6 Common Marketing Mistakes That Optometry Startups Make
I have been a part of optometry startups for over 25 years. I’ve seen them succeed and fail, and the common thread that runs between those who are successful is that they all have a solid marketing strategy in place. This article will discuss some crucial marketing mistakes that most optometry startups make.
Not Taking Advantage of Web Traffic
With so many optometry startups, we’ve seen various ways they’ve handled their web traffic. Some have done an excellent job, while others haven’t done as well.
The first thing you need to know is that web traffic is important. The more people who come to your website, the better it will perform for you in terms of leads and sales. If you don’t get enough visitors to your site and no one sees what you’re offering, how can customers find out what services or products are available?
If someone finds your site through organic search or from another source like social media, then having an optimized landing page will help them convert into either a new customer or someone who signs up for an email list.
The goal here is not just about getting people onto the website but also making sure those visitors become engaged with whatever content is offered—and ultimately converting into paying customers later down the road!
Trying to Do Everything Themselves
When starting a business, it’s easy to think you must do everything yourself. However, this is not true. In fact, if you try to do everything yourself and don’t delegate tasks to other team members or hire the right people, it will most likely lead your startup down the path of failure.
Startups need marketing teams who specialize in creating content that gets their brand out into the world. They also need sales teams who can close deals for them, so they don’t have to go begging for customers every day—and then there are web developers and search engine optimization professionals who can help make sure their sites are optimized for search engines like Google or Bing, so people find them when they need services from optometry startups like yours!
The thing is that building and implementing a marketing strategy is challenging, and even experts fail at times. Hence, you should even consider getting outside help. You can seek help from an expert optometry marketing consultant. Optometry marketing consultants have profound knowledge specific to the optometry market space. Hence, they are in the best position to help your business define and implement the right marketing strategy.
Not Implementing a Multi-Channel Strategy
So, you’ve got a great product and are ready to take on the world. Before you do, it’s essential to consider your marketing strategy. You want to ensure that you have a multifaceted approach that allows people who find your business in one place to find additional ways of interacting with you easily.
Suppose someone looks at an eyewear ad you have published on Facebook. However, instead of communicating with your team on Facebook, the person wants to use WhatsApp to connect with your representatives. You will lose a potential lead if you don’t have a multi-channel strategy. Hence, having a multi-channel approach is vital.
A multi-channel strategy allows customers and leads to communicate with your representatives through various channels. This means having a website where people can read about your eyewear products and other optometry services. Customers should also be able to schedule appointments online. This also means having a blog where people can subscribe and receive updates from time to time about new things happening within the company or industry news updates for optometry startups specifically.
And this also means regularly using social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc., so followers know when new posts are available on other channels like blogs.
Ignoring Local SEO
Most optometry startups prioritize organic search engine optimization (SEO). This is a great strategy, but it’s important to remember that the most lucrative traffic comes from local SEO. Local SEO increases your chances of appearing in searches for your area or city, which means you can reach out to people who are looking right now for what you have to offer.
Local SEO works by getting your website listed on Google Maps and several other sites like Yelp and Facebook Places. Let’s say someone searches “glasses” in Google Maps while driving around town: if their location is set to “San Francisco,” then all the optometry businesses with a San Francisco address will appear on their screen—and one of them just might be yours!
Underestimating the Power of a Great Website
Many optometry startups underestimate the power of a great website. It is one of the most critical tools in your marketing arsenal and should be treated as such.
A lot goes into creating a great website, but the most important part is ensuring it’s easy to use and has all of the potential information customers need.
The website should be the first place people look for information when they need an eye exam, whether they are:
- Looking for contact information (address, phone number) or hours of operation for your practice (so they can come in after work).
- Searching for reviews from other patients treated at your practice before making an appointment with you.
- Trying to find coupons or discounts on glasses so they can save money on their purchase without having to hunt down those still-to-be-released deals online.
Not Tracking ROI for Their Marketing Efforts
Tracking ROI isn’t a difficult task. You can use Google Analytics or other tools to track your marketing efforts’ effectiveness and ensure you’re getting the most bang for your buck. Remember that tracking every touchpoint between people and your business is crucial, not just a few select ones.
For example, if someone visits your website and then later goes on Facebook to share information about you with their friends, both of these actions must be tracked, so you know how they came into contact with you in the first place.
The bottom line: When tracking ROI data from any advertisement or marketing campaign, always look at all related metrics—not just clicks or website visits. This will help determine whether or not an ad was successful by showing which channels are driving new business for you.
Conclusion
We hope this post has helped you understand optometry startups’ most common marketing mistakes and how to avoid them. Your optometry startup can thrive by implementing a solid multi-channel strategy, tracking ROI, and taking advantage of web traffic.