Having spent the last 10 years speaking with small business and medical practice owners, it is amazing to me how similar businesses have totally opposite views toward internet lead conversion. This is particularly common amongst modern medical practices.
For example, practice A and practice B are located in the same geography, offer similar treatments and procedures, neither has a negative reputation (on or offline) BUT they have completely opposite views toward the value of internet lead conversion. Practice A has a positive view and they are experiencing high conversion rates and strong ROI. Practice B has a negative bias toward “internet patients” and they have essentially written off this type of medical consumer. Practice B uses phrases like “tire kicker,” “lack of loyalty,” “referral based,” etc.
Ironically, they are both right and wrong at the same time due to the fact that they are looking at it in terms of the lead source. It’s not all about the searcher, it’s about the way your practice embraces (or disgraces) the modern medical consumer.
Let’s examine the Five Miracles associated with medical internet lead conversion.
- Your practice has to appear on the first few pages of major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing in order for the modern medical consumer to be exposed to your value proposition/ expertise etc. This is often referred to as an impression. There are two ways to accomplish this. One is through paid search, where you bid on key phrases associated with your treatments and procedures. This is a relatively quick fix and the cost is PER CLICK. The second way to accomplish this is through a consistent search engine optimization strategy to get your practice ranked organically. This takes time and effort but there is no per click cost.
Let’s call Miracle #1 the first impression.
- Next, in order for the modern medical consumer (referred to as The Social Patient) to click on your listing, you must stand out from the multiple options offered by the search engines to the Social Patient. If all things go the way you hope they should, the Social Patient will click on your listing.
Let’s call Miracle #2 the first conversion. Measured in click through rates.
- Next, the Social Patient who has clicked on your listing is directed to a landing page on your practice website. Your landing page must be constructed with clear calls to action (i.e. a simple form to request an appointment and prominent display of your phone number). In addition, the landing page must show the value specific to the Social Patient’s initial search (i.e. Liposuction Las Vegas). Obviously the landing page must also be visually appealing including video elements. The content must be unique or your landing page will be penalized by search engines for the use of duplicate content.
Let’s call Miracle #3 the second conversion. Measured in terms of the number of phone calls and emails received by the practice. Low conversion could be associated with a high bounce rate.
- Next, the pendulum swings to the practice. From this point forward, conversion is a function of your people, processes, and tools. No software in the world can replace someone who is not properly trained to answer the phone or respond to a request for an appointment. This is where the process starts to break down. You must have motivated and enthusiastic personnel responding to Social Patient.
The Million Dollar Question:
Is your busy front office excited or annoyed by inquiries from the internet? Not an insignificant question.
Let’s call Miracle #4 the third conversion. Measured in terms of phone calls and emails to consultations set.
- Next, in most cases this becomes the responsibility of the practice manager and/or the physician. Building value in the practice and practitioner. In other words, booking the treatment or procedure and GETTING PAID.
Let’s call Miracle #5, the ULTIMATE conversion. This closes the loop on search to new patient.
Internet lead conversion is equal parts science, marketing, and salesmanship. Trying to achieve success with the Social Patient requires significant attention to all three parts. Ignoring one will have a dramatic impact on the other two.
Crystal Clear Digital Marketing has been refining all three phases of Internet lead conversion for 17 years. We have created powerful technology to offer you the highest probability of succeeding in each of the five miracles. We understand this is not easy and sometimes uncomfortable for folks who do not consider themselves salespeople. We are here to help. Your success is our passion.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES? Call or email us today!
