Can I, Should I Market My Practice on the Web, Part 1?
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The Internet is buzzing with experts who (for a fee) will set up your website and promise you a steady flow of new patients.
by Chuck McKay
It seems that every dentist, ob/gyn, physical therapist, chiropractor, and psychiatrist has a website (site) or a weblog (blog). Have you asked yourself if you need one? More importantly, can you figure out if anyone in health care is making money on the web - other than big pharma, of course.
Quick answer: yes, you do need a web presence.
Second quick answer: no, individual practitioners aren’t making money with their sites/blogs. Most don’t find their Internet activities bring them any new patients, either.
So, why do you need to be on the web? Because sometime during 2006 the shift away from the yellow pages and to search engines reached critical mass. More people now look up your phone numbers in Google searches than in telephone directories. And if you’re not turning up in local search, you’re invisible.
However, there’s a major difference between looking up contact information and searching for information and expertise.
Forget “marketing” your practice on the web. Its not practical. At least, not yet. You won’t reach more people more effectively than traditional advertising. With traditional media people were exposed to your message whether they chose to be, or not. On the web you don’t exist until those people come looking for you.
Assume with me that a prospective patient is diabetic, and is looking for information on treatment of diabetes. He lives within half a mile of your office. Unless you’re willing to make a major commitment to becoming a diabetes expert, to publish your original work, and to build a web site to contain all of that work, your local potential patient won’t necessarily know you exist. He won’t have found you in his search for diabetes treatments.
But, suppose that he’s actively looking for a new physician. A co-worker mentions you. He searches for you on-line. Assuming he finds your web site he now knows immediately how to contact your office. Are you accepting new patients? Can he make an appointment? Do you accept his insurance as payment?
Answer his questions and you may well gain him as a new patient.
If you can’t imagine running your practice without business cards, you need a web site. And for the same reasons: credibility, and contact information.
In Can I, Should I Market My Practice on the Web, Part 2 we’ll discuss the information you need to include on your site.
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Can I, Should I Market My Practice on the Web, Part 1? copyright © 2007 Chuck McKay and AdvanceMyPractice.com. All rights reserved.
Chuck McKay is a marketing consultant who works primarily with professional practices and owner operated businesses. Questions about Internet marketing of health care practices may be directed to ChuckMcKay@ChuckMcKayOnLine.com.