When the optician wants to be recognized as a vision professional

But is treated as an eyewear salesperson

Do you recognize this situation?

• Optics shop, solid revenue with good profit (tight margins)
  
• Owner, some employees, many hours per week
  
• Significant growth in recent years
  
• But the exhausting situations: customer relationships, professional recognition (lacking), too much time invested
  
• Concerns: market commoditization, town center desertification
  
• Goal: most of time dedicated to professional study (now minority)
  
• Goal: contact ophthalmologists (professional positioning), more personal time
  

And the fear is: all family income depends on business that doesn't recognize you as a professional

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The trap of unrecognized professional competence

You're a vision professional.

Optician optometrist.
High technical skills.
Study, updates, continuing education.

But the customer sees you as an eyewear salesperson.

They enter the shop and ask:
"How much are those?"
"I saw them online for much less"

"But can you give me a discount?"

They don't ask:
"How's my vision?"
"What's the best system for my eyes?"

"Can you help me with this vision problem?" Customer sees eyewear. You see visual health.

Unbridgeable gap as long as you remain positioned as retail.

And you:
Tired of customer relationships (who don't understand).
Frustrated by lack of professional recognition.

Feel you're investing too much time for little perceived value.

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What happens when profession becomes commodity

On the positioning front:
Customer compares you with shopping mall chains.
Customer compares you with online.
"Market commoditization": eyewear seen as standardized product.
"Town center desertification": traffic goes to suburbs.

You compete on product, not on competence.

On the customer relationship front:
"Customer relationships" among most exhausting situations.
Probably: price-sensitive customers who haggle over every cent.
Customers who don't understand difference between optician and frame seller.
Time spent explaining why "it costs more" instead of focusing on visual health.

Customer sees you as intermediary, not as healthcare professional.

On the professional front:
"Professional recognition" missing.
You want to dedicate most time to study (now minority).
Goal: contact ophthalmologists (want to be seen as medical partner).

But as long as you're perceived as shop, not as practice, it's difficult.

On the economic front:
Solid revenue, good profit = tight margins (professional opticians should have more).
High staff costs.
Significant growth BUT probably on volume, not margins.

All family income = vulnerability if market commoditizes further.

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Why it happens

You built a shop instead of a professional practice.

Traditional optics:
Window display with frames.
Customer enters, tries, buys.
Eye exam = "included service" to sell eyewear.

But you're an optometrist.
You're not a salesperson.
You're a vision professional.

The problem isn't the customer. It's the model.

Customer behaves as consumer
because you have retail positioning.

If you want professional recognition:

You must position yourself as professional, not as seller.

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The (wrong) path many try

Apparent solution: "I'll improve product and service, so customers understand value"

But as long as the model is "shop with products":
Customer will continue to see products, not competence.
And will compare with online/chains.

Don't improve sales. Change model.

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The method

No longer eyewear shop. Professional vision practice. Pivot from retail to professional vision practice.

No longer "eyewear shop with included eye exam".
But: "Professional vision practice with personalized optical solutions".
Professional communication.
Layout: less product display, more examination and consultation room.

Mentality: customer becomes patient. Professional services with explicit payment.

Complete optometric exam: explicit payment (not included).
Binocular vision analysis: separate service.
Specialized contact lens consultation: paid competence.
Children/elderly vision follow-up: recurring packages.

Customer pays for competence, THEN chooses whether to buy eyewear. Strategic partnership with ophthalmologists.

Stated goal: contact ophthalmologists.
Referral agreement: ophthalmologist diagnoses, you rehabilitate/correct.
You send complex patients for medical examination.
Become "optometric right hand" of area ophthalmologists.

Positioning: medical partner, not commercial competitor. Time dedicated to study/updates: from minority to majority.

Goal: most time on professional study.
How? You delegate retail sales to employees.
You focus on complex cases, professional consultations, training.
Standard frame sales = employees (low margins).

Complex optometric solutions = you (high margins). Price differentiation by customer type.

Customer who wants "cheap eyewear": employees, low margins.
Customer who wants "professional visual solution": you, high margins.
Don't compete with online on product.

Win on professional competence that online can't provide.

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What changes after

You're no longer tired of customer relationships.

Because you no longer have "price-sensitive customers wanting discounts".
You have patients seeking professional solutions for vision.

Professional recognition:
Ophthalmologists refer you.
Patients see you as healthcare professional.

No longer "the optician", but vision professional.

Time dedicated to study:
From minority to majority.
Because retail sales are delegated.
You focus on competence that distinguishes you.

Margins:
From tight to healthy.
Profit increased significantly on same revenue.

Because professional competence is worth more than product sales.

And finally:

You no longer sell eyewear.
You offer professional solutions for visual health.

Customer searching online comparing prices?
Not your ideal patient.
Send them to chain stores.

Patient seeking professional who solves complex vision problem?
That's yours.
And gladly pays for competence that no chain or online can provide.

Financial independence and more personal time:
No longer distant goal.
But natural consequence of professional business not retail.

This is the turning point: when you stop selling eyewear and start offering visual health.