Week 1 / JUNE 1-5
MANAGEMENT Give your business card a new look. Perhaps change your title to something fun like “visionary in charge.” Your goal: Craft a card so notable that customers will want to show it to others.
SOCIAL MEDIA Shake up your routine. One option: a different social media platform. If you spend the bulk of your screen time on Facebook, devote yourself to getting more familiar with Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram or LinkedIn. Post, respond, join a conversation.
OPERATIONS Check your air-conditioning. Make sure your store is a cool sanctuary in the dog days ahead.
Week 2 / JUNE 8-12
MARKETING Father’s Day (June 21) is almost here. Highlight special sunwear and eyewear selections on social media and your website. Each day, post your choices for a different dad type: Baseball Dad, Barbecue Dad, Sports Car Dad, Hipster Dad.
FINANCE Stay on top of your taxes by signing up for the IRS’s tax calendar at tax.gov/calendar. Unlike the agency, it’s user-friendly.
WEBSITE Is your website mobile-responsive? If not, it’s time to upgrade; mobile compliance is more critical than ever to showing up in Google searches. See some optical-specific templates at invmag.us/wordpress. Better yet, since most eyecare searches start online, talk with a Web designer who can make something dynamic just for you.
Week 3 / JUNE 15-19
MARKETING Promote special offers on fishing-specific eyewear from Maui Jim, Costa, Oakley and others on Go Fishing Day June 18.
MANAGEMENT Have you thought about the story you tell your customers and employees about your company? A good story goes a long way toward making people feel they’re part of something special, so build your own company mythology. Not sure how to start? Read True Story: How to Combine Story and Action to Transform Your Business by Ty Montague.
FURNISHINGS Need new office furniture? Now’s a good time to get it. Showrooms are clearing space for new lines arriving in August.
Week 4 / JUNE 22-26
MARKETING Don’t forget to take advantage of the marketing opportunity of Sunglasses Day on June 27. This is something you should promote every year.
WEBSITE We hear only half of independent eyecare businesses list their hours on their website or in their voicemail. Customers want to know your hours, and “Open Mon-Sat” doesn’t cut it. Post those times today. And while you’re at it, why not add an appointment-scheduling function to your website?
Week 5 / JUNE 29-JULY 3
INVENTORY In a month, we want you to be ready to promote back-to-school eyewear (and exams) harder than you’ve ever promoted them before. So order plenty of kids’ eyewear, then prepare print, radio and online campaigns that will get your community’s attention. Aim to serve kids as young as six months old. It’s never too early to make annual summer eye exams a thing.
EDUCATION Everybody needs something to read on the beach this summer. Why not buy your staff books on selling? (Slip in a marking pen and tell them to go to town on those pristine pages.)
MARKETING Will you be attending any community health fairs this fall? Now is the time to plan your participation. They can be a great way to find new customers.
This article originally appeared in the June 2015 edition of INVISION.