Some important things to understand.
Point One
Let’s assume two kinds of healthcare consumer.
The first group are looking for the lowest price.
The second group are looking for reassurance that this is the right thing for them to do and that you are the right people to do it.
I work with clients who want to attract the second group of consumers.
Point Two
Advertisers can be liars and the public know that.
Advertisers SHOUT about you being the best but the consumer has no proof – they would say that,. wouldn’t they?
Consumers want reassurance that what the advertisers say is true.
They can only get that reassurance through impartial third-party recommendation – a.k.a. your existing patients or a trusted referring GDP.
Point Three
Web sites have fundamentally changed in the role they play.
In the days of advertising, your web site was a showcase for how clever you were at what you did – the digital practice information leaflet and oral health education site.
People visiting a web site now want reassurance – they have a number of questions and you have very little time in which to answer them:
- Do people like me visit your place?
- Do you solve my problem?
- Do you know what you are doing?
- Do you hire nice people?
- What will happen to me?
- Can I afford it?
A web site visit is no longer an information gathering exercise – it has become experiential.
Which is why your existing patients are the stars of your web site, with you and your team in a supporting role.
As a consumer, I no longer want to hear a dentist saying:
“I qualified in 1985 and I’m very proud of the fact that, here at ABC Dental we deliver state of the art dentistry in a relaxed and comfortable environment.”
They all say that.
I want to hear from your patients the answers to my questions.
Then I’ll be encouraged to read your online reviews – further reassurance that I’m making the right choice.
Have you picked up the key word in this post?
Your web site needs a beating heart as well as a brain.
