It’s no secret: being tech-savvy is critical in the current business landscape. If your health-care practice (or small business) doesn’t have a fully operational website, you may be missing a key ingredient in the recipe for expanding your business and successfully attracting and retaining patients.
Having a functional website is the starting point for growing your business digitally, and with the Internet being today’s go-to resource for information, you can’t dismiss its importance.
If you already have a website up and running, great. But is it up to par with your competition? I challenge you to conduct this simple test to get some fast answers:
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- Does your website show up on the first page of results when searching for it?
- Pull up your site on a mobile device. Does it look and function as well as the desktop site?
- Pretend you’re a prospective patient. Can you find all the necessary information you may need?
- Browse some other websites in your industry. Be honest: is yours any better?
If you either answered “no” to any of these questions, or don’t have a website at all, consider taking note of the following tips.
Look before you leap
Before you jump into creating your website, take a step back and be thoughtful about the overall goal, what you’d like it to include and how you’d like it to work — in terms of design, content, and functionality.
While planning, imagine your website as a virtual storefront for your practice, just as if a patient was standing at your front door. Ask yourself what you want patients to see and feel, then provide a space to where they can create a lasting impression.
What do you want visitors to be able to do while using your site? Some things patients and prospects may be interested in are features like a blog with health-care tips, online appointment scheduling, employee profiles, customer testimonials, or a secure place to ask questions.
If you’re looking for more ideas, it may be helpful to see what others are doing with their websites. Look them up, take note of what you like and don’t like, and plan around those preferences.
Keep it simple
First impressions matter, even in the digital world. According to Change Sciences, 35 percent of website users fail to complete simple tasks on the average site — something that can be attributed to factors like difficult navigation, poor organization or too much clutter.
In some cases, implementing a simple design structure as opposed to a complex one, can improve search-engine optimization — allowing for your business to be more easily found via search engines like Google.
For your current patients, consider providing options to further simplify their own experience. Online scheduling, payment options and push notifications for appointment reminders and can allow for an easy and hassle-free experience both in and out of the office.
Finally, if your end goal is to see new patients come through your doors, ensure you’re making that process as simple as possible. Basic details about your practice such as contact info, hours and available treatments should be both easily accessible and easy to navigate.
Know when to call in the experts
Between treating patients and managing your practice, it can be difficult to both find the time and learn the tools for successfully creating a website.
If you feel lost or overwhelmed at the thought of web-site creation, consider reaching out to an expert. There are plenty of vendors who specialize in web design, particularly for the health-care industry. Whether you look for a partner at an industry trade show or via Google search, there’s a vendor out there that can assist in creating the site you deserve.
Take control of growing your business digitally — ensure your website is something you can be proud of and that your patients won’t hate.
Chris Panebianco is chief marketing officer at Bankers Healthcare Group (BHG), a provider of financing to health-care providers. In the past two decades, BHG has provided more than $3 billion in working capital and worked with more than 100,000 licensed health-care professionals. Contact Panebianco at chrisp@bhg-inc.com