ArticleOne2018FullSpreads

Spring 2018
Eyeglasses and Sunglasses
in our industry, and they
would go around and around
and nothing would get done
because it was OD to OD. I
thought, “why are people not
making much progress when
there are 10k doctors in this
community” and I came up
with the idea that the online
forum has to mirror your real
life. In my practice I have 4
docs, 3 docs on at any one
time, but in the office we smile
at one another in the hallway
or sometimes have lunch but
I'm not with them during the
day. I am engaging with my
opticians, my office manager,
my reps much more. If they
could have an ear to the
ground in an OD conversation
that conversation would be
able to actually influence the
industry and change things. So
I made it the first community to
invite everyone who is an eye
care professional.
How many people are
active?
Dr. Glazier: Every day we have
between 4 and 6 thousand
people active, depending on
the day, and there are 32,500
in the group.
We are members even
though we aren't
optometrists and like you
said it been extremely
helpful for us because there
are conversations happening
in an industry we are a part
of that we would have never
seen otherwise.
Dr. Glazier: That was my goal.
This group honestly inspired
us to change up our model
in a way that would support
optometrists and the whole
industry rather than just
creating another beautiful
eyewear brand.
Dr. Glazier: Thats very
meaningful to me because
I wanted to influence the
whole industry in a positive
direction for the profession of
Optometry.
Right, and now we are able
to see what the pain points
in the industry are in a way
we would have never been
able to before.
One thing we’ve noticed is
that political discussions
creep in from time to time,
and I know thats against the
guidelines. How have you
worked to moderate those
interactions.
Dr. Glazier: What I've done
subtly in the group over the
years is build a sense of
community, I want people
to feel a sense of ownership
of this community and feel
it’stheir place, not just mine.
You’ll never hear me refer
to it as a group, always a
community. And in doing that
it very much self-polices. I
don't have to look at it all
the time and if something
is happening a member will
private message me because
they care. And that means a
lot to me too. I also have an
executive admin who watches
the group. We always want to
be professional. If someone
violates the guidelines, they
may not have known the rules,
so I will first private message
them to let them know the
guidelines. I give them one
more chance. If someone
posts something racist or
discriminatory, there are no
second chances. That’s BS
and I have no tolerance for
discrimination whatsoever.
You’ve created and fostered
something really special -
people talking with each
other rather than at each
other which is often the
case in other online forums
or comment sections. It
feels much more like a
discussion, questions being
asked of peers. Do you think
this is now the go-to online
community for ODS?
Dr. Glazier: There are a lot of
great specialty communities
online, so there are go-tos for
people who are passionate
about a certain topic. But I
think ODs on Facebook is
a general forum for people
looking for fun, camaraderie,
and news in the industry. So
I wouldn't say we are the
go-to, but I would say we
are the granddaddy. The hot
granddaddy.
What are your hopes
and dreams for ODs on
Facebook - where do you
see it going and evolving.
Dr. Glazier: Its never been
about the number of members.
I started with 40 thought
leaders and I thought it would
stay around 100 people. It has
always been about the quality
of the conversation, which why
I put those guidelines in place.
So I'm happy if I'm able to stay
the path, people respect the
guidelines, the conversation
is rich and influences the
industry.
I’m always trying to think
about what will bring value
to the community, and about
4 months ago we spun off
our website, which is called
ODsonFB.com. The idea for
the site being that you might
see a topic that really strikes
you on ODs on Facebook and
it has a bunch of great insights
from other professionals, that
information is very valuable.
But then the post sinks further
down the feed and eventually is
gone from sight even though it
still exists. So unless you know
exactly what to search for you
won’t find it. What I wanted
to do is find a way to redirect
people to the greatest threads
ever. That was the initial idea.
It is content curation, not a
social media forum. It allows
those discussions to live on.
Plus I wanted to find people
in the community who had an
interesting angle on stuff and
maybe were a little younger and
might bring something new,
so there is also an element of
creating new content there as
well.
A digital magazine version of
ODs on FB. Very cool.
The big question: where do
you see the industry going in
the next 10-20 years. In my
mind there is a bright future
and then there is a dystopian
future, it just depends on
which side wins out.
Dr. Glazier: There are some
obvious things happening in the
industry. There is a big effort
to consolidate practices into
verticals by investment bankers.
They see the industry as a great
place to do what they do, so
that will change the face of
things. On one hand I think it’s
going to be scary for people to
think about getting involved with
private equity when they can or
get the best deal they can and
give up some of their ownership.
And as things go towards that
model people may feel that they
have to participate. It may give
people an opportunity for an exit
that they want rather than what
they have to take. It is common
for a lower-end retail chain to
be the only option as an exit
when you are ready for that,
and then that doctor’s legacy
is gone. So I'm looking into
getting involved with a company
that is buying practices, but
they aren't changing the name,
they aren't making you go
into a strip mall, and they are
focusing on high-quality medical
optometry. And what they are
going to do with that is give
doctors the opportunity to really
have a legacy exit, and remain
as part of the company. So I
think you will see creative little
verticals pop up that will help
save the independent, but it
will be a different definition of
independent.
We are concerned with
frame and contact selling
online. We want to pull Warby
Parker customers back to
independent optical. How
can you see the industry
combating against online
refraction and direct to
customer contact and frame
selling.
Dr. Glazier: You can only
compete on service. Exceeding
people’s expectations. I’m a
huge promoter of marketing
and I think the most important
thing you can do is sit down
and figure out how to reach and
retain independent loyalists,
because they are out there. I’ll
tell you a story: In 2003, I think,
the first MyEyeDr opened up
within walking distance to my
office. The founder is a brilliant
guy, a global thinker, and what
he does is amazing - a proven
success. I was younger and
more naive and I was scared to
death of how his chain would
impact my practice. His model
was to buy existing ODs out and
move them into a retail location
and build his chain. I thought
this would significantly impact
my business in a negative way.
But what happened was really
interesting. He created a vacuum
of independents. Everyone was
selling to him and disappearing
around me, so I was one of
the few choices around for
independent loyalists, and I grew
dramatically as a result. What I
learned from that is sometimes
these disruptions can do things
you wouldn't predict would help
you, and you can work to focus
on the things that will make you
stand out to the people who
don't want the alternative. Some
people will never want to go to
Warby Parker or online, and you
have to be ready for them.
We talk to a lot of our ODs
about it being exactly
what you mentioned - just
about experience. Humans
will always value a great
experience.
Thanks so much for your time,
Dr. Glazer.
Sign up for our newsletter
to recieve content like
this, industry insights, new
releases, and tours of our
factories.
The Collection
122
123