Using your website to expand your client base

Optometric websites need to be accessible and professional to get the results you want—in other words, to reach out to, inform, educate, and generally make life easier for current and potential customers. While a simple website is better than no website at all, a dynamic, visually enticing, and user-friendly website can significantly increase your customer base. Here are some tips I’ve gleaned from optometric websites that do it right:

Usability is key. How user-friendly is your website? This should be at the front of your mind, especially given your profession. As an optometrist, a significant number of your patients likely have some kind of vision impairment. Is the “look” of your site helping them? Make sure that the appearance of your site won’t alienate current and potential customers.

Think like a patient. Include everything you’d expect to find if you were a patient. Amazingly enough, some websites leave out crucial information such as hours, directions, and services offered. Don’t be one of these websites. Go the extra mile by soliciting feedback prior to your website going “live.” This way, you can make sure you’re not missing anything.

Give some history. This is a great way to build trust with your patients. Include some general information about your practice, like how it started. Biographies of key staff are also a nice touch.

Make it public. Do people know about you? If not, you can use the internet to resolve this issue. Get your name out there through savvy search engine optimization—in other words, build your site so that you have a chance of appearing when someone searches for “YourTown Optometrist” in Google or Yahoo. If you don’t know how to do this, Google “search engine optimization” for a start. You should also consider buying some pay-per-click advertising to drive other traffic to your site. In a short time, you’ll be able to tell which ads are most cost-effective.

Offer incentives to visit. Your patients should know about your website and have reasons to check it out. Including special offers, an opt-in newsletter, and other services will go a long way to making this happen. If you offer coupons on your website, for instance, they can’t get lost like their paper counterparts. This is a cost-effective way to reach out to your customers.

Push the envelope. Offering “extras” through special features on your website is a definite plus. Think about what your client base would benefit from, and make it happen on your website. Perhaps it’s an interactive feature like a glasses suggestion tool, or real-time online appointment scheduling. Your patients will greatly appreciate such creative—and helpful—flourishes.

Optometric websites can be many things. At their best, they can help you build your client base and secure a vibrant future for your practice. Take a look at your website today and ask yourself: Am I giving my customers what they want?

Realizing Your Marketing Plan through Online Advertising

Q: How can I use online advertising to expand my practice?

A: It’s easier than you think.

Marketing is a crucial part of any optical practice management plan, and with the Internet we have one of the most powerful tools ever created for putting our plans into action. More than with radio, television, and newspapers, you can use the Internet to harness broad-based yet extremely efficient advertising methods that will significantly enhance your practice. If you haven’t tried it yet, you should.

When optical practice management teams use traditional marketing methods—radio, television, and newspapers, as mentioned above—they miss out on a world of potential contacts. And that’s to say nothing of the cost of traditional advertising. Radio, television, and newspaper are simply more expensive. While these methods do reach customers, you can reach just as many people for a fraction of the cost with Internet advertising. That’s an opportunity to jump at.

No tool is better-suited than the Internet for reaching existing clients, past clients, and potential future clients. Online advertising is a 21st-century way of tackling a 20th-century issue—namely: I have a business, and I want clients for my business. How will I attract clients to my business?

The best way to advertise your practice on the Internet is through your own website. Make sure your patients know your URL and that your site is attractive and easily navigable. Collect patients’ e-mail addresses so you can send them updates that link back to your site, and watch as your number of daily visits increases.

Putting your marketing plan into action has never been easier. By spicing up your website, using business cards effectively, and getting patients’ e-mail contacts and communicating with them electronically, you will be well on your way to modernizing your practice and attracting new customers in the process. Who said optical management practice had to be difficult?