Your practice is unique; your patients are unique. It makes perfect sense that your website, the face of your company online, the interactive media that defines your business, should also be unique. So what can you do to make sure that your website doesn’t look like all the others? Unless you’re a computer whiz, you need to hire a custom dental website development company, then instruct them that you want to include these 10 KEYS TO PERSONALIZE YOUR DENTAL WEBSITE:
1. Create an Identity – A graphic artist can design your custom logo, an image that sets you apart and gives your business a visual identity. Use your logo on your website, of course, but also on your sign, letterhead, business cards, recare cards, brochures, forms, postop instructions, and ads.
2. Post Real Before and After Cases – You may even want to add case descriptions or testimonials to your patient gallery page to personalize it. Some dentists use photos of real cases, instead of stock images, throughout their site. If you have good, full-face shots of your patients, this approach can set your site apart.
3. Post Testimonials from Peers and Patients – You may have a drawer full of letters and postcards from satisfied patients. What a resource! But even if you don’t have any testimonials on hand, you can begin to ask patients and peers for quotes to use on your website. Testimonials can be sprinkled throughout a website as part of the artwork, corralled on one page titled Testimonials or What Patients Say, or you may want to group them with corresponding before and after photos in the gallery.
4. Photos of You and Your Staff + Bios – The About Us page is the second most visited page on many dental websites. It is important for you to submit individual or group photos of yourself, your partners/associates, and your staff so that visitors can put a face with your practice. The Web can feel impersonal, but photos change that. They create an emotional attachment with your potential patient. You may also want to include biographies for yourself (a must) and your team (optional).
5. Keep Your Newsletter Up to Date – If you assign quarterly newsletter duties to one member of your team, your newsletter can become a personalized representation of what’s happening in your office. Healthy dental patients may only visit your practice twice a year, so keeping in touch with them (via an updated newsletter and email) announcement can remind them of how wonderful your team is. By including information about new products (teeth whitening, Invisalign, CEREC, ViziLite, etc.), you can use your newsletter as a marketing tool, as well. An online newsletter is simply a page on your website. Companies like TNT Dental offer support services, so if you submit updates for your newsletter, they will make the changes online for you. All you have to do is notify your patients when the news is posted.
6. Original Content (words) and Design – If you choose a stock template for your website, you run the risk of having a site that looks a lot like everyone else’s. Custom website design involves art designed just for you – with the colors, lines, navigation, and photos you choose. Custom copywriting is also an important factor. While the definition of composite fillings is standard, your approach and chairside manner make getting a filling in your office a unique experience. Your website copy should relate this in words. Furthermore, search engines penalize sites in rankings when the copy is already online on another website. Do yourself a favor – go with original content.
7. Include a New Patient Letter and Packet – On a page dedicated to new patients, include a letter written in first person, along with information about your new patient exam. How long does it take? What should the patient expect? Do you offer financing? Do you accept insurance? You may also want to include downloadable pdf files of your new patient forms to expedite registration.
8. Forms, Postop Instructions, Financial Policy – Tell your website design company to upload your registration forms, postoperative care instructions, and financial policy as pdfs so that your patients can access them from home. Some companies also offer interactive forms on a secure server, which means that patients can fill out registration forms online and send them to your email with the click of a button.
9. Video Tour or Photos of the Inside of Your Office – Like team photos and bios, pictures of your office will create a personal connection with your potential patient. By knowing what to expect visually, a person begins to form an attachment through familiarity of a place. An Our Practice page with a video tour might also feature a few paragraphs about the practice history and amenities. Personalize this page by adding your vision and/or mission statements.
10. Specialists Need a Referring Doctors Page – If you get referrals from other dentists, consider posting a page for referring doctors. The page may include a letter of introduction, your awards and associations, information about transferring records, and an invitation to contact you personally or request references.