A conversation with Dominique Peters and Patrick De Jonge from CRMoptics, the first free player in the market of software for opticians.
CRMoptics is a new player in the software market for opticians. They believe that software should be free for opticians. "Every optician should have access to the same marketing tools as the large chains," according to Dominique Peters and Patrick De Jonge.
belgoptic.be: Can I get straight to the point? Your software is free, how is this possible? Let's be honest, free doesn't really exist... what's the catch?
Dominique: Free doesn't really exist. Our software is free for independent opticians because we have advertising space in the bottom-left corner of our program. Eyewear, lens, and glasses manufacturers can use this advertising space to showcase their new collections, announce promotions, increase brand awareness, and so on. Through this revenue model, manufacturers pay for the advertising space, allowing us to offer the software for free to opticians.
belgoptic.be: Isn't the advertising space distracting?
Patrick: No, certainly not, we've put a lot of thought into that. The advertising space is located in the bottom-left corner of the software. We also don’t use pop-ups. If opticians prefer to use the software without ads, that's also possible for 200 euros per month. We notice that the majority of our opticians choose the sponsored free version. Most opticians actually find the targeted ads interesting.
belgoptic.be: Is there a lot of interest from manufacturers to advertise through your software?
Patrick: The optician uses our software daily: registering eye measurements, printing sales invoices, adding stock, and so on. Manufacturers come into daily contact with their specific target audience through our advertising space. This way, they can increase brand awareness, announce promotions, and so on. Such targeted ads are very interesting. We already have several manufacturers working with us. The more opticians use our software and the more manufacturers collaborate with us, the more targeted and efficient it becomes for everyone.
belgoptic.be: How did you come up with this idea?Dominique: I lived in the United States for 5 years before moving back to Ghent last year. In the U.S., there's software for doctors that works in the same way: free software with ad space, for example from pharmaceutical companies. As many as 42% of all doctors in the U.S. use this free software. I thought it was a great idea. It's a win-win situation!
belgoptic.be: You came back to Belgium with this idea, but what is your connection to the optical sector? Why did you apply this idea to it?
Dominique: I find the healthcare or medical sector very interesting. In the U.S., I was active in the medical software industry. Before I moved to America, I co-founded Trustteam in Kortrijk. With Trustteam, we developed software for occupational health services. I knew I wanted to do something in the medical or healthcare sector. After speaking with several opticians, I felt a lot of dissatisfaction. I heard the same story so many times: they have an old program that is no longer supported, but they are paying a maintenance contract that has tripled in price over the years. "What are we actually paying for?" they wondered. People were really unhappy!
belgoptic.be: Eventually, the optical sector is very specific, where do you get your knowledge from?
Dominique: I knew I wanted to create a good and affordable solution for the optical sector. Affordable has now become free, but I’m not an optician by training. During my search, I met my co-founder Patrick. He has more than 12 years of experience in the optical sector. He had already developed software for opticians as a side project and knows the industry inside and out. His customers were also dissatisfied with the situation at that time. Patrick wanted to do something about it. That’s why we decided to join forces. And that's how CRMoptics was born.
belgoptic.be: On your website, it says "less costs, more revenue for the optician." Less costs is clear, but more revenue?
Patrick: We have built an integration in our software that makes it easy for opticians to follow up with customers via postcards. When someone buys glasses, they automatically receive a beautiful, personalized card a month later to thank them for their purchase. After a year, the same customer might receive an invitation for a free cleaning. Two years after the purchase, they get a voucher for a free eye test in the mail, and so on. This type of marketing and customer loyalty can be fully automated through our software. The optician selects the different stages and timings that suit them, and everything happens automatically. The optician pays 2.38 euros per postcard. No more hassle with designing cards, printing them, exporting customer data, printing labels, sticking stamps, etc. Customers really appreciate this and return to the optician much faster, which leads to higher revenue. In short, this approach pays for itself!
belgoptic.be: You’ve been selected for the accelerator program The Birdhouse in Ghent. Why did you join this program?
Patrick: The Birdhouse is one of the strongest accelerators in Flanders. They bring start-ups with an innovative idea together with very experienced mentors. With their years of experience, these mentors help your company to get better, they save you from some mistakes or pitfalls because they have already made them themselves. Of the 857 entries, only 15 companies were allowed to start. We are very happy that they have selected CRMoptics. The group of mentors includes ex-directors of Microsoft and Cisco, usually they have also started companies themselves. You can learn a lot from that.
belgoptic.be: You say you lived in America. What is the difference between doing business in America and in Belgium?
Dominique: Customer experience. In America, if the customer is not satisfied, they get their money back. This applies to both purchasing goods in a store and dining at a restaurant. Customer satisfaction is something that is very important in the U.S. Most opticians complain about poor support. They don't get a response to a help request, but they still receive a bill for support and maintenance every month. Unthinkable in America! Every optician would ask for and get their money back! After all, they've paid for a service but didn't receive the promised support. When Americans are dissatisfied with something like their software, they immediately switch to another provider.
belgoptic.be: What have you learned from your experiences in America?
Dominique: Talk to and listen to your customers. America is a very large continent, so direct customer contact is not always easy. However, Americans have much more customer interaction. They regularly call or email their customers to ask about their satisfaction with the service or product. This is part of their business culture. Here in Belgium, we can definitely learn from this.
belgoptic.be: Why did you move back to Belgium?
Dominique: I moved to San Francisco in 2012 with my wife. At that time, we didn't have children, so it felt like 'now or never.' Five years later, after a great adventure and two kids, we felt it was time to be closer to our family and friends. You can also appreciate all the beauty of Belgium.