VisionPlus India

money in this medium. We are still trying to understand and see how we can leverage it to our advantage. Traditional media, print and OOH, have become too expensive for businesses of our size to invest in consistently. SB : How do you ensure your employee’s loyalty? AK : I feel, we cannot expect the kind of employee loyalty, as in yesteryears where most employees continued to work for you for a lifetime. In today’s world, retention of an employee has to be on the basis of alignment of goals of the employer and the employee. Beyond a point, money ceases to be a motivator. Employees today seek purpose in what they do and fairness in the workplace. The onus of providing a growth that is inclusive of diverse aspirations is on the employers today. SB : Any message or advice to the members of the optical industry? AK: Know your customers. Identify your strengths. Find your niche. Stick to the model that allows you to stay profitable. Eyeing what others seem to do well with may not really be your thing. So, invest your time and energy into what makes you successful. This is a beautiful industry. There aren’t many other businesses that bring you the kind of respect, abundance and affluence as opticianry does. notes so you don’t make those mistakes again. As antithetical as this may sound, but true wisdom is earned at the price of experience. Apart from what works for your set of customers, what matters is what you are confident presenting. If I don’t believe in a certain aesthetic then I will not be able to convince my customer about it. Hence, the inventory mix at your shop has to be something that you believe in and your set of customers aspire to have. SB : When it comes to store design, what’s more important – Design or Functionality? And how do you maintain the balance? AK : I am a little old school and kind of detest the word “store” for my “showroom”. To design a store is simple. It’s supposed to be an efficient space to stock up. But a showroom is where you display to show-off your products in the best possible manner, to attract, convince and sell to a customer. Hence, I would dedicate a fair share of the customer-facing area of the showroom to the aesthetic. And I would invest time and resources to design the storage, servicing and back office areas ,to optimise the functionality. SB : When it comes to reaching out to your customers, what’s the ratio of advertising spend between traditional (hoardings, print etc) and digital (social media, whatsapp etc)? AK : Over the past few years, we have rationalised advertising spends across traditional and digital media. We don’t believe in pestering SMS or WhatsApp messaging, We feel that over time it will build a negative image for the company. Social media has its advantages. At the same time it has too many options to play with which may often not be as effective. It is easy to lose one’s way and waste THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL INDUSTRY. THERE AREN’T MANY OTHER BUSINESSES THAT BRING YOU THE KIND OF RESPECT, ABUNDANCE AND AFFLUENCE AS OPTICIANRY DOES 48 VISION PLUS INDIA EDITION