We are all aware of the nuts and bolts of marketing, right? If you want to promote your optical store effectively, acquire new clients, and grow the businesses you have to market yourself. In its most basic form, there’s not a lot to it! Marketing is simply getting the word out to increase awareness of you and your brand.
Most of us have developed our own set of marketing activities that we tend to return to overtime. Activities that may or may not be as successful as we’d like, but activities we are comfortable doing. If you spend most of your marketing focus doing the same old thing, though, you may not only be boring your audience, but you could be wasting serious time and money.
When it comes down to marketing it’s like every other activity you focus on in your business. While you want to have systems and processes in place to make it cost and time-efficient, you need to analyze your actions to make sure you’re business is hitting the mark. And it’s easy to get stuck in a marketing rut.
We are going to share with you 5 ways to dominate marketing for your optical business!
Subtle, Yet Consistent Branding
Start to develop a consistent, but subtle optical brand across all of your marketing channels. This will help eliminate any confusion potential or existing patients might have. You want your patients to be able to distinguish your logos, color schemes, name, and slogan. Your marketing materials like brochures, business cards, optical newsletters, social media accounts, and more should all share the same brand messaging.
Have You Gone Social Yet?
Social media marketing is one of the most powerful marketing strategies for optical shops. If you haven’t already signed up for Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, then you might be missing out on patients. It’s free to use and you’ll be able to stay connected and interact with existing patients as well as create new relationships.
Just like your brand, you must also be consistent with your social media channels. Make sure you stay up-to-date and maintain your social media pages. If you want to show off your brand’s personality and promote new eyewear products, then get social!
Paid Ads
PPC (Pay Per Click) advertisement is an effective and instant method to increase traffic to your site and generate more business for your optical shop. With PPC advertising your optical shop will appear on search engines like Google, Youtube, and Bing. These advertisements provide online users with product information or services they are looking for in their search query.
Targeted ads can help you attract your ideal patients as well as rank at the top of Google’s first page for frame replacement, lens tinting, contact lens fittings, repairs, adjustments, designer frames, and other specialty services you offer.
Communication
Email marketing, a great form of communication, can lead to the acquisition of new patients, create loyalty with your existing patients, increase average revenue per patient, and help to reduce your overall marketing costs. You want to email your optical patients monthly about newsletters, announcing special offers, updates at your optical shop, new equipment or new staff members, new blog posts, contests, and giveaway announcements.
Website Call To Action
An important part of your optical website is your calls to action (CTAs). It is recommended to have one – and only one – CTA per page. These CTAs prompt users to take action. In the optician world, this can be used to get patients to call for a frame-fitting appointment or book one online. It can also be used for promotions, such as “fill out this form and get 50% off your first pair of designer frames.” And by them filling out the form, they are now in your database and you can keep up the communication with them via email.
