Independent optometrists know the importance of building and maintaining a loyal customer base. And having a good marketing strategy for your practice is a great way to build awareness and credibility for your practice to help you gain and maintain new customers.
So, we've rounded up a few of our top practice management and marketing blogs to guide your practice. Read on to see
Practice Management for Optometrists:
6 Marketing Tips to Help You Attain More Customers
1. Marketing Should be Fun
If you aren't having fun with your marketing, it isn't going to be any good. Often times, especially in healthcare, businesses get nervous that showing their personality or having a little fun could come across as unprofessional. This can cause practices to shy away from using marketing platforms like social media. But the truth is, consumers want to feel engaged, and good marketing will make them feel that way.
Use this guide to help you develop content for your social media pages.
2. Look Outside of Your Industry
Don't box yourself in. When it comes to marketing, no one wants to be doing what everyone else is already doing. So be different! Looking outside of optical for marketing ideas is a great exercise. Not only can you pull ideas directly from other successful businesses, but out-of-the-box thinking can spur creativity when brainstorming new marketing campaigns or sales messaging.
This post shows you how to design your practice like Apple designs products.
3. Don't Limit Yourself
Online and offline media are both important aspects of a marketing strategy. And the reality today is that more and more consumers are spending time online. The Internet is a big convenience for consumers and they expect to find your business online. But traditional forms of communication are just as important and should not be replaced with only an online presence.
Here are 10 things your optometry practice website might be lacking.
4. Be Where Your Patients Are
These days there are a ton of different social media platforms that your practice can be present on. But they are only important if your patients are a part of the community, allowing you to share information and put effort into maintaining a consistent presence. So only use the platforms that fit with your practice, because social media is only good if you're engaging with potential patients. If your patients aren't on Twitter, why should you be?
Read our post on how to use social media tools to encourage engagement.
5. Don't be Afraid to Try Something New
There is nothing more boring for consumers than seeing the same thing over and over. So it's important to always think of innovative and new ways to be reaching the market. What can you do for your patients that others can't, and how can you portray that information in a new and exciting way? This means shaking it up with an interactive field day or scavenger hunt, maybe a themed month of discounts, or developing a short and fun video that can be shared on all platforms.
These marketing tactics will stand out from what your competitors are doing.
6. Stop Focusing on Yourself
Marketing used to be all about generating as many impressions as you could by blasting information until it sticks. Now, it's all about making meaningful connections and creating lasting impressions; quality over quantity. Consumers today are immune to "Look at me! Look at me!" marketing messages. To gain the attention of consumers, businesses now have to shift the focus to the customer. Businesses need to be more accessible, more engaged, and offer up content that consumers can use.
Building buyer personas is the best way to customize your sales messaging for your patients.
Want more solutions to your most puzzling marketing challenges? Check out our free OD Handbook: Small Business, Big Profits
