Although it may not always be top of mind, marketing for your optometry practice is vital for long term profitability. Your journey to become an optometrist was not as easy one. You had to earn a bachelor’s degree in pre-med or biological sciences, pass the Optometry Admission Test (OAT), graduate from a Doctor of Optometry (O.D.) program, pass the National Board of Examiners’ Optometry exam, and then finally, become licensed in your selected state. After accomplishing all these things, you then decide to take a big step and open your own practice. This is often where the reality sets in that if your practice is not profitable, you can start having some real big problems on your hands.

You must begin attracting patients, and quickly, or all of your hard work may not pay off. Without you implementing the proper marketing for optometrists, or working with the right optometry marketing company, your practice will not survive. To prevent this possibility, it is important to keep in mind that while many optical marketing ideas simply will not work for your practice, there are a handful of powerful marketing strategies for optometrists that will ensure your practices long term profitability and success. According to Google, the search term “optometry how to get new patients” is growing in search volume, indicating it’s becoming tougher and tougher to acquire the new patients your practice needs.

Eye care marketing (or ecp marketing), is something that you will have to do for the life of your practice in some way, shape, or form. The tactics and strategies that we implement for our clients are among the best marketing for optometrists working today. Especially when it comes to digital marketing for optometrists.If you are not investing in eye care marketing ideas and tactics that will consistently bring new patients that book an eye exam with you, your practice will get eaten alive by those that do. An eye doctor who invests in online marketing strategies is stealing new patients from competitors 24 hours a day 7 days a week.At the very least you should do a search for marketing plan for optometrists and start there. Practices that invest in marketing will always do better than those that run a “cheap and cheerful” practice.

Below is a list of some strategies that work well, and some that don’t so you don’t waste your money.

• Eyecare Websites: One of the first things you should do is create a website. With an increasing use of technology, everyone is pulling out their cellular devices or going on a computer to search for eye care providers in their area. Your website is “ground zero” for all other marketing that you do. If your website is insufficient, so too will be the rest of your marketing efforts. We create some of the best optometry websites you will see today.
• Optometry SEO: SEO is extremely important because when someone goes online to find an eyecare provider, they will either find your practice first, or your competitors. You will want your website to rank high in the search results to attract new patients who want to book eye exams.
• Google My Business Listing (GMB): When completely filled out and properly optimized.
• Pay-Per-Click (PPC): Pay-per-click Google ads should be included as part of an overall marketing strategy. If set up properly, Google Adwords can have you acquiring new patients in less than 7 days with a budget that you set.
• Collecting Reviews: Reviews are very crucial to your practice. Every single person who looks for an eyecare provider online will immediately go to the review section to see what others have said. Your goal is to get five star reviews and recommendations from your patients.
• Recall programs: This is the process of sending out “reminders” to your current patient database when they are due for their annual eye exam or some other visit.

• Direct Mail – In today’s world most people have the majority of all important communications sent to them electronically. Bills, statements, payments, banking information, etc is all done online. Most mailboxes are filled with nothing but junk mail and consumers know it. Most sort their mail on the way in from the mailbox and pitch it in the trashcan before it ever makes it into the house. While there are some ways to make direct profitable, most practices do not do it correctly so we advise against it.
• Print Media
• Radio- While people are driving, they may be listening to the radio and may hear an ad about your practice. However, you are paying for “air-time” meaning that even if more than half the people listening to the ad don’t need your services, you are still paying for them to hear it. It is also very difficult to track your return on investment.
• Billboard- A billboard sign is one of the oldest marketing tactics still around. While people pass your billboard and maybe even think it looks good or is funny, etc, again, you are paying for “eyeballs” (no pun intended). Even if more than half the people seeing your ad don’t need your services, you are still paying for them to see it. It is also very difficult to track your return on investment.
• Television commercials- Television commercials are also an old marketing tool that has been used for a long time. However, much like radio and billboard you are paying to market to people who won’t need your services. It’s expensive, and difficult to track your return.

If you don’t have the budget, have more time than money, or are more a “do it yourself” kind of person request the “Ultimate A-Z Online Marketing Blueprint to Book More Eye Exams, Help More Patients, and Make More Money by clicking here. We reveal the exact strategies we use with our clients and share how you can implement them in your business.

If you have more money than time and want us to implement all of the strategies for you, either schedule a time to talk with an ECP marketing specialist, or learn more. Thank you for checking out Optometry Marketing Success and we look forward to hearing from you!