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ZocDoc can help fill your appointment schedule
However, it does not replace an effective online marketing plan.
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I am often asked if I recommend the appointment facilitator ZocDoc.
ZocDoc is a health care marketing service that enables patients to schedule an appointment based on availability in your schedule and to also review your office.
The business model is designed to help doctors fill open appointments in their day-to-day schedule. The process is simple: patients use drop-down menus to sort insurance plans and services provided by area. Patients then find a doctor and can review comments about other patients’ experiences in that office. ZocDoc facilitates the appointment process online. After the encounter is completed, ZocDoc will ask the patient to leave a review of the health care provider visited for future patients to access.
To help the patient, the service provides standard information in pictures and text about the practice and the optometrist’s education, as well as available appointment dates and times. Conversely, you may opt for an appointment button on your office website that sends patients to ZocDoc to schedule their appointments. From a patient’s perspective, the service is a winner. The company’s website claims nearly 2 million patients have used the service to book appointments.
One nice feature is that patients who book through ZocDoc and complete their appointments are sent an email to review the doctor and office and share their experience. Although not a substitute for a reputation management strategy, it is a supplement that can help while filling available appointments.
I used ZocDoc for a 1-year period, and it was useful in filling empty slots, but after a while I found out it was not a match for my office. Some offices would benefit from this service, however, especially those with little to no first-page search engine optimization (SEO) ranking. Any new practice that needs to get people in the chair will find that the services would be useful, as well as those with high vision insurance presence or high cancellation rates.
Be mindful that ZocDoc does not replace traditional Internet marketing strategies, but it does provide some advantages by itself. For one, patients who want to see you as soon as possible can schedule an appointment online without your staff being involved.
In short, ZocDoc does not replace other more established marketing strategies such as a clean, organized and mobile friendly website and SEO strategies to help you in search engine ranking; this is just another service to use in addition to a good marketing plan.
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- Agustin L. Gonzalez, OD, FAAO, is in private practice in Dallas, serves as adjunct faculty at InterAmerican University and is a member of the Primary Care Optometry News Editorial Board. He can be reached at AG@TXEyeDr.com.
Disclosure: Gonzalez is a managing partner in www.FourTimes52.com.