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There's a faster way to get new clients for your practice. And that's to talk directly to the people who are already looking for an optician in your area. Fortunately there's a service that makes this really easy - it's Google. And in many areas of the UK, Google remains an untapped opportunity for the ambitious practice owner.
Let me give you an analogy. Imagine you were desperate for new clients and decided to stand in the centre of town trying to attract them. As people walk past you, you point at them and shout 'Do you want an optician?'
Most people will avoid your gaze and give you a wide berth. The chances of getting any decent clients this way is low.
Now imagine the same situation, but this time instead of pointing and shouting, you are just standing there, waiting. Because as people walk around you, some of them are carrying giant placards. And these placards declare 'I am looking for an optician'.
You don't need to shout at everyone and cause a nuisance, because you can quietly approach these people, tell them you are an optician, and see if they want to book an eye test.
Hitting your target
This is the difference between leafleting and using Google to find new clients. Leafleting is untargeted, unwelcome interruption marketing. It's about getting in front of as many people as possible in the hope that some will want an eye test.
Google is the complete opposite. People only buy when they are ready to buy, and Google allows you to put yourself in front of someone at the exact moment they need you.
Sadly, few people (except opticians) wake up every morning and think about eye care. Most people simply don't consider it until they have a vision problem or receive a recall letter. This is the reason why you can have a practice that's been in the same location for 20 years, but people still stick their head in to say 'Ooh, are you new? I've lived here all my life but I've not seen you before'. Opticians simply aren't high on most people's agendas.
So when they need one, they go to a specific place to look for it. Right now that's Google. When someone types something into Google they are either:
? Trying to get a question answered
? Looking for some information
? Or declaring a future intention to buy something.
It's the last one that's most exciting as it represents pure opportunity for you. Most people who type 'opticians your town' into Google are looking for an optician right now.
And they're doing it in huge numbers. Last month in the UK 450,000 people included the word 'optician' in their search, according to the Google keyword tool. Of those, 8,100 were looking for an optician in London, and 1,600 in Birmingham.
Which then prompts the question, how can you afford not to have a website? About one in four practice owners I meet don't have a website. If you don't have a website you have no chance whatsoever of getting them as a client. You're also missing out on more referrals if people can't Google you and check out your practice. It's the first thing clients do when they consider using someone new.
And you may even be missing out on your existing clients returning to you. If they've lost your recall letter and Google you to find your number, there's a danger they will end up on a competitor's website.
There are two ways to make sure you are in front of potential new clients Googling for an optician. The fastest but most expensive method is to use Google AdWords, known as pay per click (because you only pay when someone clicks your advert).
The multiples tend to dominate pay per click, especially Specsavers. There are several factors that affect how you make your advert the first one to be shown - it's most likely that Specsavers is always top as it is consistently willing to pay more than anyone else for the click.
Organic listings
The other method to get the traffic is to appear in the natural search results, known as the organic listings. Online marketing changes constantly, with Google itself changing the rules of the game a couple of times a year. It used to be about SEO - search engine marketing - or getting your website to the top of page one of Google.
Now it's about something called Google domination. That means your business appearing at least five times when someone searches for an optician in your area.
So it's not just your website that appears. It's your Google Places listing complete with independent reviews, your YouTube videos, your tweets from your Twitter account, your Facebook page, your images and Google News results.
The more times your practice appears on the first page of the search results the higher percentage of clicks you will get. Which means more qualified traffic, and if you have a well-designed modern website complete with opt-in data capture, more leads and new appointments for your practice.
All this, without a single leaflet going through a single door. ?
? Richard Pakey is the author of It's Time To Fight Back, owned by more than 1,200 UK practice owners. You can get a free copy of his book at www.freeopticiansbook.com