In many eye care practices – both new and established – marketing can be overlooked or under resourced on the path to connecting with patients and day-to-day operations, yet marketing is one of the most important aspects of growing and maintaining any successful business. A powerful strategy for promoting your services includes establishing an online presence, understanding marketing nuances and making decisions based on practice goals. Below, PECAA Marketing Advisor Shelby Wade calls on her extensive marketing experience across a variety of industries to provide insight as the next stop along your PECAA Business Advisory journey.
When It Comes to Marketing, Digital Has It
The first question Wade often asks PECAA members who come to her for marketing advice is, “How’s your online presence?” Specifically, she’s interested in the look, accuracy and navigability of a practice’s website; the content and post frequency on social media pages; and a practice’s Google search ranking, or how high on the page a practice appears after searching for it on Google. The reason? Online is where potential and existing patients are, making it essential to have strong representation when they need eye care services and start looking around – online.
Digital marketing campaigns also help zero in on your target audience wherever they are online, with accurate and timely precision and at a lower cost than traditional advertising – long gone are the days of placing an expensive ad in the newspaper and hoping the right person sees it. Additionally, digital channels provide measurability in comparison to traditional advertising and are, therefore, more effective and sustainable for independents with small budgets. And if your goals or target audience evolves, digital marketing allows for quick changes, keeping the strategy flexible to avoid wasting time and money.
After reviewing a practice’s online presence, Wade provides customized advice and tools to address areas that offer the most opportunity, like a social media content calendar to help kickstart a practice’s Instagram page, for example. She is also a conduit to turnkey services lauded by members, including the PECAA Ads Program, which includes targeted website banner ads, and PECAA vendor partner Marketing4ECPs, a digital marketing agency focused in eye care that can help a practice with everything from website creation to increasing your Google ranking.
But First, It’s About Your Goals
The term “marketing” covers a vast world of possibilities and can make owners feel like they don’t know where to start. Wade helps distill those possibilities down to action steps and has helped many PECAA Max members achieve their goals, with their unique target audience and business objectives in mind.
“One doctor who signed up for PECAA Ads has seen a 20-205% increase in new patients every month since. He credits the surge to PECAA Ads because it’s a turnkey solution that involves minimal staff time to support.” Wade continues, “I’m also working with another doctor on a quarterly basis to discuss her marketing needs. We started off with a blank slate and have added new tactics over time, from updating her website to attending community events. Aside from our check-ins, she occasionally reaches out to share a marketing piece she’d simply like a second set of eyes on, and I’m thankful for the trust I and my fellow Business Advisors have built with PECAA’s members.”
Connect With Us
Engage with the PECAA Business Advisory team for comprehensive practice insights and to invest as little or as much time as your schedule allows. The team is ready to help you optimize the remainder of 2024 and begin planning for 2025.
Enjoy immediate access to expertise in these areas, included with your PECAA Max membership:
- Business Operations
- Finance & Strategy
- Marketing
- Billing & Coding
- Optical Management
PECAA’s Business Advisory Team can help – schedule a call today!
