What is Clienteling App?

We, as a consumer dictate our shopping needs and shopping experience to retailers. If a new technology becomes popular, progressive retailers react and adapt it to grow their practice. It’s no longer a deniable fact that eCommerce overtook traditional retail in North America and Europe.

Optical retail probably has the slowest adoption rate of eCommerce solutions. Less than 1% of independent optical retailers have an online store of some kind. It’s not because retailers didn’t recognize the need. Eyeglasses are among the most complex products that require a load of decision about the style, the fit, the trend, the prescription need and often, even lifestyle. Historically all those decisions were made in-store with a particular glasses selection on the shelf and with the help of a very knowledgeable sales consultant, who is often also optician. Choosing lenses is an entirely different story because lenses companies such as Essilor, Nikon, and others release a huge catalog of new lenses solutions every year. Which one is right for your customer and which one you prefer to offer is also very personal decision to make.

Clienteling term refers to a technique used by retail associates to establish relationships with customers. The client is one of the oldest terms that appeared in 1570. Client word derives the meaning from Latin clinare to lean. So, client is the one who needs something or needs help to buy something.

In today’s world client, more and more wants to make educated decisions on its own. Due to massive forceful advertising in the past 30 years, people learned that it’s better if they research, shop around and choose what they think is right vs. having someone dictate what they need. In optical industry, again, it’s a bit different because client often needs help. Advantage of that is once they buy from you and they are satisfied, they will likely give you another chance in the future.

To provide the best shopping experience for optical retail customers, you need an online store. In fancy words, online store is your Clienteling App. App stands for digital application – literally a tool that you can use to present information to potential customer that is browsing the web. Once that customer at your door you can engage your physical tools such as talking and showing glasses to try. If you found out that you don’t have particular glasses on the shelf, you can engage your website once again on iPad for example to show other glasses models that can be ordered. Or if your client is not sure and wants to leave, you can take their e-mail or point them to your website, which will bring them back to digital until they buy or call you with questions. By having a Clienteling App, such as LiveOptical, you will close the circle to have all the tools needed today to engage with eyeglasses or contact lenses customer. You will miss out the opportunity to engage the growing number of online shoppers and convert them into your customers if you don’t have a proper online channel.

Having just glasses on your website is a great start, but not the only information sought by the client. Your website should also have an array of information about fashion trends, new releases by the brands, lenses novelties, your customer personal stories, tips on how to choose the right product, how to look after glasses at home, how to clean them and how to solve many other problems. Your website is not just a webstore, it’s a Clienteling App that provides information to help customer. LiveOptical platform give you tools to create such content with ease. This type of specialized content will put you ahead of that 1% of customers who already have an online store and ahead of 99.99% of all of them.