We spend a lot of time discussing social media as an inexpensive marketing tool for your eyecare practice, but there are some traditional marketing methods that still prove to be strong.

Today, we want to share with you a guest post from Daniel Feldman, CEO of dba designs & communications. In this guest post, Feldman explains how business cards reveal more about your practice than just contact information.

Creating Cards For Your Optical Employees

Over the years, we have spoken with many practice owners whose business cards leave a lot to be desired. Even in this hyper digital age, that 3.5” x 2” piece of paper says a lot about who you are and what you do.

When you are introduced to someone professionally, you almost always exchange business cards. In fact, there is an old lesson about always handing out two cards, so they keep one and forward the 2^nd to a friend or colleague. The better looking your card is, the more people pay attention to it. My business cards tend to get a lot of “oooh’s” and “ahhh’s” when I hand them out. Yes, they are fancier and a bit more expensive than traditional business cards, but people like my cards and they will keep them, which makes the expense well worth it.

Your business card is a personal introduction to your business. Is your practice boring and unimaginative? Then, your black lettering on white card stock might be well worth the couple of pennies you spent on it. Is your practice the culmination of years of work selecting the right location, décor, and product mix? Then your business card might want to demonstrate that same attention to detail. As a marketer, I can’t stress enough the importance of taking the time and effort to spend a couple of extra cents per card to showcase your practice in the light you wish to be perceived by a stranger.

Almost as important as your card design, is who you print cards for. Far too many practices print business cards just for the owners, managers, or the optometrists, and almost never for the opticians, let alone the support staff. A box of 500 cards should cost you less than $25 per person. Out of 500 cards, how many exams do you think you get? 10? 25? 50? 100? How many pairs of eyeglasses might you sell from handing out 500 cards? 10? 25? 50? 100? Even if you only made 10 appointments and sold only 10 pair of eyeglasses with each box of business cards over a year, you could add anywhere from $3,000 to $6,000 to your net sales. Not a bad return on a $25 investment, huh?

Every single one of your employees is a living breathing asset for your practice. Do they know you value them, or are you one of those employers who thinks they should just be happy having a job working for you? Of course you value your employees and know that something as simple as business cards can demonstrate that value in ways that pay you back big time. If every employee were to hand out 500 business cards over the course of a year or two, you could be adding thousands if not more to your annual income.

Need more business tips? We created an OD's Guide to Small Business. Download it here.

Originally published in May 2015. Updated in May 2022.