Three more benefits of capturing the online tsunami in 2020
By Dr. Greg Grillo
Accelerated growth of social and mobile technology leaves every business, including dental practices, on either side of a digital divide. Innovators use online strategies to create superior customer experiences. Traditional thinkers watch a competitive advantage slip further out of reach.
Many businesses struggle with enhancing their digital presence and demand. According to a recent study, 62% of companies plan to improve the online customer experience in 2020, but only 26% of organizations are ready to execute new digital strategies.
Where does your dental practice stand? In a challenging new environment left behind in the wake of COVID-19, here are the final three of six benefits we’ll cover for driving digital demand.
4. Transforms The Customer Experience
Many of us are fascinated with the latest technology, social media platforms, apps, and videos. People expect faster solutions and better information than in the past. The best brands employ entire departments to focus solely on user experience (UX).
Dentistry serves up a traditional hands-on healthcare service on one level. But on another level, new ways of giving care start with the digital experience. The UX your practice offers starts online, carries through into close personal contact, and then moves back online again. As you drive digital demand and fine-tune your online presence, your patients discover easier solutions to their problems. Online scheduling and pre-appointment surveys are examples of tools that the best practices put into motion.
5. Drives Data-Based Insights
Digital demand produces a steady flow of data for analysis. Tracking metrics and analyzing results give insights that perpetuate growth and improvement. While you can place an ad in the local paper, it’s tough to figure out who it reached and what it produced. By contrast, a Google Maps listing that shows up first delivers statistical tracking for quick adjustments to budget and strategy.
Data gives insight into the minds and behaviors of patients and allows real-time adjustments. The best brands use key indicators to make significant changes to their strategy and service, and dental practices can, too. It’s essential to keep tools in place that gather the right information at just the right time.
6. Fosters Relationships
One challenge for any local business is to keep a relationship alive between physical encounters. Your dental office sees your regular patients twice a year, and they may not think about you much in-between. But with so many sources vying for their attention, including other dental practices, that’s not good enough.
Increased digital demand forces your practice to put more into patient relationships. And that’s a win for you and your patients. Maintaining a steady social media stream, posting new articles to your blog, and sending periodic emails builds existing relationships. And email campaigns tied to leads that provide contact information nurture relationships that may otherwise fade.
Harness The Demand
Smart dental practices recognize that the tsunami of digital demand can be harnessed for more growth, better relationships, and calculated budgeting. Every benefit requires a tool, and 2020 tools are different than just a few years ago.
Legwork makes handling, harnessing, and encouraging digital demand easy. Our proprietary software pulls together all the moving parts of the patient experience with a full suite of cloud-based apps. Plus, our team of experts knows dentistry better than anyone. After all, we’ve been helping thousands of practices for the past two decades. Learn more on the topic of search optimization for your practice by downloading our free guide, You’re Not #1 on Google And What to Do About It.