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Does a Dentist Need a Mobile Website? Posted by Tyson Downs on 9/18/14 4:50 AM
Smartphones are handy for all sorts of important applications, including GPS navigation, SMS texting, and finding coupons exactly when you need them. But like its older counterpart, the landline telephone, a smartphone shines most brightly in emergency situations: to summon an ambulance, fire truck, or police cruiser. Dentists are in this same category.
Is Your Dental Website MobileFriendly?
Can patients book, confirm, and change their appointments from their smartphones? Can they link to your hours and location details with a single button? Most importantly, can they do all these things from their smartphones easily? Back in the day, when landlines ruled and people interacted with each other, dental patients were easier to come by. Families had their dentists, and you went to the family dentist. Word of mouth was just about the only advertising a dentist was afforded - and it was the only advertising they needed. How times have changed! Today's patient is constantly on the go, and on an iPhone or Android. Instead of favoring dentists who use the latest technology in their dental procedures (painless dentistry, laser treatments), young people with toothaches are more inclined to book an appointment with a dentist who uses the latest technology in marketing to - and keeping track of - the patient. It may seem odd, but it's kind of similar to providing your patients who are children with cartoon graphics and Disney videos. A professional mobile website will make your patients feel comfortable before they even come in for their appointment.
Advantages of a Mobile Site You'll be able to better serve your patients A mobile-friendly website is much faster and more responsive It can immediately present users with pertinent information and a Call Us link Attracts new patients who are doing local searches,
Helps you put your best foot forward on Google, Yahoo, and Bing Increases your bottom line profits because mobile users mean business (literally)
People Searching on Mobile Devices Want Immediate Attention Users who reach your website via mobile are usually not just browsing; they're in pain, or at least in immediate need of a good dentist. They probably don't have the time or patience for a dentist referral center or any other delay. If they can learn all they need to know about your services, and lock in an appointment quickly on their iPhones, they will be converted into lifelong patients. That's still the amazing thing about dentistry - patients not only become customers for life, they make the relationship extend to the next generation. One potential customer lost to a competitor with a more professional mobile site may represent dozens of lost referrals down the road.
Mobile App or Mobile Website? It's clear you need both a traditional website for your practice and a mobile version. The question that many businesses ponder is whether to go with a mobile application or a mobile website. A mobile app is a software application designed for specific smartphones and tablets, like iPhone, Android, and Blackberry. These apps offer greater functionality and a more rewarding user experience, but they are stand-alone programs that must be downloaded from a mobile platform's app store. Note that mobile apps can only be accessed by people who have the aforementioned operating systems. Mobile websites, on the other hand, are like mini versions of a company's website designed to display the most
important information on smartphones and tablets. They are easier to maintain because the developer has complete control, and these mobile sites don't have to be downloaded, installed, or upgraded. If you're looking to expand the reach of your content indexed by Google, mobile websites are more aligned to the search engines than mobile apps.
Mobile Usage Will Grow by Leaps and Bounds! A couple of years ago, mobile phone apps for your practice were probably the last thing on your mind, but now you realize that your online mobile presence is the first thing potential patients see. Just like an unkempt or untidy reception area in your office, the bad first impression left by your hard-to-use mobile website is nearly impossible to correct. If you're still not convinced that mobile is the way to go, we have one word for you - tablet. The advent of tablets makes the Internet truly mobile, and there is no turning back. You probably use a tablet yourself to take care of personal business, and that's exactly the point - your patients want the convenience of mobile in every area of their lives. Here are some cold hard facts about mobile web usage that will open you eyes: -According to Morgan Stanley, the mobile web will be more popular than the desktop internet by the year 2015, which is right around the corner. -Currently in the US, more smartphones are sold every year than PCs; by next year there will be more mobile devices in use than desktop computers or laptops. -More than 25 percent of mobile users are mobile-only - they never access the web from a desktop or laptop. -A new survey by comScore finds that 61 percent of smartphone owners use Google for local searches on their phones.
Get In On the Ground Floor Getting in on the mobile revolution right now gives you a big advantage. The early bird definitely gets the worm because when it comes to dentists - let's face it - people only need one. If your mobile website is hard to view or difficult to navigate, you can be sure your potential customers will flock to your competition. The real shame lies in the possibility that your competition may be a second-rate dentist with a first-rate mobile website. Don't let that happen! Enlist the help of an experienced and recommended mobile website designer, and let them do for your practice what excellent word-of-mouth advertising used to do - fill up your calendar and your waiting room. Make your mobile access as good as your dental services - and you'll be fully prepared for the future. Topics: Mobile