SightCare webinar provides preparation tips

SightCare’s third question time webinar took place on April 8 with the independent association continuing to address the industry’s concerns over the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Issues covered included how to be prepared for the end of the crisis and forming business communities.

The panel was made up of four members: Dean Butler, founder of LensCrafters in the US, Vision Express in the UK and a board member of numerous optical retail and equipment businesses; Pamela Robertson, independent prescribing optometrist and practice owner; Mark Draper, CooperVision’s director of marketing; and Philip Calvert, an author and online marketing specialist.

How to ensure practices were ready to receive customers as soon as the pandemic ended was a major topic of discussion with panellists identifying short-term and long-term planning as important. Calvert commented: ‘Now’s the time to really do some planning and get creative with it. Revisit your marketing plans and get on the phone with customers to keep that relationship plate spinning for when business resumes.’