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Marketing101

by Karlen McLean, ABOC, NCLC

With all of today's high-tech possibilities when it comes to marketing your practice, most agree that there's still nothing like direct contact with a person or a business to create and maintain relationships as well as to increase profits.

So you may want to step away from Facebook or Twitter long enough to get into these three practical, hands-on, proactive ways to reach your patients and community.

1. CALL

Place personal (versus robotic) phone calls, not only to confirm upcoming appointments, but also to inform top-tier patients about new products that would benefit them; to see how they're doing with their new eyewear; and, if the practice hasn't seen them in a while (maybe around two years), to remind them to get their eyes examined.

Be prepared with a short, scripted message for voice mail. If you reach someone live, deliver that same message with a more personal touch.

Target key customers (identified by your computer database) as well as those recognized by your staff. Those staff members who have a solid relationship with the patient can make the call.

2. WRITE

Purchase some professional-looking stationary and have staff members write notes to patients. Topics can range from new products of personal interest to the patient, telling them about a special invitation-only event, or finding out if they have any questions about their eyecare or eyewear. Again, prospects can be pulled from a key patient database, or from staff member recommendations.

3. TALK

When you have the patient physically in front of you, ask not only vision-related questions, but also business-focused ones—and take notes. For example, ask, “How did you find out about us?” If the patient was referred by someone, write down the referrer's name and send a handwritten thank you note to both the new and referring patient. EB