Marketing

The Biggest Marketing Mistake I Made as a New Practice Owner and How You Can Avoid It

Photo Credit: Getty Images. Dr. Sandi Eveleth shares the biggest marketing mistakes she made along with advice on how you can do better.

Catching and turning around big marketing mistakes

By Sandi Eveleth, OD

Sept. 10, 2025

When we opened our private optometry practice years ago, I felt confident. We had a loyal patient base from our previous location and a prime new office. For the first six months, our schedule stayed packed.

We were busy informing patients about our move and excited to start a private practice. It felt like the beginning of a journey with limitless growth potential.

Then, unexpectedly, the phone got quieter. Appointment slots started to open up. I realized we hadn’t set up a real marketing strategy while we were busy transitioning. We assumed our reputation and word of mouth would keep the exam lanes full. In reality, we were coasting on momentum instead of building a steady patient pipeline.

Years later, I see many ODs—both new practice owners and seasoned veterans—make this same costly mistake. Start-ups wait too long to market their services until they “have time.” Established practices lean too heavily on patient loyalty, assuming that because they’ve been around for years, the community will automatically keep booking appointments. Meanwhile, newer competitors are hungry and proactive and they’re getting noticed.

The Cost of Standing Still

Even general optometric practices have unique strengths. If you don’t define and communicate what makes you different—whether it’s specialty contact lens fits, myopia control, vision therapy, dry eye management or advanced products—patients won’t know why they should pick your practice over the one down the street. Clearly communicating what makes you unique is more important than ever, since many patients choose providers based on which insurance plans they accept.

The biggest mistake I made at first was not positioning our practice as more than a “general eye exam” and optical shop. We neglected to highlight early on what made us truly exceptional. By leaving our strengths invisible, we made it easy for patients to price-shop or switch to someone else with a clearer message.

What I Wish We’d Done Instead

If I could start over, I’d invest early in defining, promoting and protecting our unique selling points. When you market around your true strengths, you attract patients who need exactly what you do best and build a competitive advantage with your base.

Thankfully, after that initial disappointment of empty slots, we built and launched a focused marketing strategy that fueled our growth.

Here are nine steps to help you differentiate and grow your practice, whether you’re just opening or already established.

The Nine Steps

Audit your products and services.
List every service you offer. Look for underserved niches in your area, like specialty contacts, scleral lenses, myopia management, vision therapy, sports vision, dry eye clinics or specialty eyewear. Involve your staff—they might spot opportunities you’ve missed.
Research the competition.
Check the websites, ads, social media and reviews of other local practices. What specialties are they highlighting? Where do you see gaps or areas to improve? This research will help you pinpoint your competitive edge.
Define your unique selling proposition.
Craft a clear, simple statement about what your practice does better or differently. You may have more than one if you offer several specialties. For example, “We specialize in sports vision training to help athletes elevate performance on and off the field.”
Craft clear messaging in all your marketing.
Update your website, social media and in-office materials to highlight your unique strengths. Clear messaging forms the foundation of your strategy—patients can’t ask for what they don’t know exists.
Optimize your website and focus on local search engine optimization.
Keep your site updated, mobile-friendly and fine-tuned for local search terms. Patients now Google for solutions and you want your practice to appear right when they do. Also, consider optimizing for AI-driven search.
Train your team.
Your staff are your ambassadors. Make sure they understand your specialties and feel confident discussing them with patients on the phone and in person. Develop scripts for scheduling, pre-testing, exams and checkout—like asking, “Are there other family members due for their annual eye exam?”
Engage your community.
Speak at local events, appear on local TV or podcasts, sponsor school screenings or join networking groups like BNI. Write short educational posts about your specialties. The goal is to become the go-to practice in your niche.
Monitor, adjust, repeat.
Track where new patients are coming from. Ask during intake or as part of casual conversation, then add it to your tracking system. If you gain momentum in a niche, double down. If something isn’t working, adjust your approach.
Decide if you want to do it yourself or hire help.
Some steps—like social media posting or community outreach—can be done in-house. Website design, local SEO and branding may be better handled by professionals. Decide where your time has the most value.

Final Thoughts: Make Sure Patients Know Why You’re Better than Your Competitors

Owning a practice is a privilege, but staying relevant requires more than great care. Proactive, clear, consistent marketing is essential. Patients have more choices than ever, so make sure they know exactly why you’re the best fit for them.

Don’t wait until you have empty appointment books to build your pipeline. Start now—even when you’re busy, especially when you’re busy. Ongoing, strategic marketing using these nine steps will help your practice stay strong and relevant in a changing industry.

Read another article by Dr. Eveleth here.

Sandi Eveleth, OD, is a Certified Master Marketer/Notion Consultant and owner of K ISS your Web LLC. Dr. Eveleth exited private practice at the end of 2011. Since that time, she has worked as an employed optometrist in corporate optometry while devoting the balance of her time to her marketing coaching firm and video/film editing services at KISS Your Web, LLC. To contact her: Sandi@drsandieveleth.com