marketing for ophthalmologists

Looking for a proven system for attracting new refractive surgery patients? You’ve come to the right place. If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you’ve come to realize that effective, efficient marketing is quite difficult. It requires in-depth know-how around strategy, tactical implementation, measurements, analytics, and more. It’s a full-time job, and you’ve already got one of those. Our goal is to solve this problem, delivering outstanding results and exceptional service, and we’d love to get the chance to know you and your business. To understand what we do a bit better, read through our service offerings here or reach out anytime for a conversation.

How do you typically get a new patient? If you were to ask the majority of refractive surgery clinics, they would say that patients find them online and gave them a call. Sounds easy. But is it? What these businesses often don’t see are the days – or weeks or months – that go into making a decision to actually set up an appointment. 

In the time leading up to actually calling your office, possible patients are doing their fair share of research and investigation – reading articles, reviews, and guides – while trying to figure out if they want to move forward with the procedure. 

Consider what if, during this time, you could begin to cultivate a trusting relationship with these potential patients? 

What if, when they started researching local clinics, they found your website and you helped answer their most pressing questions? Make them feel at ease and trust that the procedure is right for them?

That’s what Patient Pipelines are all about – quickly capturing the attention and trust of a lead while getting some basic info from them that allows you to follow up and nurture them. It can be a lot of work, which is why most clinics don’t do it, but that’s what we’re here for, and we’ve helped dozens of refractive surgery clinics quickly take their lead generation – and business – to the next level.

An integral part of building a sophisticated Patient Pipeline is the landing page. A lot of local businesses who advertise online make the mistake of sending paid traffic (through Google Ads or Facebook Ads, for example) to their website’s homepage. 

The problem with this approach is that it complicates the user experience. When a patient is looking for information about LASIK, they have a specific goal in mind. The easier you can help them meet that goal – answer a question, provide a solution, or offer general information – the more likely they are to have a positive impression of your business. 

Landing pages, unlike websites, allow you this kind of focus, matching up specific types of leads with specific information and specific next steps to take. Here, we can help design and develop these pages to ensure you’re speaking to your audience in a personable way and leading them through the process of getting in touch.  

Once upon a time, Facebook Ads were a novel way of advertising. They weren’t used by most big businesses, and people didn’t totally understand how they worked. Now, billions of dollars are spent every year on Facebook ads, and everyone from the biggest companies to local businesses to presidential candidates is trying to figure out how to best leverage the platform to grow awareness and find followers. 

Ultimately, this means that the space has become much more competitive and it’s absolutely vital to have a smart, well-thought-out strategy for how you can use Facebook Ads to grow your business. We’ve got you covered. 

What we love about Google Ads – and what you should love, too – is that it sends people who you know are already interested in the service you provide to your landing page. That’s why it’s called Inbound Marketing. 

This makes it unlike any other type of advertising there is. Think about how a billboard or a TV ad or even a Facebook ad works: You’re spending money to broadcast a message out there and trusting that someone who’s interested will see it.

What Google Ads does so well is to give you the ability to be found by people who are already interested in refractive surgery, meaning you can develop a regular stream of interested people who are much easier to talk to. 

Of course, it’s also important that you understand how Google Ads works with the entirety of your marketing, which is integral to our marketing process.

When you get somebody to express an interest in your business – usually by providing you with their basic information – email becomes the best way to communicate with them directly about your business and the services you offer. 

And yet, email marketing in a vacuum can be complicated. You have to have the right tool, you have to plan and write the content, and you have to make sure it’s working well with your website and other marketing assets. 

Fear not – we’re experienced email marketing practitioners who know how to leverage your email campaign to be a vital part of your lead generation. 

As mentioned above, it sometimes takes some nudging to get potential patients to pull the trigger and get in touch. LASIK is not the lightest thing to make a decision about, so it can be helpful to continue to encourage those who have expressed interest to learn more and reach out. 

This is where retargeting – also known as remarketing – becomes useful. It allows you to target people who have visited your website or interacted with your ads to remind them that refractive surgery is something they should pursue. 

Just a few years ago, if someone wanted to learn about a LASIK or refractive practice, they would simply go to their website. But now, they might also check out your Facebook page, look you up on Instagram, or find your Twitter account. This means that you need to have a solid strategy for how you’re going to show up on these platforms, portraying your experience, professionalism, and compassion. 

It can just seem like more work to some, but to your prime LASIK marketing audience – particularly millennials – it will help you appear much more relevant. A great marketing principle to keep in mind is that you should be where your audience is. And everyone is on social media. 

Winning at LASIK marketing isn’t easy. It takes time, persistence, and know-how. We’ve got all three, and we’ve been successful working with dozens of refractive surgery offices around the country. 

If you’re ready to get started – or just have some questions about what we do – don’t hesitate to reach out.

reach out below:

7109 Hickman Road

Urbandale, Iowa 50322

515.707.6593

caitlin@thepatientpipeline.com