the other hand, a dispensary outside of Houston I worked at that catered to local farmers and oilfield workers, was replete with Western regalia, a mixture of praise and country on the radio and a solidly Texas identity. Within three years of opening, they were seeing healthy six-figure profits.
So, what is your story?
If you’re struggling to answer that question, you’re not alone. Might I suggest that you look to the brands you carry for inspiration, and when they have a powerful brand story that they are already telling, leverage it. ZEISS, for example, offers ECPs the opportunity to connect to potential patients because of their name recognition across fields from doctors, nurses and researchers who know their microscopes and diagnostic equipment, to birders who know their field glasses. Their story of innovation in their brand storytelling makes you, the ECP, the hero of the story. From their beginnings manufacturing microscopes for the scientific community in the 1840s to their legacy of exploration, sending equipment to the South Pole and even the moon, ZEISS has been something of “The Most Interesting Optical Company in the World.” By connecting with this legacy, you can craft your story into any number of unique narratives.
Ask yourself: Who are you serving? What’s their identity—how do they see themselves and more importantly, how would they like to see themselves? What are their needs, and what obstacles are preventing them from meeting those needs? Every story has conflict, and in your case, that conflict is your patient’s need to see clearly and desire to look good and feel cared for in the process. By using ZEISS’ legacy of superior optics and engineering as a launchpad, you can make your patient the hero of their own story and in visiting your dispensary, feel like they have won.
If you see a lot of engineers, you can discuss how ZEISS offers state-of-the-art lenses that employ a highly sophisticated level of technology. For outdoors people such as hikers, hunters or birders, you can emphasize ZEISS’ pristine optics, durability, ruggedness and dedication to quality (they may already have ZEISS lenses in their binoculars or scopes!). Use appropriate decor, music and P.O.P. to craft your dispensary into a space that tells a story. You don’t have to deck your office with protractors and graphs or oil derrick art but make it immersive. Create an experience, and then allow your patient to feel a connection to that experience. Going back to an earlier example, simply explaining the qualities of a product won’t forge a bond with your patients. Putting it into the context of a narrative that makes a gut connection with your patient, on the other hand, will make them feel like they’re a part of something. Stories are fun, so have fun crafting your brand identity. ZEISS offers you the opportunity to tell any story you want to forge a connection with patients and let them feel like they are part of an experience. Everyone wants to be the hero of their own story, and with ZEISS, you and your dispensary can make your patient feel like the hero they want to be.
