In Alex Shortt’s words: “I decided to leave the NHS and focus full-time a private practice. I needed a certain growth in my business, and I had tried various marketing activities and tried designing my website.

“I had a non-specialist company also design a website for me. What I found is I’d taken this as far as I could with my limited knowledge of business and marketing and with my almost amateur approach.

“What became apparent to me is that to to be competitive out there in private practice, you need a genuine set of very specific medical marketing skills.

“But even more specific than that, if you’re doing vision correction surgery, you need someone who fully understands the market. They need to know how someone like me – who is unique – and where I can position myself and how I can attract business.”

I’ve not only enjoyed working with Alex as a client but also come to value him as a friend. His personal charisma and dedication to patient service made it easy to amplify his brand in an overcrowded central London marketplace. I’ll always be grateful to Alex’s support as a surgeon while I worked with him at Optegra as well, we make a great team and I am keen to work with him wherever our paths cross.

— Rod Solar, Founder & Fractional CMO

Alex started this project with an amazing affability that was not getting across to patients in his marketing materials. Video was an obvious medium for him to communicate that, alongside the amplification of his patient’s voices who were eager to share their appreciation for his service. Alex is a real pleasure to work with – I appreciate his enthusiasm and also the fact that he not only made an effort to communicate with Rod and I but gave sincere kudos to some of our more junior team members for their individual pieces of work. 

— Laura Livesey, Founder & CEO

Like many happy LiveseySolar customers, Alex’s initial concern was the cost.

“I suppose cost was one thing that concerned me.

“I was initially very apprehensive about approaching them. I wondered, “how much is this gonna cost me” because my understanding is that any form of marketing is expensive.

“But I have to say, they’ve helped me understand how marketing works. You need to realise that you’re investing in your business, and you can expect a return, and you know the process.”

To generate leads for Alex, we

• redesigned his website
• created an eye surgery self-test (the UK’s first)
• drove paid traffic to his site with Google Adwords
• drove organic traffic to his site with SEO
• shot many FAQ videos for his Youtube channel
• managed his social media channels (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn)

“It’s a particular set of talent skills. So they’ve been absolutely brilliant in helping me move my practice to the next level. When I had looked into marketing companies to work with, I was aware of LiveseySolar’s reputation. And that’s probably the first thing; they really do have a reputation amongst colleagues of mine where they’ve helped them grow their businesses.

“They’ve educated me about marketing in this space, and that’s been hugely beneficial.

“I did consider looking at general marketing companies, but what you soon find is that they have absolutely no grasp of the differences between different types of laser eye surgery.

“How can I market the fact that I can provide a specific set of exceptional skills when I know that the person designing the marketing doesn’t have the knowledge or skills to get that point?

“When Rod and Laura presented me with the marketing plan, that’s when I realised that I’d definitely made the right decision and that this was going to be absolutely the right thing to do.

“It all came together when I saw the marketing plan, and from then on, I mean I completely invested with both my confidence and financially. I fully believe in the approach and the plan that Rod and Laura put in place for me.

In late 2019, Alex joined Optegra’s executive board and thus put his personal marketing efforts on a maintenance plan. He’s now delighted doing as much surgery as his time allows while blending clinical work with leadership responsibilities for both Optegra’s London and Guildford hospitals.