Optometric Practice Management and the Internet

Consider two ways of looking at optometric practice management:

One practice looks at it in terms of what’s worked in the past for acquiring and retaining patients. Assuming an “If it’s not broken, why fix it?” mentality, they continually return to ads in the Yellow Pages, newspapers, and on the radio to get the word out.

Another practice relies on the same means of advertising to a point, but has added a new dimension to their optometric practice management. This practice is increasingly moving toward communicating with patients over the Internet. They maintain regular contact with patients via e-mail and have a great-looking website with printable coupons and free eye care advice.

Any idea which practice is most likely to gain new customers in today’s competitive marketplace? I think it’s pretty obvious: the second one. Using the Internet to build your optometry practice is of immense importance when growing your practice.

But what is the best way to use the Internet to your advantage? Here are some tips that will get you started.

Growing your practice in today’s competitive marketplace is no easy task. Traditional means of getting the

• Write a periodic newsletter and send it to patients via e-mail.

• Build a better website. Include special offers to visitors, and offer them the opportunity to sign up for you e-newsletter.

• Ask visitors to return. It’s amazing what a simple, “Thank you, come again!” will do for your optometric practice management. Courtesy counts.

• Ask for a referral. In other words, if you can tell a patient is happy with the service you’ve provided, see if they can’t recommend some of their friends, relatives, or co-workers to visit you. Make things easier by handing them a few extra business cards for good measure.

One thing to remember about the e-newsletter: federal spam legislation now requires permission from the people to whom you intend to send your messages. Your patients have to agree to get e-mails from you. By creating an “opt-in” for these patients, you’re following the guidelines and showing your courtesy at the same time.

Want to market to your current patient base effectively? Following the practice management suggestions listed above will get you on the right path.

Increasing Revenue With A Modern Optometric Marketing Plan

You want to increase revenue, but how? The answer is simple, really: enhance your optometric marketing plan. Okay, but how do you do that?

A clue lies in the habits of today’s young people. They spend more time surfing the Internet than they do reading magazines, watching TV, or readings newspapers. But what does this mean for your practice, and your optometric marketing in general?

Simply put, the traditional marketing strategies employed by optometrists—reaching patients through the yellow pages and radio and television advertisements—are on their way out. If you want to reach customers in today’s day and age, you have to use the Internet. You can still use those traditional methods to connect with patients—in fact, some of them might still expect it, to some degree—but no contemporary optometric marketing plan is complete without using the Internet.

Your first stop should be Google. It’s the most popular search engine, and it’s how people will find you. Your website needs to be one of the first a prospective patient sees when he or she is looking for an optometrist in your area. Additionally, you should make sure that your website is listed in dmoz.org and Yahoo directories. Bottom line: if your patients can find you, they’re more likely to call you and make an appointment.

As far as your website goes, put up some interesting optometry-related articles that you think your patients would like to read. Send out an e-newsletter with coupons and an interesting article or two. You can then increase traffic to your website by taking your newsletters and placing them on article database sites like e-zinearticles.com.

Strategies like these are easy to implement and will make a big difference. The sooner you’re up on the web in a noticeable way, the quicker your optometric marketing plan will take flight.

Making Your Optometric Website Work for your Patients

There are many “traditional” ways your patients might find out about you: the Yellow Pages, a recommendation from a friend, or they might notice your practice while walking or driving around town. These ways still work. However, today’s competitive marketplace also demands that you have a strong Web presence. Why? Because it brings in customers. Simply put, your optometric website should be one of the primary means of expanding your customer base.

Getting new patients through the door is easier said than done, though—even if you are using the Internet. Following some simple principles will help your optometric website get you the results you’re looking for.

Keep it user-friendly. Think about other professional websites you like. What do they do well? Chances are that they all make it easy to find what you’re looking for. Make sure your website does the same. Your patients should be able to find your location and hours, schedule exams, and locate other relevant, interesting information easily.

Think locally. In other words, target a local audience. Your town or area name and the name of your practice should appear prominently on your homepage. Your street address and a map to your practice will help patients find you. Including this information also helps search engines link you with your area. You can also register your website with Google Maps and Yahoo! Local to maximize your visibility on the Internet.

Be patient-centered. This means including contact forms or an e-mail address so that patients can reach you and your staff over the Internet. Given the instantaneous nature of e-mail, replies are likely to be timely as well—a definite plus when dealing with patients who want quick answers.

Make it engaging. Offer information that your patients are looking for, either on your website or as part of a newsletter that you send via e-mail. Topics you should consider include eye healthcare, eyeglass fashion, and contact lens hygiene (among many others). Information like this can help your patients make important decisions—all by way of the Internet!

A final tip: Be sure to include your web address in all of your other marketing material. This ensures maximum exposure for your optometric website. Offering discounts and electronic coupons to potential patients who visit your website never hurt either!

Outperforming the Competition in the Optometric Marketplace

The optometric marketplace is a competitive one. No matter how long you’ve been in business—and no matter how strong of a relationship you have with your patients—the fact is that there will always be someone trying to do it better and more efficiently than you. If you’re worried about losing your patient base to local competitors, you should consider optometric marketing.

Healthcare reimbursements from insurance companies are decreasing, but costs are still going up. Reshaping your business strategies to reflect this reality is a must. Your business can surpass your competition by creating and seeing out an optometric marketing plan.
What kinds of things does the term “marketing” bring to mind? Do you think of radio and television ads and other media that come at a hefty price? These traditional forms of advertising are effective, but also expensive. There are simpler—not to mention cheaper—ways to get your message out.

You already have the most crucial part of an effective marketing strategy right in front of you: your current patients. To begin with, you should be sure you’ve got staff large enough to accommodate your client base. Secondly, give them an experience that will ensure return visits.

When you’ve got patients returning on a regular basis, you’re ready for the next step: asking them for patient referrals. While not seeming pushy, ask your current returning patients if they’ll recommend you to their friends and family. Satisfied customers refer other people, and if your patients have a good opinion of you, they’ll do the same! If a patient seems willing to give you referrals, handing them a few of your business cards never hurt, either.

Your patients return to you because you show your concern for them. They will refer other patients to you—their friends and family—because they know you’ll show them the same consideration. Make sure you keep your new patients on with you by keeping in contact with them after their visits. While they are in for an appointment, make sure that they receive a free copy of your newsletter.

A focused optometric marketing campaign is the best way to grow your practice—but it is only as good as the people and ideas behind it. If your employees aren’t on board with your vision, you won’t see the growth you’d hoped for. Make sure that your employees are friendly and caring toward your patients. A little customer service goes a long way

Expanding Your Business through Optometric Marketing

A successful optometry practice requires a solid client base. If you’re happy with that number of patients you currently have, you might be surprised to find out how many more you could have with a few tweaks to your optometric marketing. In any case, sitting back and assuming you’ll always have the same number of patients is the wrong thing to do.

More patients means more success—it’s as simple as that. Your competition knows this, and it’s your job to attract new business before they do. A solid optometric marketing campaign is the best way for you to take on—and keep—new clients.

You might be concerned that since you’re not a large practice, you lack the resources necessary to carry out such a campaign. Don’t worry. As a small practice, you bring the one thing to your clients that larger practices simply can’t: individual attention. And with the advent of the Internet, you can work to get your name just as visible as some of the large healthcare practices.

As a small practice, you are in a unique position. You can offer your patients all the benefits of a large practice without sacrificing the personalized attention that makes you stand out among the crowd. As your practice grows, keep the following tips in mind so that your practice will always retain that “small” feel.

• Make sure that each patient feels special. Your patients are your most important assets; treat them accordingly.

• Make sure you have enough staff. As your practice grows, add doctors and administrative staff as needed to handle the expansion.

• Offer additional services. Observe other practices to see what they offer their patients. Are they offering services that their patients value? Are you offering those same services? Keep up the innovation—adding new services to your optometric practice is a great way to grow your business.

• Use technology to your advantage. Using technology wisely can be a great way to keep expenses down. Though you should be adding staff when necessary, technology can in some cases “replace” employees, and thus keep your costs at a minimum.

Including optometric marketing in your practice is great way to expand your business while retaining the advantages of a small practice. Growing your business doesn’t have to mean sacrificing the things that built your client base in the first place.

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