ZEISS ‘YOU AND EYE’ AWARDS: Keeping The Optical Industry United
The purpose of an awards show is not just to win accolades and appreciation, but also to win customers, earn goodwill and use your marketing skills to leverage the visibility of your store. Opticians have been using the ZEISS ‘YOU&EYE’ AWARDS for the last 5 years and we are proud to give them the platform once again in 20-21
The biggest reward that any optician could get is the continued patronage and loyalty of his customers. A twinkle in the customer's eye, a smile, a look of satisfaction and the knowledge that you have helped someone see the world better can bring immense joy. Every optician strives for this when a customer walks into the door.
And this is not easy. A good deal of patience, planning and efforts goes into this, which often went unnoticed or unacknowledged in the past.
But it all changed since the ZEISS ‘YOU&EYE’ AWARDS came into being. The awards was the first of its kind initiative to recognise the efforts and acknowledge the achievements of the opticians — however big or small they may have been.
ZEISS ‘YOU&EYE’ AWARDS has since its inception grown to be the most sought after awards in the eyewear retail sector. It has also set new benchmarks for the industry to follow, raising the standards of eyewear retailing year after year.
Every year, opticians from across the country have participated and engaged their customers to vote for them. This helps in a two-fold manner.
First, it directly allowed opticians to highlight to their customers that they are being serviced by an optician that is committed to excellence. It clearly indicated that their optician strived to be the best. This was an important aspect that couldn’t be expressed easily otherwise.
By simply participating in a nationwide awards programme, the optician would highlight to their patrons that, “Look here. We have enough confidence in our products and services, that we are willing to compete at a national level”. This itself is enough to validate the trust of the customer and instill in them a sense of pride for their right selection.
Secondly, when an optician gets a customer to vote, it is on a subconscious level a certification of appreciation by the customer. Can you imagine how many such ‘certificates of appreciation’ an optician can get just by getting their customers to vote! Once engaged in this manner by voting for the optician, the customer is almost bound to the
optician for life.
During this time of the pandemic, the Awards event plays a third, pivotal role. It brings to fore the overall eyewear retail sector, reminding the customer that eyewear is a shopping category too.
Success Stories
In the last four editions, ZEISS ‘YOU&EYE’ AWARDS has had over 400 opticians participate in various categories. With a specified demarcation of Metro and Non-Metro as well as Retail Chains and Independent or Boutique stores, the Awards has provided a winning chance for all opticians.
The previous years have put the spotlight on the best boutique opticians across India as well as nationally acclaimed retail chains.
Each of these winners in the past ended up setting new, higher standards every year for the industry to follow.
Also, as an acknowledgement of individuals who have helped the industry reach where it is, the ZEISS ‘YOU&EYE’ AWARDS has felicitated industry and retail stalwarts like Darshanlal Madan, B.K.Gupta, Pradip Singh Thukral, Anup Kumar the late Rajanikant Turakhia, Vipin Buckshey, Dayal Das Kalra and Ronnie Talati. Their efforts set the foundation upon which the industry continues to flourish.
The Event
The previous edition had over 400 retail opticians participating in the awards. It was promoted extensively on print and digital media, garnering over a million impressions from consumers across India. And ZEISS ‘YOU&EYE’ AWARDS 20/21 promises to exceed its past success stories and allow opticians yet another opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate their efforts and achievements.
The Awards has become an annual ritual for participating opticians to reconnect with their customers and get unbiased feedback from them. This year, the ZEISS ‘YOU&EYE’ AWARDS 20/21 would conclude with its usual fanfare, but as a virtual event. In the month March 2021, the Winners’ Announcement would premiere on the digital media for the whole industry to participate in, from across the country.
How to Participate
If you were a participant in the previous editions in the categories of Best Store Display & Design or Best Customer Service, your registration is already confirmed and you don’t have to do anything else.
Submissions for other categories can easily be made on youandeyemag.com/awards. And as always, if you need any help with this, the Awards’ team is always at hand to help. Whatsapp us on +91 9820819674 and we’ll hand-hold you through the whole process.
We’ll also help you garner votes from your customers. All participants would get a digital poster and participation certificate to showcase at their stores. The Awards team would also run their ‘Vote&Win’ campaigns using your stores geo-location to promote your entry to your customers. Plus, every entry would get a customised marketing communication for their WhatsApp and social media feeds that you can proudly use to connect with your own customer database.
Bonus for participants
As a bonus, all profiles created for the Awards, would also double-up as your individual website which remains your identity for the whole year round. The youandeyemag.com page that you create will be a ready-reckoner for all your customers to check your offerings online. It’s free. Read more on this in detail in Page 40
So go ahead. Take this opportunity to reconnect with your customers. The FourPlus Media and ZEISS team wishes you all the very best. Be a winner!
Marketing ideas to promote yourself
\If you are one of the participants, the question popping in your mind right now is “How To Get Votes?”. The answer to it is very simple. With the internet being the new God, promoting oneself and gaining a few hundred or even thousand votes is a very task now. Promotions on social media pages are effectively reaching out to customers. Here are a few quick ways for promoting yourself
Email / Whatsapp Campaign
Reaching out to your customers through email and whatsapp campaigns are undoubtedly the most effective modes for promotions.
With the awards team supporting the participating opticians with an animated GIF to send out to their customers, opticians have been extending the call to vote, far beyond just their customer base.
It can also be spread out to the personal contact list of retailers and the staff members. Again a huge potential database.
Rewarding the Customers
Some opticians offer a discount to all customers who can show a screenshot where they have voted for the optician. This is a brilliant way, as it works out two ways: First, it prompts the customer to come to your store and purchase something.
And second, since the customer has already voted in the optician’s favour, he/she is more likely to come in with a more positive approach towards the optician. This leads to building a healthy customer-relationship that only gets stronger with time and efforts.
Customer Feedback
Customer feedback can be a great deal. Many opticians have a standard practice of taking customer feedback. With every customer that walks in and experiences your fine services, tend to give positive feedback that may help you boast about your store.
The feedback also helps you grow your business. You can also ask your customers to rate you on www.YouAndEyeMag.com
