When business professionals discuss product marketing in general, that can include anything from competitor intelligence to product-specific emails to surveying customers about product improvements. In optometry, we would consider product marketing to include descriptions and organization of frames or other dispensary items as well as sales and promotional messaging of your practice overall. Every eyecare practice should invest a bit of time every month creating product marketing content, especially pieces they can automatically send to patients.
Today we’re going to focus on a few creative ways that writing or producing product marketing content can be a relevant and necessary move for your optometry practice.
Why ODs Should Create Product Marketing
Product Descriptions That Tell a Story
We’ve covered how to write an effective frame description in the past, but we’re going to take this practice further. In addition to describing each frame’s selling points and relevance, you can put yourself in place of your customers when organizing your products. Tell a story by linking relevant products and possibly promoting bundles. For example, you can launch an email campaign that targets patients who work remotely with blue light lenses, lubrication drops, dry eye screenings, and a blog on how to reduce eye strain. Then, you can create a discounted bundle of these products for different frame styles and give them “personas.”
E-Commerce with an Instagram Shop
Have you ever used the shopping feature on Instagram? Business accounts can list products on their Instagram account and tag their products in the photos they post for immediate purchase. This effectively turns into an online optical dispensary that you can promote with beautiful, targeted product photos. Make sure you’re listing frames that would appeal to frequent users on Instagram, such as millennials, stay-at-home parents, or those who work from home. Then, you can photograph the frames on their own in a “styled space,” such as on a nightstand or next to a computer, as well as on a real-life model to show the fit. You’ll be able to track how many people are viewing and purchasing your products to see which ones are more popular, which listings you might need to update, and you can pay to promote posts on feeds.
Pre-Exam Email
Before your patients even enter your practice for their annual exam, you can send them an email template you’ve created that includes the benefits of buying from your dispensary. Include the value of going with doctor-recommended quality lenses and frames, provide information for pickup procedures, and include any free adjustments or perks that you offer. We encourage you to keep the email packed with information, but brief with 2-3 unique selling points and a link to browse if you have any online product information. If your patients have already read this email before their exam, you’ve given them the information they need. You can even turn this into a flyer that you post up near your front desk to remind patients. At the very least, this will encourage them to browse your dispensary before searching for other options.
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