MUNICH, Germany—Held from Jan. 25 to 27, 2019 the new Opti Showcase in hall C4 will be focused on the optics of the “Customer Journey.” The new Opti Showcase will revolve around all aspects of the customer experience from first contact with a product or company to the purchase and beyond. This special exhibit will be dedicated to marketing for optometry. “The Opti Showcase is a new format at Opti,” said Bettina Reiter, project manager of the trade show.

“Together with experts, we are going to meet annually at this special exhibition area to explore major unfolding trends in the industry. Our objective is to provide trade visitors with ideas and concrete tips enabling them to move their business forward,” Reiter said.

The “Customer Journey” will be presented and explained by experts in special area Hall C4 and will feature best-practice examples and interactive elements. The three pillars of the Customer Journey are Need, Buy and Use and these are the concepts that will shape the new special exhibition area.

Need refers to the touchpoint where customers often encounter a brand or company for the first time. This category will address topics including window design, company websites, press relations, social media and advertising.

Buy represents the purchasing phase which comes once the customer’s attention is caught. The core of this section includes traditional shop concepts, product presentation, employee training, customer service, cross-selling and e-commerce.

The Use concept encompasses customer recommendations, evaluations and experience reports via the internet or word-of-mouth.

"Conventional sales, like five or 10 years ago, do not stand a chance today," said Jan Schemuth, managing director of rpc - The Retail Performance Company in Munich, who will be presenting and shedding light on the Customer Journey at opti FORUM on Saturday. "In those days, traditional forms of advertising brought the customer's attention to a product, who would then come to the shop, receive advice and make a purchase. They now have many more opportunities to obtain information and to eventually buy."

Additionally, the Opti Showcase will include an extra section within the special exhibition called the Strategy space where the focus will be corporate design, marketing positioning, desired target groups, selection of product range as well as the shop’s architectural design.

Guided tours of the special area will start every 30 minutes, in German and in English alternately, led by students from Aalen University of Applied Sciences. Advance registration is not necessary. More special events hosted by opti FORUM include: a lecture on “Digital Transformation” by Jan Schemuth and the subsequent discussion panel on the “Customer Journey” on the Saturday of the show starting at 4:30 p.m.