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.

 
I think the relevance question is the right question. It forces a conversation about what to say and how to say it on the website. It allows us to drill down and define site relevance in at least three key ways that can lead to a clear business-benefit.

 

Relevance Factor 1: The Phone Book Effect
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.

 

Relevance Factor 3: The Value Added Convenience Effect
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). 
Your website should be more than an online brochure with only general information about your clinic and a menu board of services. Your website needs to participate in an online conversation about problems and solutions from the consumer’s standpoint. This is a strategic necessity for the competitive independent provider who needs to influence referral patterns in a systematic way rather than leave it to chance or word of mouth.
A visit to your website may be the first impression most people get of your facility, so keeping your site relevant will avoid making it the only visit you get.
*You may be reluctant to embrace the role of Standard Bearer. Getting comfortable in this role happens when you discover your own “voice” to articulate your philosophy of care and unique approach in a systematic (Standard Bearer) way. Finding an internet content provider who can facilitate this discovery process for you may be the most important and difficult internet decision you have to make. Website providers should be viewed as strategic partners, not vendors. Red Flag: If your website provider gives you a site pre-set with copy and no process to develop it strategically, chances are it will not be effective for the aspiring Standard Bearer seeking to grow as a competitor on the internet playing field.
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Related and Recommended Reading:
The New Rules of Marketing & PR; David Meerman Scott, 2007, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The End of Advertising As We Know It; Sergio Zyman, 2002, John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Internet Marketing Methods Revealed; Miguel Todaro, 2007, Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.
The New Frontier In Practice Management For Physical Therapists et al; David C. Steinberg,
www.PTreferralMachine.com Articles, December 10, 2008.
6 Steps To Setting Up A Powerful Patient Generating System; David C. Steinberg,
www.PTreferralMachine.com  Articles, June 16, 2008.
Three Fundamentals Of Practice Building; David C Steinberg,
www.PTreferralMachine.com Articles, June 17, 2008.
What Do Physical Therapy And Coca-Cola Brand Managers Have In Common?; David C Steinberg, www.PTreferralMachine.com Articles, June 17, 2008.