By now, most of us are familiar with online reviews and understand their reach and influence, particularly on Google, Facebook, and Yelp. As a marketing consultant at IDOC, I work with optometry practice owners and managers to increase the number of new patients at the practice, retain... Read more

Let’s say one day after an exam and a visit in your optical, a patient reviews their experience on your Google business listing and Yelp.

The review includes many details which makes it clear to anyone reading that they visited the practice, had an exam, and worked with an optician.... Read more

If your optometry practice is currently closed due to COVID-19, there are certain updates you should make on the listing to communicate to your community the temporary change in your practice operations. Google has prioritized the “Read more

If you’ve temporarily closed or truncated the hours of operation at your optometry practice after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that people delay routine eye care exams, please update your community by communicating the short-term changes through these... Read more

On a chilly January Sunday in Atlanta (where I live), my sister texted me this picture of a line going out the door of what looked like an old warehouse. She and many others were eagerly awaiting to enter the building for an anniversary sale to be held from 11am – 4pm, one day only.... Read more

Instagram can have a real impact on growing awareness for your independently owned optometry practice in your community. 

It’s primarily a visual medium where you can tell your independent brand story through images and videos, and it’s a very popular daily... Read more

Social media, online reviews and a well-performing website are all great tools in a good marketing plan for an optometrist in private practice, but the most successful practices understand that delivering remarkable service to their patients is the cornerstone of their marketing... Read more

Back to school season is a busy time for families, but we know an eye exam for their children should be a priority on the list of things to do. As a marketing consultant for optometrists in private practice, the topic of back to school marketing and promotions comes up in conversations with... Read more

A good marketing plan for your optometry practice should include opportunities to meet people in your community, face to face. Time spent engaging in the right kind of community involvement for the practice is a valuable investment in building your brand.

While promoting your... Read more

Facebook maintains its top spot amongst social media channels in 2019, particularly among people ages mid-thirties to early sixties in the United States. Facebook is designed to encourage people to connect with the people they know in their “real” lives – friends, classmates, neighbors, family... Read more

Before you read this article, take three seconds and Google the name of your practice.

If you’re on a desktop computer, don’t click on your website in the search results; instead, look at the image and name of your practice on the right-hand side of the screen. That’s your free... Read more

As a marketing consultant for optometrists in private practice at IDOC, I am often asked about the different social media channels and whether it makes sense to participate in all of them. Much like social gatherings in the physical world, each social media platform has distinct... Read more

An independently owned optometry practice in the United States is a small business, and most marketing experts agree that your marketing budget as a small business should be anywhere from 1% to as much as 10% of your gross revenue, depending on where the practice is located and how much local... Read more

If you own or manage an optometric practice, you’ve probably observed that online reviews have become ubiquitous in American consumer marketing. An independent optometric practice is now likely to manage its reputation across several online profiles, including the Google listing for the... Read more

Good marketing for an independently owned optometric practice isn’t one size fits all, especially now when there are multiple generations with unique mindsets, characteristics, values and eye care needs in the United States. Read more

Let’s say that as an independent Optometrist, you’ve decided to add new eyewear products into the mix at your practice, and now you’d like to market these products to existing and prospective patients. Read more

Google and social media have changed the ways we look for information, discover area service providers and research options for health care, and as a result, many Optometrists who own a practice now question which tactics are the most effective to increase brand awareness, number of... Read more

The internet isn’t usually a popular topic in conversations I have with owners and staff members of optometric practices. Dealing with reviews and competition from web-based retailers along with the challenge of creating and maintaining a website and good social media marketing may have many... Read more

Optometrists in private practice sometimes fail to offer a clear reason why someone should choose them for their vision care over competitors - on their websites or in other marketing collateral – sometimes when you try to market to everyone, you fail to capture... Read more

When working with small business owners to create marketing plans and strategies, I run across the following scenario far too often:  “Hey, I’m not sure how to log in to my Google listing. My office manager used to handle that for me, and she’s not on the team anymore... Read more

Texting is an incredibly tempting mode of communication for marketing-minded businesses competing for the attention of consumers, primarily because the open rates on a text from businesses to consumers are incredibly high (98%) compared to other forms of communication (email is around 20%,... Read more

If you are in a competitive area, you’ve already learned that marketing is a necessity to attract brand new patients to your practice. It’s easy to confuse marketing tactics – sending email, creating Facebook posts and advertising in a community magazine, for instance –... Read more

Social Media

The very phrase can cause irritation, anxiety and bewilderment in the minds of owners who understand that they should somehow be participating in the conversations across the various social media platforms – but which ones are the best for optometry practice... Read more