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Websites Have Two Goals | What’s Your Call To Action?

November 17, 2016 by Randall Wong, M.D.

Call to ActionA “Call to Action” is an instruction, commonly on a clickable button or hyperlink, to get your reader to initiate an action.

In order to effectively grow your practice, your website has two simple goals.  These Calls to Action simply invite your readers to subscribe to your email list or call for an appointment.

In web design, Call to Action examples appear as a clickable banner, button or some type of graphic.  A CTA is integral to inbound marketing and is a common way to coax a reader to “take the next step.”

Some examples of common “Calls to Action”;

Click Here
Download
Call Now
Purchase
Free Trial
Free Consultation

In medicine, we just need two Calls to Action.  Read on.

Why Everyone Needs a Call to Action

The purpose of your website is to grow your practice.  Get your potential readers to follow through on 2 tasks and you will succeed.

Your website is to build your practice, therefore, your website’s Call to Action will be to either;

  1. Subscribe to your email list
  2. Call to make an appointment

Subscribe Now

Potential patients are likely to subscribe to your email list to receive your updates on your website.  These patient education articles will build trust…and eventually your potential patient may call and make an appointment.

Call to Action Subscription Optin

Your “Subscribe Now” opt in box should be somewhere in the upper right quadrant of your home page and “above the fold,” that is, you should be able to see it on the top half of your website when viewed on a desktop or laptop.

Call Now

Readers should be encouraged to “Call Now” to make an appointment.

The “Call Now” CTA can be a simple button on your mobile screen which can initiate a phone call.  For your laptops and desktop versions, you have a CTA with visible phone number at the end of your articles and also on your “Contact” page, etc.

For WordPress users, Call Now Button is a plugin that creates a “call” button on the smartphone versions of your website.  By simply pushing this button, your next potential patient can call and make an appointment.

In healthcare and medicine, we simply need to our readers to follow 2 Calls to Action.  Make sure your website ask them to do so.

Randy

 

 

Filed Under: Marketing, Uncategorized, Website Tagged With: call to action, cta

“I Wrote the Book” | Become THE Expert

October 26, 2016 by Randall Wong, M.D.

Write a Book | Establish Your Authority | Interview with Lynda Goldman | Healthcare and Internet MarketingWant to establish yourself as the ultimate authority?  Write a book.

Writing a book makes you an extreme authority and a leading expert.  Writing a book for your patients can help you achieve your marketing goals and open doors to other professional opportunities.

This article is published in concert with our recent podcast episode found on RussandRandy.com.  Russ Faust, M.D., interviews renowned healthcare author Lynda Goldman.  You can also download us on iTunes.

Benefits to Your Practice

As Sy Sims used to say, “an educated consumer is our best customer,” a book can educate your patients.  A book can educate your community.

Listen how an educated patient can;

  • improve office efficiency (asks fewer questions)
  • reduce “chair time”
  • requires fewer resources (makes fewer calls to the office)
  • be happier (better understanding of medical problem)
  • be healthier
  • have a better patient experience

Lynda Goldman Healthcare Author | Healthcaere and Medical Internet Marketing
Professional Opportunities for You

Writing a book can lead to other professional opportunities such as paid speaking and consulting.  As a leading authority, you will be sought after for quotes, interviews and opinions.

Nothing establishes your authority more than a book.

Nothing enhances your professional brand more than a book.


New to Podcasts?

          1. Listen on Libsyn (if you don’t have iTunes)
          2. Go to Itunes and Download

Faster, Easier, Cheaper

In this episode, Lynda discusses how writing a book can be done in as little as 3 months.  She has tips or “hacks” to make the process easier and cheaper than you might think.

Publishing a book does not require traditional publishers, agents or ghost-writers.  You might even choose to self-publish.

Start Here – FREE Seminar

Lynda is offering a FREE 5-Day Writer’s seminar “7 Steps to Write Your Health & Wellness Book.”

Lynda will make this easy for you by giving you the step-by-step template to writing and publishing your first book.  She will share her secrets which allowed her to write over 40 books in 25 years.

All the best!

Randy

By the way, download us on iTunes, click below!
iTunes Cover Art

“Russ and Randy”
Healthcare and Medical Internet Marketing
Healthcare’s Rx for Web and Social
Itunes Badge

Filed Under: Branding, Marketing Tagged With: authority, brand, expert, Podcast

Convert Your Next Patient from the Internet with 3 Steps

October 20, 2016 by Randall Wong, M.D.

Patient Conversion | Authority Trust Value | Healthcare and Medical Internet MarketingConverting a visitor to a patient from the Internet or your website is a result of a process.  Understanding how authority, value and trust are fundamental to patient conversion is essential to your Internet marketing strategy.

Authority

This is the first step.  Your content must be credible, reliable and accurate.  Your content must be authoritative.  You must be an authority…an expert.

For healthcare, this is easy.  We are natural authorities when it comes to medical or healthcare questions and problems.

As healthcare professionals, we do not have to prove our authority.  We have medical degrees which automatically confer “authority” to our content.  Simply produce content which educates, informs and is accurate to maintain your authority.

Value

How does your website provide value?

Value is provided to your readers by your articles.  Your articles should answer a medical question or solve a healthcare related problems.  Answering questions and solving problems provide the value your readers are seeking.

It’s important that your articles remain clinically accurate for you to maintain your value.  Again, we are assumed to be the immediate authorities and it is assumed that our content is clinically accurate and credible.

Trust

If you are able to successfully provide value, your next patient develops trust in you and your website.

Trust must be achieved before your next patient schedules an appointment with you and completes the process of becoming your next patient.

This is a necessary 3 step process.  Missing any component will halt the progression of conversion.  By the way, this is essential to your social media Tweets and posts as well.

If you have any questions or concerns, please leave a comment below.

All the best!

Randy

New Podcast!

In August 2016, Russell Faust, M.D. and I launch a new podcast on Healthcare and Medical Internet Marketing.  I invite to download on iTunes and subscribe to our blog, RussandRandy.com!

iTunes Cover Art

 

Healthcare and Medical Internet Marketing
Healthcare’s Rx for Web and Social
Itunes Badge

Filed Under: Marketing, Social Media, Website Tagged With: Patient Conversion, Patient Engagement

Different Learners | Why Choose Google, YouTube or Podcasts?

October 6, 2016 by Randall Wong, M.D.

Distracted Patients or Different Learners? | Healthcare and Medical Internet MarketingWhat explains the popularity of Google, YouTube and podcasts?  Each produces content in different ways and may appeal to patients who learn differently.

Google is the largest search engine, YouTube the second and podcasts have exploded over the past several years.  In fact, according to Edison Research, over 20% of adults have listened to a podcast over the past 30 days!

What explains the popularity of each platform?  Do followers/patients randomly jump from one media to another?

Google, though it indexes everything on the Internet, produces content which is mainly text (webpages, articles, posts).  YouTube produces video and podcasts are only audio.

Different Learners

Admittedly, I am a visual learner.  I do not read much and I do not even listen to lyrics of a song.  I often wonder just how much being a visual learner influenced my career choice as a physician?

We all learn differently.  We all prefer a certain way to learn.

Google probably attracts the readers.  YouTube the watchers (and listeners) and podcasts are great for the listeners.  Podcasts are also extremely convenient and most portable (another preference!).

Search Engine Optimization

For now, you have to have a website.  There are two reasons:  text is the easiest and best to rank, optimize and index for website rankings and website is the “go to” reference when a person is interested in learning about your practice.

Video and audio files simply can not be indexed and ranked to get the marketing exposure you want, for now.

Different Media

As you become more proficient with producing content, you may consider expanding to other media platforms.  In the very near future, I will be producing content on YouTube and a podcast for my clinical content.  It will help me reach different audiences, those who prefer to watch and listen to their content!

Regardless of the medium you choose, make sure you are publishing on a platform preferred by your readers/patients.  Do they prefer email, web articles, audio or snail mail?

If you have questions or concerns, please leave a comment below!

All the best!

Randy

Filed Under: Marketing, Social Media

Do Patients Hate Your Office? | 5 Ways to Improve Patient Experience

October 2, 2016 by Randall Wong, M.D.

Patient Experience can negatively impact your brand | Healthcare and Medical Internet MarketingPatient experience is probably the most important variable which creates your brand.  It may even rival the physician-patient relationship as being the most important reason patients love or…hate your office.

While patient experience does include the time spent with the physician, for this article, let’s just focus on every interaction besides the healthcare provider.  After all, patients spend about 80% of their time NOT with the doctor.

Here are some common pitfalls or “touch points” we all share.  These touch points can be hurdles for your patient and can invoke anxiety, frustration or even anger.  On the other hand, paying attention to these touch points could represent areas of strength for your practice…and brand.

“Your Call is Very Important to Us”

Really?  Nothing more irritating than a message on hold.  No bigger statement that says we are so busy and distracted that we might not be able to help you in a timely manner.

Being placed on hold is disrespectful of your patient’s time.  Changing voices, as the messages change, depersonalizes the call.

Message on hold can lead to frustration and anxiety.  It’s right up there with leaving a voicemail…after being on hold.

When was the last time you placed a call, to any business, and a real live person answered the phone?

What if you did that for your patients?  What if the very first time a new patient called your office you answered the phone “live”?  That would be a great way to start off this new relationship.

New Office Visit

Going to a new office can be confusing and intimidating.

There is confusion about parking, then actually walking to the office, what about new forms or records sent from the referring doctor’s office?  There are worries about types of payment and when payment may be due.

You can see how this can add up…and the patient hasn’t even seen the doctor yet.

Purgatory – The Waiting Room

Similar to being place on hold, waiting devalues a patient’s time.  Completing new patient forms prior to arrival to a new office does not ever seem to reduce the wait, it just produces frustration, maybe anger.

In my offices, we usually have multiple providers seeing patients, but only one waiting room.  There is ALWAYS confusion (actually anger) when certain patients get called before others (Hey! I was here first.)

Medical Insurance

Even the insurance specialists get confused.  Staff and patients get confused all the time, especially in areas with dozens of insurance companies.

Disagreements about co-pays, or worse, overcharging a co-pay leads to distrust and casts doubt over the capabilities of your office.   A common mistake in our office is charging a co-pay for a post-op visit…although I think we are improving.

The Front Line

Your front office staff are the most important (yet probably paid the least) employees in your office.  They greet and send-off your patients…hopefully sincerely and with cheer.

How often are they distracted, inattentive  or seem disinterested (probably because the phone keeps ringing)?

Too often, patients start the office visit with a negative touch point and end with one, too.

All the best!

Randy

 

 

Filed Under: Marketing, Medical Marketing Tagged With: Patient Experience, Touch Points

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Randall Wong, M.D., Allergan, Allergan Access, Ophthalmology, Social Media and Medicine

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