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I’m frequently contacted by people who have products and services of relevance to my clients. For over 20+ years I have maintained a policy that I do not accept introducers fees or commissions – I simply broadcast and comment on good ideas. “…at least 75% of our new business revenue comes directly from the website and over 9 years that means quite a lot of revenue!” Dr Hannah Neve, Bournemouth www.queensparkdental.co.uk
People buy from people they trust, so successful dental practices make it their priority to focus on winning a patient’s trust from the minute they start researching treatment online. Many dental websites provide technical treatment information and basic contact details but fail to convey the personality of the practice and the team, the experiences of past patients and the visual proof of completed treatments, all of which help to engage and reassure new patients.
“93% of consumer buying decisions are starting on Google…”
Having created over 1,000 dental websites over 18 years, one of the key frameworks that successful Dental Focus clients use to make their websites powerful, emotional, and a cut above the competition is the “7P’s”, coined by Coach Chris Barrow. This is about personalising your website to ensure that it reflects your practice and everything that you have to offer. Your practice is much more than the treatments that you provide, and the 7P’s ensure that you don’t miss anything out by addressing Profile, People, Premises, Prices, Promises, Proof and Products.
#1. Profile: It takes five seconds for someone to decide whether they are interested in a website so we need to make sure that the right demographics and treatments are represented on the home page. They need to know instantly that this is the dentist for them and why this clinician is the expert for the specific treatment they are interested in. Coach Chris Barrow asks one important question, “Do people like me, go to a practice like that?” because your ideal patients must see themselves at your practice. They want to see people like them and watch/listen to their stories.
#2. People: The clinicians and the front of house team need to be professional, approachable, and friendly. People want to know who will be greeting them at reception and who will be carrying out the treatment. Photos of the ‘customer service team’ and dentist profiles on the website will help patients to feel reassured before they visit the practice. Patients want to find the experts and watch/listen to your stories. They need to understand your ‘Why’ to believe in what you believe.
“It takes five seconds for someone to decide whether they are interested in a website!”
#3. Premises: What type of practice do you have? Is it comfortable and cosy, state-of-the-art, or spacious? Showing off the best parts of your practice on your website will help patients to feel like they know more about you and to feel more reassured about visiting the practice for the first time. A practice gallery with photos will help with this, but even better, you can allow patients to walk around your practice from the comfort of their own homes with a Google Virtual Tour!
#4. Prices: This is about being clear, fixed and transparent on price so that the website can pitch and have a call to action that actually works. Are you reassuringly expensive, great value for money, or both? Most patients need to see a price, the first question they will ask is, “How much?”
#5. Promises: Patients want to know what to expect on their first visit, at the consultation and throughout the treatment journey. What can they expect from the service, from the people, and the experience? Does the practice run on time? What kind of assurances can be offered about the treatment? What peace of mind can reassure the patient on the quality and level of service?
#6. Proof: This is one of the most important P’s and it’s becoming more and more vital. Everyone is offering reviews – it started with eBay, then Amazon and now Google is really popular. A dental practice needs proof, not just on their website, but also on Google – how many five star reviews does the practice have? Patients may come from word of mouth but then they will still search on Google and these reviews are the ‘social proof’ that reinforces the word of mouth. It is also invaluable to have patient testimonials, before and after photos and case studies of your real patients on your website. A picture is worth a thousand words because sight is the most powerful sense when winning a person’s trust and helping them to say “Yes”. Patients can see what other people have experienced, and can relate to the results – they can scroll through and think ‘that could be me!’, ‘that’s worse than me!’, or ‘that’s just like me!’.
#7. Products: What treatments does the practice want to attract the most? This is about having individual pages for each of your services. Not only is it good for patients to be able to see detailed information for each treatment with plenty of proof, case studies, photos, videos and testimonials, but when the pages are keyword tagged and search engine optimised, it’s also good because Google loves a larger website with lots of quality information.
Over 93% of consumer buying decisions are starting on Google, especially following a word-of-mouth recommendation. Practices who want to make sure that they are visible to patients may have Search Engine Optimisation campaigns to appear at the top of the Google search results, but this is not necessarily enough to set them apart from the competition. Practices who want to make it a no-brainer to pick them go the extra mile and personalise their websites. When clients prioritise using the 7Ps points to personalise their websites, they set themselves apart from the crowd and start to attract and convert more of their ideal patients. The philosophy at Dental Focus is one of continuous improvement because as the infamous global coach Tony Robbins says, “You’re either growing, or you’re dying. There is no plateau!”
Dental Focus is the UK’s Market Leader in Award-Winning Dental Websites – 6 Best Website Awards in 2018 – 11 Best Website Awards in 2019
At Dental Focus, we believe in creating more freedom for dentists to pursue their dreams because our story is that we come from a family background in dentistry with lots of dreams! How we create more freedom for dentists is by giving them peace of mind with compliance, creating extra time to spend with their family and friends, and generating more income for their practice, which in turn gives them more choice and freedom in life to do what they love!
by Jordan Beynon Website Manager at Dental Focus www.dentalfocus.com
Follow Dental Focus on Instagram for the latest in Dental Marketing @Dental_Focus
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