Many small business owners run out of time, or aren't familiar with some of the quick and easy options out there for marketing a business- as a small independent eyecare practice, the same might go for you. You know the importance of marketing, but sometimes it just gets put on the backburner.

We're here to give you 4 simple, but impactful marketing ideas that you can implement in your practice this year.

Tips for ECPs: Make these 4 Marketing Strategies a Priority in Your Practice

Referral Programs

In healthcare, word of mouth referrals are one of the best marketing tactics your practice can take advantage of. If your patients are happy with their experiences in your practice, they'll likely recommend you to other friends and family. Adding a referral program to help encourage word of mouth marketing might give your patients that extra push to spread the word.

Before implementing a referral program in your practice,
we suggest reaching out to your state board or business lawyer to get the details on any legal requirements your state might have for running this type of program. A few ideas to get you thinking about referral rewards in your practice include:

• Visa gift cards
• In office credit rewards
• Branded items like totebags, bottle openers, lunch bags, etc.
• Selection of local business gift cards to choose from (movie theater, ice cream shop, florist, etc.)
• Name entered into monthly drawing for every referral

Community Involvement

In most areas, especially more rural locations, a strong sense of community is important to the people living in the area. The more you can get your practice involved in the community the better. There are a lot of options when it comes to getting involved in the community with things like sponsoring events and sports teams, or by volunteering with local organizations. Sponsorship and attendance at these events is a great way to network and build greater brand awareness.  

State of the Art Website

So much is done online these days, which is why having a modern, state of the art website is an important piece of your practice's marketing puzzle. There's a chance you set up your website years ago and it's been untouched ever since, but the best websites are always changing and updating with new information and pages. Important pieces of your practice's website include call to actions, testimonials, patient education, patient forms, staff introductions, and contact information. Check out these examples of eyecare practice websites we think do a great job of highlighting each of these things. 

Email Marketing

Staying in touch with your patients is an easy way to bring them back into your practice. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Make sure your practice isn't left out of sight. There are plenty of affordable email and newsletter sending services that exist today that your practice can take advantage of to easily send out emails reminding patients of special promotions going on in your practice. You could also use emails to promote those community events that you're sponsoring to help generate a larger turnout. If you're not sure where to start with email marketing to your patients read this post that runs through different options for email service providers.

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This blog was originally posted in September 2016 and updated in September 2022