Mr. Bhavin Kothari, CEO of Iris Brands recently participated in the first webinar organised by VP Academy on May 02, 2020
He shared his views on the issues faced by the opticians because the digital world is too expensive and too vast for the opticians to manage on their own. He stressed that being digital is not just about having an Instagram account, but required having a digital presence which allows the brands to collaborate and drive footfalls to the stores.
He also highlighted the importance of having targetted programmes for key audiences and complementing of the digital and traditional programmes to make the values of the spend more desirable.
Mr.Kothari also suggested ways in which brands can help opticians achieve their digital goals. He said, “I feel brands must engage with the retailer in a different manner.” Further, he went on to outline the key steps taken by Iris Brands in this direction.
— Does a brand have a digital marketing plan for the retailer?
— Can the brand’s programme be localised to the retailers’ sales goals and create opportunities for exclusive collaborations?
— What could be a shared budget for digital marketing activity?
The Iris Brands and Ganko teams have been working with facebook marketing to connect with a younger audience and portray specific opticians as the best in the neighbourhood. They also conducted contests in association with Ace of Pubs. With their brands Femina too, they have been running digital contests and driving footfalls to the stores. The key idea though was the pathbreaking concept of Iris POD (Price On Demand) — which addresses the consumers desire to buy online with actual purchasing at the store thereby building trust between the customer and the retailer.
The response to the POD had been extremely positive and Mr.Kothari is sure that it would help drive more footfalls to the retail stores.