NEW YORK—Do you know how customer and patient priorities have changed in the past 18 months? Are you clear on how to recapture their loyalty, connect with their concerns and recalibrate your connections to them? Experts who have been talking to consumers are going to share how consumer behavior has already changed and illuminate how patient preferences are realigning. And, a special panel of independent optometrists, opticians and retail execs are going to discuss what they've witnessed in the past 18 months and how they've been rethinking their own tactics and approach during "ALL-CONSUMING: A Deep Dive into The New Consumer Mindset," the focus of the Aug. 11 VM Leadership Summit session, the second in a multi-event series this year. 

VM's Aug. 11 Virtual Summit Session follows the highly-rated VirtualEYES! event VM Leadership Summit this year that delved into teleoptometry's traction and reimbursement trends.  Registration for the Aug. 11 ALL-CONSUMING session includes on-demand access to the June 23 VirtualEYES! event as well. Registration includes both virtual broadcasts, full access to the VM Summit virtual platform, networking, on-demand viewing, door prizes, and exclusive access to attendees-only content after the event. Optometrists, opticians, ophthalmologists and students can register for no charge. All other industry registration is $99. Registration and other program details are posted here.
 
On Aug. 11, to be initially broadcast from 3:00 p.m. ET to 5:00 p.m. ET, attendees will gain a big picture perspective from some insightful speakers and then listen as ECPs discuss the trends and share how they've reacted and adjusted.  
 
The program will include a welcome and insights about today's patients and consumers emerging from the pandemic from VM's Marge Axelrad and Andrew Karp. 
 
Attendees will learn from a novel approach to consumer research illuminating many new preferences and behaviors from John Dick, founder and CEO of Civic Science, a technology and market intelligence company based in Pittsburgh. He will bring a fast and forward-looking examination of market intelligence to talk about the ways "The Consumer's Behavior Has Already Changed."
 
Stephanie Clarke, VP of Red Havas, one of the largest communication agencies in the world, will share perspectives about the rise of e-commerce and the rapid developments among social media platforms to become a new type of purchasing channel.
 
"The Patient Will See You Now" will be a chat with Destry Sulkes, MD, who is a well-known health care observer and influencer about the advent of technology. He is executive VP of Klick Health.
 
These speakers will be followed by a special conversation and panel, "Capturing the Imagination and Loyalty of Today's Patients."  Matt Alpert, OD,  Alpert Vision Care, Los Angeles who will be guiding a 45-50 minute "conversation" with five very distinctive, accomplished eyecare professionals, independents, representing different types of approaches but all with a singular view of how they are managing their business and sharing what they've noticed about changing consumer and patient priorities since the pandemic. Panel participants include:

With the first VM Leadership Summit session focusing on expanding boundaries among eyecare practices and the second examining new attitudes among consumers and patients, the theme of "Creative Disruption" will be taken up in the third component of VM's 2021 Summit—a  live, in-person VM Leadership Summit to be held on Sept. 22 in Las Vegas, just prior to the launch of Vision Expo West. That session will be called "Retail & Healthcare: UPENDED! Ripping Up The Rulebook" and will examine new business models coming onstream. Details about that program and registration info will be posted soon.
 
 
The Platinum Sponsors of the 2021 VM Leadership Summit are EssilorLuxottica and VSP Global Premier Program. The Gold Sponsor is The Vision Council's Vision Health Alliance and the Silver Sponsors are Alcon and Ocuco.