No one uses the Yellow Pages anymore. I throw mine out whenever they come in without even taking it out of the bag. I don’t use it to look up businesses, and, as you can probably guess since it’s sitting in my trash can, I don’t see any of the ads in it either. Over 85% of Americans have access to the internet as of 2020. Nearly everyone uses the internet to shop, keep up with friends, and search for local businesses.
Is your practice represented on the World Wide Web? Does your company even appear? Do you have a website? Are you on Facebook? If potential patients are unable to find you, how will you get new ones?
If you currently don’t have a website, get one built pronto even if you don’t want one. It’s 2021. This is pretty standard. If you don’t have the time or knowledge to make your own site, which we would advise against, you can get one built for a fairly decent price.
But what if you already have a site? When was it built? Does it look dated? How often do you update it? If it’s been a while I’d recommend a facelift to your website if it hasn’t been redesigned within the last 5 or so years. You will want a site that looks sleek and modern. Don’t clutter all of your information on the homepage. Look at some modern sites, they don’t have to be in the dental field, to get an idea of how modern sites should look. Clear information. Eye-pleasing design. Ways to contact. Make sure photos are updated and recent. Remove former employees and get those new ones on there. And don’t forget, white space is your friend. Use the natural white space of a webpage to draw the user’s eyes where you want them to go.
Next, you’ll want to set up your social media accounts for your practice. Make sure you have a Google page, Facebook page, and even throw in an Instagram and LinkedIn account. Social media, though, does have its pros and cons. We’ve seen how it has caused rifts between families and friends on a wide variety of topics, but there’s one thing that hasn’t changed. In fact, it’s only increased over time which is that people use social media to research companies. An active Facebook page gives people the impression that you want to be a part of the community. Clients and potential clients will be able to communicate with you via Facebook Messenger, comment on your posts, and see any other information you’d like out in the world. Keep in mind, though, that you will need to post a few times a week to keep your profile looking current. In our experience, most staff members would love to help with this. A company profile that hasn’t made a post in years can cause clients to look elsewhere for information and could potentially cause you to lose patients.
Once your site and social media pages are set up, reach out to patients and request some positive reviews. These can be done right on Google, Facebook, Yelp, etc. This is a very real determining factor for patients in today’s day and age.
Attracting new patients and helping to retain current patients are just two of the ways having an internet presence will help.
Four Quadrants Advisory: Wed, May 11, 2022
Four Quadrants Advisory