Social Web Savvy Helps Doctor Draw Patients

Editor's note: This story accompanies part five of TheStreet's Small Business Success Webinar Series, featuring tips and insights from successful entrepreneurs. Click here to view webinar.

CHICAGO (TheStreet) -- Marketing is a challenge for every start-up business. When you're barely bringing in enough revenue to cover rent and payroll, it's hard to justify spending on advertising. But how else can you get the word out that your company exists?

Optometrist Justin Bazan is proof that you don't need to hire a marketing expert to get noticed. His Brooklyn-based practice, Park Slope Eye, uses social media to attract educated, plugged-in customers; the company's Web presence, with its active blog, Twitter and Facebook pages, makes clear that this is not a traditional eye doctor.

The tech bells and whistles may bring in new clients, but the key to retaining them is old-fashioned customer service. "In retail, people talk about providing service, but it's relatively rare to get clients through word of mouth," Bazan says. He was determined to do just that, by creating a welcoming, upbeat environment and giving customers access to the newest medical technology.

Bazan is running the practice he always dreamed of, but his current success is a direct result of his greatest professional failure: two years ago, he was fired from his job.

A native of Utica, N.Y., Bazan completed his optometry training at SUNY in Manhattan. He was hired by a major optical chain and worked at different locations in New York City. But it turned out he wasn't really a chain type of guy.

"I was always looking to do things my way, and I had my own ideas about patient care," he says. He started a blog, which got great feedback from customers -- but not so much from the head office. "I was branding myself rather than the company," he acknowledges. He ended up losing his job, but he realized that his embrace of social media could be the basis for building a new business.

"Getting fired was one of the best things that ever happened to me," he says. "It kicked me into high gear."

He knew the right location could make or break his business, so he went online to track the ideal demographic. "I wanted young professionals who were just starting families," he says. "They value their healthcare, have disposable incomes and hopefully will bring in more patients as they have more kids." The neighborhood of Park Slope in Brooklyn had the right mix, so Bazan headed out to scout the competition. "I saw I could do something different," he says. "Now, we're attracting existing patients from other practices."