Six years ago, Doug Zarkin began working at Pearle Vision, a Luxottica brand that was experiencing difficulties, to say the least, following 10 different brand positionings and searching for firmer footing.
“You can’t change that often and expect traction,” Zarkin, CMO at Pearle Vision, told attendees on Monday during his session titled, “Thinking Small to Win Big, with Pearle Vision,” at the first-ever Customer Expo. “Our system was hungry to think differently. We went back to the vision of our founder, Stanley Pearle. We talked to our franchisees. To lead starts with your ability to listen. Our competitors focused on value. We needed to figure out where Pearle Vision was and where we wanted to be. We were in the middle, which is a tough spot to be.”
“Marketing is about positioning,” Zarkin said, “Positioning is about the art of sacrifice.”
And that sacrifice, Zarkin said, enables a brand to influence a consumer to act.
In February 2013, Pearle Vision launched its new brand positioning: “Genuine EyeCare from your neighborhood doctor.”
That now iconic mission statement−deemed by Zarkin as the “single hardest sentence I ever wrote”−helped spark renewed energy within Pearle Vision and among its customers.
“We transformed our stores to eye care centers,” Zarkin noted. “We needed to get back to our roots and focused on genuine eye care. Being consistently consistent is the mark of a really good brand. Does the doctor care about me? That’s where the trust is formed. Loyalty is based on trust. It isn’t just about vision. It’s about care.”
That “permission to think differently” when he was hired allowed Zarkin and his team to restore Pearle Vision’s iconic status among its customers as it forges ahead to bigger and brighter horizons.
As a franchisen-drive brand, Pearle Vision focuses on people.
“Marketing is an art and a science,” Zarkin said. “Data is not exciting. What you do with data is exciting. Data doesn’t make decisions. People make decisions. We are the people making the decisions. Marketing will never become an automated decision. What’s really important is the people. We’re a brand that is for people and that cares about people. Success is driven by your ability to create an amazing experience.”
Zarkin noted his definition of value.
“Value equals experience divided by price,” he explained.
Pearle Vision further differentiated itself earlier this year during an ad that launched on Super Bowl Sunday.
“We stepped away from big promotions,” Zarkin said.
Pearle Vision’s Super Bowl ad hit home with a heart-wrenching story about a boy named Ben.
After his grandfather dies, a little boy named Ben begins wearing his glasses to stay close to him. However, the lens prescription is much too strong for Ben and he struggles to see what he’s doing. When Ben completely misses his cup while pouring some orange juice, his parents decide to take him to Pearle Vision for an eye exam. The employee inserts lenses without a prescription into the frames so Ben can continue honoring his grandfather’s memory.
“Consumers need time to process, believe in what you mean, and buy into it,” Zarkin said.
Pearle Vision comprises nearly 600 locations and its overarching goal is to be appreciated at a local level and viewed as the premier neighborhood eye care provider. The brand has succeeded in both roles, given its continued growth and renowned CX practices.
“Trust is built on a series of small moments,” Zarkin said. “We’re not perfect. We’re not there yet, but we’re on our way there.”
In 2015 and 2016, Zarkin and his team received Effie awards for marketing excellence in HealthCare Services Marketing for leading the brand revitalization work at Pearle Vision. His latest work was awarded with a Silver Clio.
“We want our doctors to focus on caring for patients,” Zarkin said. “The past four years have been transformational. We’ve made a lot of good progress and the next five years look epic. We’re out at the end of the tunnel right now and the future looks fantastic.”