Optical Dispensary Guide: Choosing the Right Marketing Channels

If we have learned any lesson this past year, it is this: Your business must have a digital presence for the times when your optical retail location is not open or is unable to open. Your digital presence and digital marketing strategy work for you 24/7, 365 days a year even though your office is open for about 40 hours per week. Before you expand your digital marketing approach, you must first determine which marketing channels fit your end goals.

Digital marketing channels are the various platforms you use to reach your audience with a goal of promoting your brand, product or service. Your goals for utilizing these channels may include pulling your target customer into various pipelines — anywhere from educating users on their needs and how you fulfill those needs or converting them into paying consumers of your goods/services.

So which digital marketing channels should your optical retail store engage with in order to position your business’ marketing right where it needs to be? There are 5 primary methods businesses use for digital marketing. Below we will briefly discuss each one, providing you with what they are for, how they can help you, whether they are inbound (customers coming to you) or outbound (you reaching the customers), and the overall necessity of that method. Let’s dive in!

1. Website

What It’s For: Investing in your own digital real estate is key. Your website is a space that allows you to control your brand narrative and teach your customers why they need you. Remember, while your website can offer many benefits, it can hurt your business as well. Be sure to invest time and effort into great copywriting across your site to get your message across clearly. Otherwise you may end up harming your brand. It is important to keep your website up to date as well.

How It Will Help: Lead Generation, Organic Traffic Driver

Inbound or Outbound? Inbound

Necessity: 10/10, very necessary

2. Social Media

What It’s For: Since its inception, social media has changed the way brands engage with consumers. Social media allows you to connect with your target in real time. It also allows you to reach them in a more casual setting. You can build audiences based on social media ad engagement, behaviors, interests, demographics and more. This is an opportunity for you to take advantage of the fact that people share far too much on their social media accounts. Luckily for you, it makes finding your target audience as easy as pie. Opt for a combination of organic posts (no ad budget behind the post), paid posts and social media ads.

How It Will Help: Customer Engagement, Large Audiences, Outreach Potential

Inbound or Outbound? Both

Necessity: 9/10

3. Google Paid Search Ads

What It’s For: Google’s paid search ads benefit your business because of where these ads are placed. By now you may have noticed that when you search something on Google, the first few search results are ads. Google’s paid search ads appear above organic results, giving you more visibility. On average the ROI for Google ads is $2 for every $1 you spend.

How It Will Help: Brand Awareness, Lead Generation, High ROI (100%)

Inbound or Outbound? Outbound

Necessity: 7.5/10

4. E-mail

What It’s For: E-mail is a versatile tool. You can use it to promote new products, push out announcements and engaging content, send personalized messages and more. The beauty of e-mail is that it costs you next to nothing to engage your audience (aside from a subscription to an e-mail marketing platform of course). That said, if your content is not engaging or connecting with your audience, you will suffer of high unsubscribe rates.

How It Will Help: Lead Generation, Brand-Consumer Relationship Building, High ROI, Brand Awareness/Recognition

Inbound or Outbound? Outbound

Necessity: 8/10

5. Display Ads

What It’s For: Display ads are strategically chosen ad spaces to reach your audience in the places where you might expect your audience to live. You must have a strong understanding of your consumers’ behaviors in order to make these types of ads really work for you as some ad placements can feel like a shot in the dark. Display ads typically have low CPCs (cost-per-click) as they are more widely available across the internet.

How It Will Help: Lead Generation, Brand Awareness/Recognition

Inbound or Outbound? Outbound

Necessity: 5/10

Author : Mani Vaghedi

Mani Vaghedi, the current president of CNS Frame Displays, is a renowned expert and authority in retail displays and furniture, as well as innovations in retail merchandising. With multiple degrees in Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Business Management, he brings a diverse and robust skill set to his role. Under his leadership, CNS Frame Displays has excelled in creating cutting-edge retail solutions that blend functionality with aesthetic appeal. Mani's expertise and innovative approach have positioned him as a thought leader in the industry, consistently driving advancements and setting new standards. His academic background and professional experience make him uniquely equipped to navigate and shape the future of retail merchandising.

About CNS Frame Displays

CNS Frame Displays, a US-based company, is a leading designer and supplier of optical and eyewear displays, as well as optical furniture, in the United States and Canada. Serving over 40,000 clients in North America and internationally, CNS Frame Displays offers specialized products along with showroom and optical dispensary design services and space planning for eyecare businesses. Most of the products marketed by CNS Frame Displays are manufactured in the United States, Europe, and Canada.