Is Your Web Strategy Relevant?
For independent practitioners, the debate about the importance of websites and the internet revolves around the following questions: “Why do I need a site? Will people actually choose me because of my website, and if so, how will they find it?” But from a marketing standpoint, where the question is more what kind of content to post on your site rather than whether to have one at all, we still hear many people question the value of a website. Many practitioners say that their businesses are built on word of mouth, and that their clientele do not use the internet to get information about physical therapy services. These practitioners maintain a website out of a reluctant sense of obligation while many other more web-enthusiastic practitioners still ponder the question of website relevance.
This is the most basic and critical factor of website relevance – it is also the most misunderstood. Today, in addition to investigating diagnosis and treatment options, healthcare consumers use the internet to find “phone book” information like how to contact you. People looking for contact information are ready to buy. Since we’re talking about the internet, a search engine driven medium, it is highly likely that a searcher may sift through other web pages while looking for yours. It’s also likely that a competitor’s website with more relevant content will influence buying decisions; your competitor may jump ahead of you in the search engines and push you aside. Make it a practice to check your competitor’s websites regularly. Ask yourself, from your clientele’s perspective, how does your website serve the visitor’s needs better than your competitor’s? Is your site “sticky” enough to keep the visitor from wanting to click away and explore other similar sites?
Relevance Factor 2: The Standard Bearer Effect
Healthcare decisions are usually emotionally intense. Because of this intensity, consumers and physicians are motivated to put effort into making the best decision possible. The problem with making the best decision possible with physical therapy is that people (generally speaking) don’t know why one physical therapist may be different from another, or even what questions to ask when choosing, so they need your help in getting this information – it is part and parcel of your expert knowledge. If the content of your site helps your visitor understand how to compare one provider to another on a qualitative basis*, then, assuming you are good at what you do, you become the Standard Bearer, and prospects choose you first. This is an extremely important strategic opportunity. The internet is the primary battle ground for this type of information. Word of mouth is not an efficient or accurate way to deliver Standard Bearer information. As a business owner, you can think of it this way: The old way of finding a provider by asking a friend or physician who to choose is no longer the end of the search process – it’s just the beginning. Most people will use the internet to learn more about you, and, during the process, learn more about other options they may want to consider. Even elderly patients who don’t use the internet are often assisted by people who do, like family and friends.
Internet content can be deployed anywhere. This may sound “duh” obvious, but most healthcare businesses treat the internet as a back-room transactional tool, not a business-building communication tool. Internet access is on your desk, in your waiting room, and in almost everyone else’s homes. Your website can provide value added services that your competitor’s don’t. When done properly, simple things like patient intake forms, scheduling, and compliance programs can increase patient satisfaction and your bottom line at the same time. For example, most people would rather get the paper work started at their home computer rather than wrestle with a clipboard upon arrival (yes, even computer-phobic Medicare patients can get assistance with this from family and friends).
www.PTreferralMachine.com Articles, December 10, 2008.
www.PTreferralMachine.com Articles, June 16, 2008.
www.PTreferralMachine.com Articles, June 17, 2008.
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