This is a common pain point for practice owners – and indeed business owners – across the board. Web traffic is great to have but unless it’s translating to conversions and sales, it’s more or less a vanity metric.
So, here are some tried and tested pointers for converting web traffic into patients – from a practice owner himself.
Web design is everything
When people enter your site, they make a very quick decision about your authenticity, trustworthiness, and expertise. This might be conscious or subconscious, and it’s especially prominent in the medical field.
If you have an outdated, glitchy, unprofessional website – you’re shooting yourself in the foot. Practice Builders reports that 46% of visitors won’t return to a poorly performing website, and for every second your page takes to load, 7% of visitors will click off.
People might click onto you through an ad or through great SEO, but they will tend to see your site as an extension of your skills and ability as a practitioner. So, position yourself with prestige, excellence, and high-performance.
If you’re not sure about the effectiveness of your site you can always hire a professional, get the honest opinion of people around you, and even do your own research into what you would want out of a practice’s website.
Have clear Call-to-Action
In recent years, people have trended more towards wanting to book online or through email, rather than picking up the phone and calling.
It might be a generational preference or just due to the prevalence of technology, but it’s smart to have the option there otherwise you risk losing those that would rather book online.
Some experts say that a visitor should never be more than a few scrolls away from finding a “Book online” button – which is wise to remove friction from the patient journey.
You should also consider the purpose of each and every single page on your website – where do you want the visitor to go next? What action would you like them to take?
A pillar of content marketing is to ensure every page on your website has an opt-in; whether it’s to download a free resource such as PDF checklist or ebook, to get a quote, to book online, or simply to register their email address for updates.
You want to make it as easy as possible for them to contact you, and vice versa.
Nuture hot leads before they turn cold
A lot of dentists and practice owners are hesitant to use traditional marketing and sales techniques, for fear of coming off as pushy. However, I’d advise that it’s simply common sense to follow up with hot leads before they cool off.
If someone has signed up for a consultation, a quote, or something related to a procedure – you want to get on that as quickly as possible and ideally over the phone. This is slightly more engaging and gives the sense of more committment and accountability, plus it gives you the opportunity to be more persuasive and convert.
Whereas if a lead has opted into an email or SMS service, then you want to make sure you have systems and automations in place that target and nurture them over time. Offer them content, a lead magnet, a newsletter, or even a new patient bonus. This is where you think strategically about the patient journey and what sequence of communciations is going to best nurture them into taking action in the future.
P.S. Whenever you’re ready …. here are 4 ways I can help you grow your dental practice:
1. Grab a free chapter from my book “Retention – How to Plug the #1 Profit Leak in Your Dental Practice”
The book is the definitive guide to patient retention and how to use internal marketing to grow your practice – Click Here
2. Join the Savvy Dentist community and connect with dentists who are scaling their practice too
It’s our Facebook group where clever dentists learn to become commercially smart so that they have more patients, more profit and less stress. – Click Here
3. Attend a Practice Max Intensive live event
Our 2 day immersive events provide access to the latest entrepreneurial thinking and actionable strategies to drive your practice forward. You’ll leave with a game plan to take your results to the next level. If you’d like to join us, just send me a message with the word “Event and I’ll get you all the details! – Click here
4. Work with me and my team privately
If you’d like to work directly with me and my team to take your profit from 6 figures to 7 figures …. just send me a message with the word “Private”… tell me a little about your practice and what you would like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details! – Click here
