The Dry Eye Zone is celebrating its 3-year anniversary this week! Seems like a short time, but an awful lot has happened, so I thought I would take a little time to reflect on some of the changes over these last three years.
THEN
The Dry Eye Shop was somewhere between false labor and the real thing back in February of 2005.... And it was all about Dr. Holly's Drops.
The original purpose for The Dry Eye Shop was simply as a way for people to buy Dr. Holly's Drops once again the way they were intended - as a commercially produced, over-the-counter product. Only, of necessity, this time they would at least initially be sold over the VIRTUAL counter. For the whole history of how I got involved with those drops, click here. Suffice to say, taking those drops and re-launching them on a commercial basis was quite a project.
In February 2005... the manufacturer was working on the first production run. I was running around like crazy trying to take care of a thousand things from designing labelling to checking out ecommerce software packages to planning booths at medical meetings. As a total newcomer to this type of business and with little but willpower and wits to help me, it was what I'd call an 'interesting' time.
NOW
I'm happy to report that Dr. Holly's Drops are still alive and well despite many challenges and setbacks along the way - and possibly a few yet to come - but I'm doing my darnedst to keep those invaluable tools on the market long-term.
But the Dry Eye Shop is thriving and headed in directions I never conceived of three years ago.
We're nearing 100 products and covering many types of consumer and optical categories including:
- Lid hygiene products
- Night moisture goggles, sleep masks, and tapes to seal the lids shut
- "Moisture chamber" eyewear for daytime
- Warm compresses, cool compresses
- Omega 3 EFA supplements
- Books
- Supplies for Boston Scleral lens users
But what is so unique about The Dry Eye Shop is the concept. I think it can probably best be described as a sort of "personal shopper" for dry eye patients. I keep my eyes open for anything and everything that could help dry eye patients, from mainstream products like Tranquileyes that have proven valuable to so many types of patients to obscure items like a pink hairstyling tape that just so happens to work very nicely for taping lids shut without ripping off your eyelashes. A great deal of the products you see in the Shop are things that our community members at DryEyeTalk have mentioned now and then, or that people calling in have told me about. So it's a real community effort. And this is vital because no two dry eye patients are alike!
So, just as important as the products themselves is the collection of information about who they are useful for and how to use them. When I first started the shop, I at least attempted to use something akin to the usual somewhat generic descriptions on the items we stock. This gradually evolved into a more personalized description over the years and the response to that was so positive that now that's the approach I take with almost all products: What was it like for me to use? What do I like best about it? What do I DISlike (honestly) about it? What are its strengths and limitations? What kind of people are most likely to benefit - and for those that it might not suit, what other options do they have?
Another major change I've gone through over the years with the Shop is how I've related to "The Shop" vs. "The Zone".
When I first got started, I wanted to make sure DryEyeZone was an information center - PERIOD - and in no danger of being considered an infomercial for Dr. Holly's drops. In retrospect, this was part backlash against manufacturer websites (I always thought it was an interesting coincidence that Allergan's "Chronic dry eye" website was launched within a few months of The Dry Eye Zone) and part paranoia: Would people really be willing to believe that my passion is for helping, not selling?
I can think of three distinct things that have changed my attitude about this over the years.
One, the sad reality that I need to sell stuff to keep the company and the websites going. I think observers could probably get a good chuckle over how the product links on DEZ' home page... once relegated to the bottom... have gradually crept higher.
Two, something I've been very slow to both realize and embrace: People really WANT "stuff" and tucking away in a corner is not doing them any favors. Goop and gear... these are so often the things that can improve quality of life for us. Why be shy about it?
Three, I suppose I've just gained confidence that people can figure out for themselves whether I'm here to help or exploit. It stands to reason, anyway. If I wanted to make money, I could think of many far smarter, more efficient ways to do it (grin).
In short, it's been an exciting transformation and is ongoing. Someday, perhaps, The Dry Eye Company will stumble into actual profitability, and in the meantime, I'm learning a lot and enjoying it tremendously. Always open to YOUR suggestions for products to consider, so don't hesitate to send suggestions.
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