35% of You Actively Keep Tabs on Your Competition in Creative Ways

Yes: 35%

• We have a PE chain in town, and another competitor who has been here for 30 years. We don’t keep a close eye on them, but we’re cordial and friendly with them. Mainly just keep an eye on what they are selling, as we don’t want to carry the same lines. We request the reps not sell the exact same lines, but they don’t always follow through. But that’s how it goes in the small towns. — Jim Williams, Eye to Eye, Mexico, MO
• Follow on social media. We are the only optical shop in the area. So our clients come from the competition after their eye exam. We hear from our clients what or what not the others in the area are doing. — Julie Kubsch, Specs Around Town, Bloomington, IL
• We do A LOT of Facebook stalking in our downtime! — Jess Gattis, Thomas Vision Clinic, Leesville, LA
• I secret shop stores, visit their websites and Instagram postings. — Mitchell Kaufman, Marine Park Family Vision, Brooklyn, NY
• I only keep tabs on competitors by picking my drug and frame reps brains. I always ask what my competition is up to. I ask who is busy, who is using their products, who is updating their office, etc… — Marc Ullman, OD, Academy Vision, Pine Beach, NJ
• I physically talk to them. — Kenneth Weiner, OD, Livingston, NJ
• Shop sales and inventory. — Ann-Marie Weaver, Optimal Eye Care, Lewis Center, OH
• Visit incognito. — Mickey Bradley, Patrick Optical, Fort Worth, TX
• Honor competitors pricing if feasible. — Yen Nguyen, Black Optical, Dallas, TX
• We are a member of Vision Source, so rather than keep tabs, we share information between our Vision Source practices that may help boost all of us up. We have regional quarterly meetings and that’s where I find I get the most out of being a VS member. Those conversations with other local opticals can be absolutely priceless! I’ve also found a lot of great advice on the Opticians on Facebook or ODs on Facebook groups! — Tiffany Firer, Lifetime Eyecare, Jenison, MI
• Check media, online promotions, walk through. — Bob McBeath, Edina Eye, Edina, MN
• Watch online activity/advertising. — Pam Peters, Midwest Eye, Downers Grove, IL
• We believe it is very important to know what our competition is up to. In no order of importance we: Check their reviews on Google, Yelp, etc. Review their social media platforms and websites. Pay a visit to see what’s new in the store be it frames, people, or décor. We do announce ourselves when we visit our competitors, we don’t try to play 007. We are also very open and always invite our competitors to visit us. We actually invite them for coffee. Funny thing.. they never show up especially opticians which surprises us to no end. How can NOT have an interest in your competitors store, inventory, etc.? — Steve Nelson, Eye Candy Optical, Westlake, OH
• Periodically. — Ron Catterson, Clear View Optix, The Villages, FL
• Small community, we try to work with the smaller boutiques and compliment frame lines rather than carry the same styles. Larger clinics in our area need to keep up with us! — Deb Jaeger, Eye Center of the Dakotas, Bismarck, ND
• “I have friends in low places…” — Dennis Iadarola, OD, Center For Vision Care, LLC, Monroe, CT
• Check advertising. — Pam Neagle, Austin Eyeworks, Austin, TX
• We watch what they do for promos. We try and separate ourselves from other eyecare offices. — Theodore Sees, OD, Rockford Family Eyecare, Rockford, MI
• It is always a good idea to see what others are doing, even if you have no intention of copying it. Knowing what others do can show what could work (or not) in your practice. — Pablo E. Mercado, Optima Eyecare, Alpharetta, GA
• Follow their social media and keep tabs on their Google marketing. — Travis LeFevre, Krystal Vision, Logan, UT
• What collections are they carrying? Who just was bought out by MyEyeDoctor? — Paula Hornbeck, Eye Candy & Eye Candy Kids, Delafield, WI
• Sales, promos and marketing. — Laura Trudeau, Cornea and Contact Lens Institute, Edina, MN
• I like to keep tabs on prices and their promotions. I sign up for their FB/IG news too so I know what they are doing. — Kim Hilgers, Monson Eyecare Center, Owatonna, MN
• Just basic information to make sure that our office is not out of line with other private practitioners. — Leisa Lauer, Dr. H. Michael Shack, Newport Beach, FL
• Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Cold call and see what the competition is offering and prices. — Jeff Grosekemper, Casa De Oro Eyecare, Spring Valley, CA
• Keep eye on ads… price shop. — Rob Goedken, Fuerste Optical, Dubuque, IA
• Stay informed on products and specials that they are offering. Try to compete by matching prices or giving better product. — Becki Martin, Harrington Vision Center II, Florence, SC

No: 65%

• I only have time to worry about what I’m doing, never mind other people! — Larah Alami, OD, Hudson River Eye Care, Tarrytown, NY
• We stay busy. — Fred Sirotkin, OD, Eagle Eye Care, Columbia, MD
• No time. — Amy M. Farrall, OD, Vision Center of Delaware, Newark, DE
• No time. — Susie Phillips, Dr. Brendon Johnson, O.D., Pekin, IL
• Just doesn’t seem applicable. — Adam Doyle, Pearle Vision, Madison, AL
• Our ‘competitors’ aren’t really competition. Instead we focus on product knowledge, customer service, and carrying gorgeous frames. — Kris Kittell, Torrey Highlands Optometry, San Diego, CA
• The only thing I keep up with is what services other offices are offering to patients. That way, if a patient asks me about myopia control, I can refer them to a colleague. — Angie Patteson, OD Sunset Eye Care, Johnson City, TN
• We do our own thing and we do it well. Our true competitors do the same, so I respect that. — Susan L. Spencer, Council Eye Care, Williamsville, NY
• No time. — Nicole Heyduk, Eye centers of Northwest Ohio, Fremont, OH
• Our boss doesn’t seem interested in knowing what the competitors are doing. — Joyce Paton, Village Eye Care, Raleigh, NC
• Worry about your own circus. — Kevin Count, Prentice Lab, Glenview, IL
• Too busy! Probably should though. — Kristina Swartz, The Eye Site, Mishawaka, IN
• Four Walls Theory. (Look inside your four walls of operation for the elements that contribute to success or failure.) — Bret Hunter, Sports Optical, Denver, CO
• I am so far ahead of them they would be slowing me down! — Adam Ramsey, OD, Socialite Vision, Palm Beach Gardens, FL
• I seek quality and brands, they do not. — Sabina Krasnov, i2ioptique, Scottsdale, AZ
• Not worried about them. — James Ernst, OD, Alexandria, KY
• Busy running my own business. As we do not take insurance, we actually recommend our closest competitor for those Rxs. — Dianna Finisecy, Wagner Opticians, Washington, DC
• I have no competition! Just businesses that think they are. — Dave Schultz, OD, Urban Optics, San Luis Obispo, CA
• I can’t say I don’t check online advertising or see what Facebook has but that is pretty rare. I figure what they are doing should not alter my approach too much and sometimes you can chase a competitor down a wrong path. — Zachary Dirks, OD, St. Peter and Belle Plaine Eyecare Centers, Saint Peter, MN
• Don’t have time to worry about others. We just do what we do. — Andrea Schall, Armstrong Eye Care, Kittanning, PA
• I just do the best I can. — Ivy Elaine Frederick, OD, New Castle, PA
• They should keep tabs on me. Too busy seeing patients to care what other practices are doing. — Texas L. Smith, OD, Dr. Texas L. Smith & Associates, Citrus Heights, CA
• A lot of big box offices around us and we are private practice. Our frame offerings are not the same and our exams are full detailed exams on every annual not just a refraction. I don’t feel we fall into the same category as most offices around us. — Lindsey Pulford, Insights Eyecare, Manhattan KS
• No time for that. Too busy being spectacular! — Jennifer Leuzzi, Mill Creek Optical, Dansville, NY
• No need, do you job and don’t work about anyone else. — Kenneth D Boltz, OD, Dublin, OH
• No time. — Ann Gallagher, Professional Vision, Ellicott, MD
• Other eyeglass places in town are not our competition. — Dave Goodrich, Goodrich Optical, Lansing, MI
• If we do things right, we don’t have any competition… — Annette Prevaux, The Visionary Inc, Allen Park, MI
• We’re are our greatest competitor! — Mark Perry, OD, Vision Health Institute, Orlando, FL
• We are a downtown boutique style shop and have our own niche. — Elizabeth Hawkins, Summit Eye Health dba The Eye Station, Lees Summit, MO
• Not sure how to do that. — Jessica Mitchell, Mitchell Eye Care, Starkville, MS
• They need to keep tabs on me. — Michael Davis, OD, Opti-Care, Eldersburg, MD
• We are such a small office that we don’t have time to check around. We do often asks patients, who purchase their glasses elsewhere, how much they paid for them. — Deanna Phillips, Clemmons Family Eye Care, Clemmons, NC
• Many of the opticals have either closed down or have been bought out by corporate entities. Those changes have worked out well for us in the community. — Tim Gray, Visual Eyes, Huntingdon Valley, PA
• We just don’t worry about our competitors. If we do our job well, then no need to worry. — Scott Keating, OD, Vision Trends, Dover, OH
• We may ask our reps if others in the area are experiencing similarities, but we don’t actively snoop. — Selena Jachens, Urban Eyecare & Eyewear, West Des Moines, IA
• Once in a blue moon we mystery shop, but we have to be waaaaay out of town, as everybody knows everybody here. — Angel Miller, Cynthiana Vision Center, Cynthiana, KY
• It does us no justice in comparing anything in life. You do your best and set goals. — Betty Aretz, The Eyecare Boutique, Wexford, PA
• Not enough time in the day! — Stephanie Crowley, Sie Eyecare, Charlotte, NC
• We don’t have much competition. — Nichole Montavon, Oskaloosa Vision Center, Oskaloosa, LA