This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Create a good first impression with your practices Web site
|
|
Out-of-date wallpaper, wilted plants, dusty end tables and receptionists who do not greet people are first impression busters for a doctor’s office. Is it possible for a Web site to be a first impression buster, too? Doctors assume that once they have made the effort to set up a Web site, it will be good for business. But what if it does just the opposite?
Here is what can happen when Scott, a potential patient, checks his insurance list for a new eye doctor. He finds five doctors located near him and checks the Internet to see which of the doctors has a contact lens practice. Two doctors do not have Web sites, one has an incomplete site that gives very little contact lens information, another has a Web site that looks like it has not been updated in years, and the last doctor has a well-organized Web site complete with contact lens section, attractive photos and the doctor’s biography. Which one do you think Scott is likely to select for his eye care?
The first impression a patient gets when viewing your Web site may have even more importance than the first impression he or she gets walking into your reception area. After all, the patient who walks into an out-of-date reception area is already a “capture.” If the doctor turns out to be fantastic, the patient may forgive the fact that the reception room is not. But on the Web, you have only a few seconds to create a first impression that will make a prospective patient decide to stay and visit.
Doctor photo important
A key ingredient for a private practice Web site is a doctor’s photo. If the practice is a retail chain optical, generic photos of eye services may be OK. But if the practice is called Jane Doe, OD, there should be a photo and a biography of Jane Doe, OD. Patients perceive the appeal of a private practice to be that they will receive more personalized care. A private practice doctor who appears “anonymous” on a Web site is negating his or her most valuable asset.
Some say that about 50% of someone’s decision to buy is based on the seller’s appearance. Some people are more attractive than others, and that helps them. However, everyone can be photographed so that they look competent and professional.
Take care to be sure that Web site photos are sized properly. A doctor whose face fills too much of the picture frame slot can look silly, just as a head that is too small for the frame can.
If there is more than one doctor in the practice, all of the doctors should have the same size and quality photos and biographies. Consider the patient impression if the first doctor has a great photo with a two-paragraph biography, the second doctor has a grainy photo with one line of information and the third doctor has no photo and no bio. If you were a patient calling for an appointment, how would you feel if you scheduled an appointment with the doctor with no photo and no bio? The patient might assume that this doctor is temporary or not properly credentialed.
Unless you have an exceptional building and stunning landscaping, home page photos of your office building can be a mistake. Large expanses of concrete or asphalt are first impression busters.
Check for the unexpected in your photos. I viewed one Web site that featured a group staff photo. The problem? The photo was composed such that the staff member on each end had a parking lot sign sprouting from his or her head. In another case, the doctors had a photo of a smiling receptionist, but what was even more prominent was the bright metallic shine of a fixture next to the receptionist.
Does your office have eight female staff members and two male doctors? Eight female staff members and two female doctors? There are strong marketing reasons why big budget advertisers project age, gender and ethnic diversity in their ads. If your office staff is not diverse, why emphasize that with a group photo?
Group photos of staff and doctors are generally not engaging, and in most cases there will be a few people who do not photograph well. In addition, given how busy most of us are, the employee who leaves 3 weeks after being part of the group photo may end up on your Web site for months.
Pay attention to small details
In touring the home pages of Web sites of optometrists around the United States, some of the biggest errors I found were text and photos an optometrist would understand but that the public would not grasp. One site I surveyed had an overwhelming amount of technical jargon on the home page coupled with two spelling errors in the non-technical wording.
The Internet has become part of mainstream business communication, and professionals are expected to have Web sites that are clear, up to date and professional.
As in any marketing project that you are sending out to the entire world, it is imperative to have public relations-savvy friends or professionals review the content.
For more information:
- Ally Stoeger, OD, practices at Virginia Eyecare Center, a Vision Source-affiliated private practice in Burke, Va. She is an optometric consultant for Summit Web Design, a company that designs Web sites for the purpose of search engine optimization. Dr. Stoeger can be reached at Virgnia Eyecare Center, 9314-A Old Keene Mill Rd., Burke, VA 22015; (703) 569-3131; e-mail: ally.stoeger@verizon.net; Web site: www.virginiaeyecare.com.