IRISH DENTAL REPORT 2018 - www.dentalbooster.com - Dental Booster
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IRISH DENTAL REPORT
2018
www.dentalbooster.com
Dental Report 2018 Dental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts
Contents
Abstract 4
Introduction 5
Introduction to Content marketing and website content 7
Methodology 8
Limitation of research 9
Forward 9
The Importance of Having a Clinic Email Address 10
A Branded email address 13
Conclusion 13
Importance of Having a Website 14
What is a Website? 15
- Static HTML 15
- Content Management Systems 15
- E-Commerce and Online Booking 16
The Statistics of Owning a Website vs. Not Owning One 18
Why potential patients Prefer Dental Clinics with a Website 19
Conclusion 19
The Importance of a Mobile Friendly Website 20
What is a Mobile Friendly website? 21
Features in a Mobile Friendly Site 22
Why your Dental Clinic’s website needs to be mobile friendly 24
Conclusion 24
Usability of Website 25
The Key Benefits of Having a User-Friendly Dental Website 27
How to Implement a User-Friendly Website Structure 29
Conclusion 33
Your Clinics Online Reputation – Why it’s so important 34
How Patients Choose Your Practice 35
How to Build Trust & improve the reputation of your Practice 36
The Importance of Testimonials & Reviews 38
Conclusion 38
Case Studies 39
What Are Case Studies? 39
Why Are Case Studies Important? 41
Conclusion 41
Dental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts
What is the Value of a Dental Patient? 42
Value of a Dental Patient 43
Determining Patient Lifetime Value 43
Importance factors calculating the Patient Lifetime Value 43
Alternative Valuation Method 44
Loyal Customers & their importance 44
Conclusion 44
How Price Affects Buyers’ Decisions in the Dental Market 45
How Price Sensitive Are Your Patients? 46
How to Turn Hesitant Patients into clients 47
How to Set the Right Price 48
County / Price Analysis 49
Conclusion 53
The Importance of Being Visible to Potential Clients 54
What is Business Visibility? 54
Offline Marketing 55
Choosing to Market Online 55
- Online Directories 56
- Search Engines 56
How to Improve Online Visibility 57
1 - Google Ads 57
2 - Google Local 3-Pack/Map Pack 59
3 - Organic Listings 61
Social Media 63
Facebook 64
Twitter 66
YouTube 68
Instagram 70
Google+ 72
LinkedIn 74
Conclusion 75
About Dental Booster 76
Meet the team 77
4 Dental Report 2018 Dental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts Abstract The dental industry is an important segment of the healthcare industry in Ireland and it has experienced constant growth in recent years. Existing studies concerning health care marketing and Dental Marketing in particular reveal that the Internet has become a vital marketing tool to ensure the growth and development of a Dental Clinic. This analysis looks at those Dental Clinics who have taken advantage of Online marketing, and those who have avoided it altogether, revealing some interesting results and comparing the two segments. This report will give you a complete analysis of the Dental industry in Ireland, how the Dental Clinics are marketing offline and online, and the performance and results. This report aims at identifying the core elements needed to produce a successful and manageable marketing plan for a Dental Clinic. The findings here should give a Dental Clinic some valuable advice and guidance in terms of starting or expanding their marketing efforts in order to grow their clinic
Dental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts Dental Report 2018 5
Introduction
The dental industry is rapidly growing and Dental Clinic’s are facing many
challenges to compete and grow. The main factors are the shifts in patients’
behaviour, doubled by the high level of technological advances online in this
industry.
Each clinic in this report was prices of each dental service, the Clinic has a website for
studied to determine what at a national and county the clinic, further looking at
if any marketing strategies based level, and highlight the if the website is active and
the dental clinic is actively most expensive and cheapest functioning correctly.
using, and how effective each county for each service. The If the clinic was found to have
approach actually is. services studied were; a dental a website, a vast range of tests
consultation, a white filling, an
The price comparison was performed on the website
Amalgam/Metal Filling, in-clinic
section of this report builds to check its effectiveness,
Teeth Whitening, Full upper and
on research which was performance, usability and
lower Dentures, an extraction, a
initially conducted in 2014 much more.
dental crown, a root canal and
by WhatClinic, whereby the
a veneer. These prices were
average prices for general
collected from Dental clinics Usability of the website was
dental procedures throughout
with and without an online studied in various forms, such
Ireland were recorded. This
presence. as ensuring that the website
report adds more depth to that
was mobile friendly, had
initial research, and forms an The very first factor which
the most important contact
interesting comparison from is studied in terms of online
information such as email,
their results in 2014. Here it presence is whether the Dental
phone and address visible, also
is possible to see the average clinic in question has an email
that the clinic had a map with
address in which a potential
directions accessible and an
The Internet offers patient can use to contact the
easy to use contact form.
widespread access to clinic, and the importance of
health information and the having one.
advantages of interactivity, Following that, the second
customised information element studied is whether
and anonymity.
6 Dental Report 2018 Dental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts
Nowadays, attracting
attention to a dentist’s
website is as important
as the practice itself and
contributes to how patients
perceive the overall value.
each Dental clinic was also studied,
this ranged beyond the clinic’s with a
The trust factor of the Dental Clinic’s
website. The Clinics social strength was
website was analysed in terms of it
calculated, and its visibility on the most
having testimonials visible on the
popular platforms such as Facebook,
home page, reviews on the website
Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google Plus,
and on external platforms and the use
YouTube and Instagram.
of Case studies on the website. The
use of newsletters was also recorded. Along with the presence of a social
The most important trust factors were media account, the suitability of each
analysed. social media platform to a Dental
Clinic is analysed, illustrating how each
The performance of the website was
can be used to promote growth, raise
studied in terms of loading speed, valid
brand awareness and make valuable
html structure, the use of Analytic
connections in the Dental Industry.
software such as Google Analytics,
absence of errors and loading issues,
domain authority, backlink strength and
number of referring domains.
Finally, the social media presence of
Dental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts Dental Report 2018 7
Online Visibility leads to growth
The most important aspect
studied in this report is the
visibility of each clinic within the
result set of the search results
from an online search.
The first being Google Adwords,
the pay per click advertising
platform offered by Google. It was
determined if the dental clinic was
actively using Google Adwords,
and if so how efficiently.
The second area being the Google matching the search term in terms
My Business local business of preference, showing ten results
listings in the map, which basically per page.
shows the top three local
businesses for a particular search There is a direct correlation
term in the Dental Clinics locality, between online visibility of a
along with Dental Clinics address, Dental Clinic and the growth and
phone number, reviews, opening success of the Dental Clinic.
times, website and more. A Dental Clinic can survive from
The final being the organic result local business & foot traffic
set, which shows a list of websites without much promotion, if the
Dental Clinics location is anyway
central, the direct local population
will consider visiting this Clinic
due to its proximity.
If a Dental Clinic wants to
Basically, if you do not appear wher expand past the local radius
of passers-by, then local
the majority of the population is optimisation and marketing is
searching, then you will miss out needed. A little work can turn
on a lot of potential new, local and a “suffering” Dental Clinic into a
thriving one.
valuable patients.
8 Dental Report 2018 Dental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts
the required data such For example, “responsive
Methodology as prices, social media errors” can include such
The research performed activity and much more. things as respondent
was both qualitative and On regular intervals the quality (e.g., lack of
quantitative in nature. The data was reviewed by a interest, fatigue or
data was collected among internal staff supervisor to honesty) or the extent to
over 1500 Dental Clinics guarantee completeness wish those not contacted
in the Republic of Ireland, and accuracy. Automatic in the list may vary
and Northern Ireland. checks were put in place from those contacted,
also to detect anomalies is always and important
Data collection occurred and highlight them for issue.
early 2016 and the initial inspection. Twenty five Dental Clinics are usually
data was collected by percent of the data busy places of work,
March 2017. Currently the collected was reviewed therefore a percentage of
data is being updated a second time to ensure the clinics may not have
as further research is quality control measures had sufficient time to
completed. were upheld. give quality responses to
Data was collected the questions.
manually from various The price comparison
independent dental Limitation of research could deal with some
directories, such as The limitation of the data irregularity, as some
the Dental Association present study consists in Dental Clinics choose
of Ireland, WhatClinic, the time-frame the report to offer broad/general
Yellow-pages and other took place along with other prices, and clarify the
useful directories. To potential issues. specific pricewhen a
increase accuracy we used patient contacts them,
multiple data sources to A Dental Clinic’s situation and some have more
ensure we get the most and circumstances detailed prices visible.
accurate data subset. We could change within one For example the price of
used vigorous manual data month of recording their a dental filling may well
collection, and checked data in this report, the change depending on
our records against verified Dental Clinic may close, the size and damage to
listing websites. expand, develop an online the tooth, some dental
Adding to that extensive presence, or remove and clinics offer “from”
manual research was online presence so the prices, and others go
completed via online and data is limited to the time into more detail on
offline searches. This when the analysis took small, medium and large
data was then combined, place. It is very possible filling costs. Where it
duplicate and invalid that the current status or was possible, the “from”
entries removed, and situation of a Dental Clinic price was used.
the data was cleaned may well have changed
thoroughly. over this period, many new Despite these
clinics open and some limitations, there is an
Dental clinics were eventually close. abundance of valuable
approached and Another vital point to information for a Dental
questioned via phone and take into consideration is Clinic in this report, and
email in order to ensure that fact that along with when put to use, can
the correct information possible manual error, help a Dental Clinic grow
was recorded. For the as data was collected and expand.
clinics without any email via email and phone, this
or website, we did our best introduces sources of
to attempt to contact them potential error other than
via telephone, to gather
Forward In the coming chapters, the research and findings of this report are segmented into clear and precise chapters. An in-depth knowledge of the industry coupled with references from external articles and journals were used to reinforce the arguments being made. This can be used as a guide to help a Dental Clinic analyse their current online status and visibility, and see clear areas of potential improvement.
10 Dental Report 2018 Dental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts
The Importance of
Having a Clinic Email Address
Equipping your dental clinic with a branded professional email address is a
critical part of building a successful Dental Clinic.
71.70%
of the Dental clinics in
Ireland have and use an email
address for their business
28.30%
Do not have an email address!
72% The results of this initial chapter give an insight into
surveyed adults prefer to
use email as a method of
the current level of online visibility in the Dental
communication Industry. Nearly a third of Dental Clinics in Ireland
have no email address at all. An email address is
66%
Email marketing can lead up to 66% more
something that will only take a few hours to set
up, and offers a vital point of contact for potential
conversions clients.
70% Equipping your dental clinic with an email address is a critical part of
building a successful Dental Clinic. Emails are now the most popular mode of
communication in the world – and with good reason. Instantaneous message
customers think a delivery, higher convenience and lower costs are just a few of the benefits
free web based email
looks unprofessional associated with electronic mailing.
By providing an email address, you make it easier for prospective clients to
89%
get in touch with you. Phones may provide a more direct route, but it also
takes more to compel a user to get off the computer and pick up a phone –
charges incurred can also contribute to their reluctance to call. Additionally,
Irish businesses are
using emails to improve emails are great for general inquiries.
brand awareness.Dental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts Dental Report 2018 11
An email address also allows you to
tap into the large segment of users
actively looking for clinics on search
engines, offering these prospective
Studies show that approximately 60%
clients with a method to get in touch of the world’s population enjoy having
with your Clinic quickly. According
to a study conducted by the British
smartphones that allow them to read, edit,
Dental Journal, approximately 34.5% and reply to emails while they’re on-the-go.
of surveyed patients dealing with a
This added convenience is essential to gathering more clients
dental condition fled to the internet
annually.
to research their condition and to
find a dentist. With an email address
readily available on your site, you
could attract a lot more patients
annually.
Research results from Marketing
Sherpa state that 72% of surveyed
adults prefer to use email as their
main method of communication and 72% of surveyed
15% preferred phone calls.
adults prefer to
Since Internet users are notorious
for their impatience, it’s likely that use email as their
if your clinic’s name shows up in main method of
the search results without an email
address, they’re likely to contact communication
another that does have one.
There’s another major benefit to
having an email address – one that
will help you build a long-term
relationship with your customers,
also enabling you to earn more
revenue.
Collecting your patients email
addresses and saving the contact
details of those who send you
messages is a great way to start
building an email list. You can use
this information to improve patient
retention and encourage loyalty.12 Dental Report 2018 Dental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts
Collecting your
patients email
addresses and saving
the contact details of
those who send you
messages is a great way
to start building an
email list.
Approximately 76% of dental practices that engage Our advice to you here is to collect
the email addresses, whether
in sufficient marketing tactics can see active growth you decide to use them or not
is irrelevant, if you collect them,
in the number of email subscribers they retain. later you can perform some really
effective marketing techniques with
According to a study from Ascend.
this data (we will discuss this later)
Also, relying on obtaining your
Sending patients appointment
client’s email addresses and adding
reminders and feedback requests
them to your email list can help
doesn’t just sustain engagement; it
you to see an increase of 66% in
enhances your clinic’s reputation and
conversions when compared to
brand awareness.
other marketing methods, such as
social media.Dental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts Dental Report 2018 13
Branding your clinic with a personalised email
address
It’s important to remember that you’re not
just building a business; you’re building a
brand (more on this later). As your brand gains
popularity and establishes a level of credibility,
you’ll find that you don’t need to invest as
much in promotional activities. Clients will
seek you out and come to you instead! Email has now overtaken te x ting
as the preferred mode of
Setting up an email address is a step in this
communication in Ireland.
direction – you’re putting your clinic’s name
on the point of contact. It also makes you look
more professional. When users hear about you Email has now overtaken texting as the
from other patients and search for your clinic preferred mode of communication in Ireland.
online, the absence of an email address is According to Blue Cast Digital’s Email Marketing
conspicuous. Insight, over 84% of marketers in the country
have described email as an integral part of
However, customers today are becoming
their marketing strategy! Additionally, 89% of
increasingly sensitive to a brand’s online image.
Irish businesses are using emails to improve
This means that having an email address
brand awareness.
associated with free web-based email services
like Gmail or Yahoo isn’t going to cut it. What Of the businesses surveyed, nearly half had
you need is a personalised domain, preferably an open rate above 20% – while the average
one with your clinic’s name. click-through rate at over two-thirds of all the
participating companies was above 6%. These
According to a study conducted by
are optimistic figures, indicating that a high-
Visible Logic, 70% of customers say that
er-than-average number of recipients were
a free web-based email address looks
not just being successfully engaged by the
unprofessional. This clearly indicates that the
companies’ emails, but potentially going on to
majority of users begin to form an opinion of a
take a profitable action.
brand’s credibility just based on the company’s
email address! Globally, medical and dental emails recorded
an average open rate of over 22% according
What you need is an email that matches your
to insights released by MailChimp. To put
dental clinics website, for example contact@
that into context, the open rate for emails
your-dentalclinic.ie where your-dentalclinic.ie is
pertaining to hobbies – the leading category –
your domain name. If you don’t have a website,
was around 28%.
we will discuss this in a later chapter.
Conclusion
If you are one of the 28.3% of dental clinics
in Ireland that do not have an email address,
the bad news is you have been missing out on
Open your Clinic to a a range of enquiries. The good news is this
is very easy to set up and get working. Your
stream of new patient receptionist can easily monitor the clinic’s
email address, and you can deal with more
enquiries by utilising complicated enquiries personally. An email
address will take only a few hours to set up,
email. and there is no excuse not to have one.14 Dental Report 2018 Dental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts
The Importance of Having a Website
With the world shifting to digital media, the idea of owning a website is
something that is essential for the success of your practice.
64.25%
Dental Clinics in Ireland with
websites
28.30%
Dental Clinics in Ireland
without a website
Out of the 64.25% of these businesses,
11.82%
of the websites had issues
preventing them from loading
at all
61% 37%
61% of customers read
through online reviews
and testimonials prior to 57% of small businesses
57%
making a purchase decision and independent
of people search online practices have acquired
when searching for a a customer through
84% of studied consumers decided that Dentist or Dental service their company’s blog
small businesses were far more credible
when they had a website compared to
when they didn’t.
The perception of a website being a burden
and a lot of work is an often seen and incorrect
perception. When a website is set up properly,
it can be updated easily, and cut down on calls
to your clinic looking for information, as it will be
easily available on your website. A well planned
website will help you automate and streamline your
62%
By focusing on inbound leads through your
clinic.
With the world shifting to digital media, the idea of owning a website is
something that is essential for the success of your practice. Without one,
you’re missing out on substantial avenues for profits.
website, your marketing will be up to 62%
less expensive.Dental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts Dental Report 2018 15
Content Management systems.
Imagine all of the competing dental practices in your area that Static HTML
have a website, they’re driving an insurmountable level of clients
The majority of websites on the Internet use a
into their practices, this is mainly due to the fact that they are
specific mark-up language called HTML to help
visible to potential patients.
create their webpages. In most cases, unless
you have website coding experience, you will
37% of your industry’s overall client base is need to hire a professional developer to create
on the Internet searching for help related a HTML business website.
to a dental or oral condition. With a static HTML website, all of the content
of your site is stored in static files which
eliminates the need for dealing with servers
and databases such as MySQL and PHP. They
also offer minimal maintenance throughout the
That could result in a large increase of revenue
years.
by the end of the year if you can draw them
into your practice. The only concern with HTML sites is that
they are difficult to manage without the help
Developing a website can be tough, as you
of a professional. But this coding language
need to know what important information
is essential to creating a clean, fresh, and
your clients are looking for and how to convert
professional website.
them into clients. But at the end of the day, you
could be part of the 87% of dental practices Content Management Systems
that use their website to improve the success
As a dentist it is imperative to have the ability
of their business. My advice is simple here, if
to log into your website, upload a picture,
your car is broken, you probably will bring it to
change text, write a blog post, or change a
a mechanic to get fixed, developing a website
price. A content management system offers
properly, is just as intricate: ensuring that it
exactly that.
looks professional, has a nice design, attractive
optimised pictures, designed for usability, They are very easy to use, secure and simple.
quick loading, mobile friendly...the list goes on. Its possible to have different access levels for
After many discussions with dentists who have your staff. These websites are connected to
tried to build their own website, and as much a database, and are slightly more complex to
as I admire this, I really think if you plan to do build so they are more expensive.
create something this important, do it properly.
The content management systems are often
Sometimes it’s better not to have a website
built on open source software such as Drupal,
than to have one that is outdated, not mobile
Wordpress and Joomla. The great thing about
friendly, scary pictures etc., as this will be your
these is that you can add various modules
first point of contact with a potential patient,
and functions to your website to increase user
they will compare your services and quality
interaction. An example would be a module
with your website.
for live chat, so you or your staff can speak
What is a Website? to website visitors instantly via your phone or
desktop.
Let’s start with the basics, a website is a
general hub of information that can be
mutually beneficial for businesses and
average website users. They typically offer
several pages of information for a variety of
purposes. As an example, a dental website will
give patients information about their offered
services whereas a clothing website gives
shoppers the ability to purchase clothes online.
There are several types of websites that you
can get developed including static HTML,
e-commerce sites, and ones with a built in16 Dental Report 2018 Dental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts
CMS websites are
typically preferred by 37% of potential
Dentists who take a patients would
hands-on approach to be interested in
marketing their clinic, contacting you
as they can log in and online.
update the website
easily
Over 1 billion The possibilities are endless, picking the ability to browse through an
the right setup and functionality to online store, shop for the items
people using engage your website visitor is the they need, and then have them
key. delivered to their home. As a dentist,
Facebook alone you typically won’t need to worry
You will be able to have more
about developing an e-commerce
control over the site’s functionality
website unless you intend on selling
such as being able to add reviews,
toothbrushes, toothpaste, and other
testimonials, and case studies.
dental hygiene products through the
Owning a CRM based site is essential Internet. If you were selling online
for dentists that will need to update products, you would have a shop
images, content on their pages, add open 24/7 to customers all over the
some of the latest news about their world, a great benefit compared to
practice, update entries on their brick and mortar shops.
blog, and more.
What is interesting about
By developing a website with a strong e-commerce websites is that they
basis in CRM you’re going to notice a are similar to booking websites that
substantial amount of growth in your people use when they plan on going
Over 100 different practice. Patients will be far more on holiday. Now imagine being able
dentist-related likely to desire your dental practice if to give your patients the ability
you show that you are engaged and to book and pay for their dental
keywords are being interested in the answers they are appointments entirely online.
looking for.
put into search You would be able to manage your
E-Commerce and Online Booking time much more effectively and your
engines throughout patients would surely appreciate
E-commerce has quickly become
Ireland and the UK on one of the most popular types of
the ease of use, considering that
37% of potential patients would be
websites because it gives people
a monthly basis. interested in contacting you onlineDental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts Dental Report 2018 17
about their dental concerns anyway. about their condition online through Its vital that Dental Clinics
their dentist’s website.
Why You Need a Website use their marketing
Improving Customer Engagement
Even though owning a website can be
a lengthy venture, it is a necessity in Internet users are characteristically
budget in campaigns
today’s day and age. People on the impatient and they’re always looking that are measurable and
Internet are searching for absolutely for the easiest way to do things, such
anything and everything and dentists as get in contact with you. When you produce results.
are no exception. 81% of the Irish decide to develop a website you’ll be
population use the internet, close to giving potential patients a sure-fire,
4 million. When these people look quick, and efficient way to get in such as crowns, orthodontics, teeth
for a Dental clinic, if you do not have contact with you. whitening, etc.
a website you will make it very hard
You’ll want to make sure that you You can easily accomplish this
for them to find and choose you.
offer a phone number, email address, by either setting up a dedicated
They may find your email or phone
and contact form so potential “Services” page or discussing your
number on a directory, but they will
patients can choose their desired services on your blog. According
not be able to read any information
method of contact. The easier it is to HubSpot, approximately 57% of
regarding your clinic! No images, no
to get in touch with your practice, small businesses and independent
testimonials, no idea of your services,
the more likely they are to reach practices have acquired a customer
no prices… while your competitors
out to you. We will talk more about through their company’s blog.
will have all of the above.
usability in a later chapter.
Lowering Marketing Costs
Helping Patients Find Your Practice
You can also integrate your social
The average dental practice will
When you take a look at the search media into your website, allowing
spend approximately 15% of their
volume statistics alone, they’re the your patients to follow you, stay up
gross revenue on marketing annually.
number one reason as to why you to date with the latest updates in
This can include everything from
need a website. Over 100 different your practice, and quickly send you
brochures to pens that clients
dentist-related keywords are being direct messages through Twitter,
can take at the end of every visit.
put into search engines throughout Instagram, or Facebook.
Instead of allocating a large chunk
Ireland and the UK on a monthly
We will talk about social media in of your profit to marketing, why not
basis. This gives you the potential to
a separate chapter, but if you want consider lowering it with the help of
reach over 100 new clients that might
a quick advice, set up a Facebook a website?
be interested in what your practice
business page for your dental clinic,
has to offer. Also, 20% of patients With a website you won’t be
its quite simple, and will open
that visit oral surgery clinics in required to spend regular amounts
your clinic to a wide range of new
Europe stated they found information to maintain a marketing scheme.
patients.
Instead, you will only have to pay
There are over 1 billion people using one-time fees for the services you
Facebook alone and 40% of these need. Typically you’ll want to hire a
The average dental users say that information found website design firm for the layout
on social media influences their and a SEO expert for the content. By
practice will spend healthcare choices. focusing on inbound leads through
approximately 15% of Showcasing Your Services
your website, your marketing will be
up to 62% less expensive.
their gross revenue on Much like making a purchase through
Since all of the work on the
a retail store, customers are going to
marketing annually want to know what you have to offer
website will be outsourced you
won’t have to worry about hiring
before they commit to your practice
full-time employees to deal with
and this is where your website
your marketing efforts. Instead,
becomes more valuable than ever
once the website is fully designed
before.
and operational, you’ll only be
Your website should be designed to responsible for paying for the hosting
give potential customers an insight service you choose. This can help
into what services you have to offer, lower that 15% to approximately 5%18 Dental Report 2018 Dental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts
The Statistics of Owning a Website vs. Not Owning One
IF YOU WANT TO GROW YOUT CLINIC , it ’s imperative to own a
website . Owning a website can take
40%
a significant chunk of your
competitor’s volume and
bring it into your practice,
helping to boost your
annual profits.
of small businesses and healthcare prac tices s till
don’t use one to their advantage.
85%
According to a study
Redshift Research found
conducted by Verisign,
that
84% 83%
of online researchers of s tudied consumers of sur veyed small
rely on the internet to decided that small businesses with a website
f ind websites for small businesses were far more had a “competitive
businesses and healthcare credible when they had a advantage over businesses
prac tices and without a website compared to when without websites”.
website, they didn’t .
48%
approximately
8 out of 10
potential patient s will never
know that your prac tice of s tudied dental prac tices intend on selling their
exis t s. ser vices through their website within 1 year of owning
their site.Dental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts Dental Report 2018 19
Why Clients Prefer Dental Clinics with
62%
a Website
Providing High Quality Information
According to the British Dental
Journal, 7.9% of surveyed adults
noticed the information they of dentis t s claiming print adver tising hasn’t added to
found on the Internet about dental the success of their business.
procedures was of low quality,
whereas 18.6% decided they had
access to high quality information. The Most Important Information to the perfect way for clients to put a
Of that 18.6% everyone contacted have on your Clinic’s Website face to a name, which will encourage
the Dental Clinic with the most them to consider coming in for a
Detailed List of Services
useful information available on their consultation or for dental work.
website. By far the most important
In your team biographies you
information you’ll need on your
It’s important to not only ensure your can include first names, a small
site includes a detailed list of your
website has enough information, but blurb about your interests, and a
services. Clients are going to want to
that it’s useful and informative to professional yet fun photograph of
know if you can help them with their
potential new patients. High quality yourself.
particular issue. Typically its a good
information has proven to be much
idea to create a dedicated page to Conclusion
more profitable than a mass of
showcase your services.
information, quality vs. quantity. Owning a website has never been
Pricing more important than it is today
Building Credibility
with 62% of dentists claiming
Dentists must display private fees in
Finding healthcare practitioners is a print advertising hasn’t added
a place where patients can view them
difficult job for prospective patients to the success of their business.
before consultation. So a pricing
as they want to make sure they Without the help of an online
page, with as much information as
choose the most reputable practice. portal to lead potential patients
possible is very advisable.
When you own a website, 84% of into your sales funnel, you could
potential patients will find that Understandably the cost of each be looking at a massive decrease in
you’re more credible when compared service depends on the severity of annual revenue.
to other businesses that don’t own a the condition. Potential patients will
appreciate having a general idea of Adding to this it’s very important
website.
the cost of each procedure. to mention that if you do decide to
You’ll want to make sure that you develop a website for your clinic,
Testimonials
showcase your professionalism look for Dental Marketing Experts,
through your website as it helps to There’s nothing better than having a with proven results. The reason
build trust in your brand and will page of testimonials from past and for this is, a website which is set up
entice more patients to try your current clients that enjoy your dental perfectly to gather results online,
clinic and your services.. office because 61% of customers may look similar to one that is set
read through online reviews and up incorrectly (It’s what is under
testimonials prior to making a the bonnet that counts). You may
purchase decision. With the help of pay a lot less for an inexperienced
testimonials you’ll be able to build person to generate a website
trust without making your website for you, but the chances of this
too “sales-y” for the average visitor. generating new clients for you will
We will talk about why these are vital be very slim.
in a later chapter.
61%
I would not leave an inexperienced
Team Biographies dentist near my teeth, and you
need to treat your dental clinic
of customers read through Another great way to build trust in
with the same regard. A proper
online reviews and testimonials your brand is to give website visitors
website needs planning, attention,
prior to making a purchase a clear idea of who it is they’ll be
decision. expertise and hard work from the
working with. Team biographies are
developer.20 Dental Report 2018 Dental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts
The Importance of a
Mobile Friendly Website
In today’s society there’s no better investment than a website for your dental
practice.
33.52%
Dental Clinics without mobile
friendly websites
66.48%
Dental Clinics with mobile
friendly websites
40%
40% of users abandon a
website that take more than
3 seconds to load
61%
of all Internet traffic in the
49%
of surveyed mobile users stated
UK and Ireland is through
that they would wait up to only 10
mobile devices seconds for a page to load.
67% were more likely to make a
commitment to the company if their
website worked on mobile devices
A 1 second delay decreases customer satisfaction by 16%
56% Approximately 61% of all Internet traffic in the UK
and Ireland is through mobile devices and not having
of mobile users visit a particular business on
the same day they searched for it
a mobile friendly website means that you could be
missing out on a huge share of Internet users.
56% of all mobile
56% There is an array of benefits associated with having a mobile friendly site
searches have
such as providing prospective patients with a convenient and user-friendly
local intent
browsing experience.Dental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts Dental Report 2018 21
For a dental practice that brings in
approximately €1000 each day, deciding to
€25,000
not have a responsive website design could
cost you up to €25,000 annually.
What is a Mobile Friendly Site?
To put it simply, a mobile friendly site is a website that can be viewed on
mobile devices such as smart-phones and tablets. But there are different
main concepts that a site needs in order to be classified as “mobile friendly”,
3 of which are discussed below.
1. Impeccable Loading Speeds
Fast loading websites are essential when it comes to a mobile friendly site
and it’s imperative that you don’t bloat your site with a bunch of graphic
images and videos that will slow it down. According to a study by Kissmetrics,
approximately 49% of surveyed mobile users stated that they would wait up
to only 10 seconds for a page to load.
Remember, a smartphone or tablet is substantially less powerful than a
computer and even though your webpage may load seamlessly on your
desktop at home, it doesn’t mean that it will work as well on a smartphone.
Also, bloated websites are going to cost your clients more money to load, as
they will typically be using their data to search for your dental practice while
they’re on the go.
2. Easily Navigable
Depending on the type of device that a prospective patient has, the screen
will typically be a fraction of the size of a desktop computer screen. This is
why it’s important to have an easily navigable website that your patients can
quickly browse through to find the most pertinent information.
You’ll want to consider placing a navigation bar or drop down list at the top
of the site that they can use to visit your landing pages. According to the
Walgreens GVP and Chief of Technology Officer of eCommerce, “Our goal with
everything we do on mobile is to make our customers’ lives easier.”
3. Implementing a Responsive Web Design
RWD, or responsive web design, is essential to the success of a mobile
friendly site. It basically means that the page will have the same URL and the
same coding regardless of if a person has visited your website through their
computer, tablet, or smartphone.
With RWD the website will respond to the user depending on the size of their
screen to help optimise the content for easier browsing. There are a variety
A non- responsive
of benefits associated with responsive website design, particularly which you website design could
will only have to worry about updating one version of your site instead of two.
cost you up to €25,000
For a dental practice that brings in approximately €1000 each day, deciding to
not have a responsive website design could cost you up to €25,000 annually. annually.22 Dental Report 2018 Dental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts
Features in a Mobile Friendly Site
Now that you have a clear
understanding of what a mobile
friendly website is, you might be
considering how you can build one
on your own. When you begin the
development process there are
certain features that you should pay
special attention to. These features
not only make it easier for clients
to work their way through your
website, but it also helps to add to a
seamless aesthetic appeal as well as
functionality.
Ireland by far has the largest number
of mobile device Internet users in
comparison to the rest of Europe,
North America, or South America.
1. Call to Action Buttons
As a dentist, the main objective
of your website is to encourage
potential patients to call your
practice and schedule an
appointment. This is where call to
action buttons are the most useful
as you can make contacting your
offices easier than ever before.
Consider adding click-to-call or
click-to-text buttons on your site so
that if people are browsing using a
mobile device, all they have to do is
3. Optimising Content and Button site if they prefer. Typically you can
push one button to be connected to
Size add a link to the full version of the
your reception desk. Internet users
site.
don’t enjoy having to search for The last thing you’ll want is to have
contact information so it should be potential clients trying to read 5. Image Sliders
readily available. incredibly small content and buttons
If you have decided that pictures are
on your site as it will only encourage
2. Mobile Maps and Directions exactly what your website needs to
them to click off of the page and
really grab the attention of readers,
It’s also important to let your visit a competitor. Make sure the
you will want to consider adding
clients know where your practice is text on the page is large enough to
them into a slider that a user will
located because approximately 53% read on small mobile devices and
be able to swipe through. Scrolling
of your website traffic is searching ensure every button is optimised to
can be difficult to work with on a
for directions to your local approximately 45-57 pixels.
smartphone, especially if you have
establishment. Adding directions
pages and pages of content. An
is simple with the help of a
image slider puts all of the pictures
Google Map widget. You can either 4. Linking to a Desktop Site
you need in one convenient location.
give your clients step-by-step
Although your website should be
instructions on how to get to your
optimised for easy browsing on
practice or you can add a hyper-link
mobile phones and other devices,
that will open your address in one
it’s still essential to give clients the
of their GPS apps.
ability to access your full desktopDental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts Dental Report 2018 23
Why is a Mobile Friendly Site
By 2020 there will be Important?
56% of mobile users
approximately 2.87 According to a study by Statista, by
visit a particular
billion smartphone 2020 there will be approximately 2.87 business on the same
billion smartphone users around the
users around the world. world. In fact, over 2/3 of the UK’s
day they searched for it
population uses smartphones more
than any other mobile device in their
home. Using mobile devices has
become the new way to connect with
companies that offer products and
services in their immediate area. It’s
important that you consider just how
beneficial it could be to grab a piece
of that market share for yourself.
Owning a mobile friendly site is more
than important; it’s vital for the 2. Local On-the-Go Searches
success of your practice.
You would be surprised to learn that
Over 2/3 of the 1. Mobile Use vs. Desktop Use the majority of local searches made
through mobile devices have a much
population uses In 2016 StatCounter discovered that
higher conversion rate than any
for the first time in history, mobile
smartphones more use surpassed desktop use with
other types of searches. According to
Search Engine Land, approximately
than any other mobile 51.3% of all Internet users relying
56% of mobile users visit a particular
on their smartphones and tablets
device in their home compared to 48.7% relying on their
business on the same day they
searched for it. Out of that 56%
desktop computers. This alone is the
increase in foot traffic, approximately
most convincing reason to consider
78% of all people made a purchase
implementing a mobile friendly site
that day as well.
for your dental practice.
This is a phenomenal opportunity for
your practice as you have the ability
to focus on the potential for high
rates of conversions, which inevitably
equates to better profits at the end
of every quarter and more overall
success for your business.
3. Higher Mobile Friendly Rankings
Unlike your typical search engine
rankings, Google unveiled a new
program in 2015 that was aimed
towards mobile friendly websites.
The program is specifically designed
to give these sites the ability to
be ranked differently than regular
desktop pages.
If you take the time to develop a
mobile friendly site, you will also
have the ability to be ranked higher
on these high quality search engine
results. The higher you’re ranked, the
more traffic your site will bring in.24 Dental Report 2018 Dental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts
Why Potential Patients Prefer Mobile
Friendly Sites
More and more people are turning
to their mobile devices to get
information about dental practices
simply because they’re constantly
on the go. It’s common knowledge
that your patients are going to prefer
your mobile friendly site because of
its convenience. ease of use, modern
adaptation, and professionalism.
Convenience
With your mobile friendly website,
you’re going to tap into the 69%
of users between the ages of 18
and 39 that always turn to their
smartphones for research before
they decide to buy anything. In fact,
if your dental practice is targeting
to consider giving you their business. optimised for browsing on devices.
younger demographics, approximately
Not only will you be responsible for By not providing the easily navigable
80% of teens and young adults have
giving them professional advice, but format that mobile users expect, you
their own smartphone and use it for
you’ll also be working on their oral could be losing more than 50% of
research on a regular basis.
health and who would want to work your annual profits.
Instead of attempting to access a with a company that appeared like
Mobile devices such as tablets and
regular desktop version of a site from they could care less? Remember,
smartphones have never been more
a mobile device and dealing with 52% of users that have bad mobile
influential in today’s economy as
the headache of poorly optimized experiences are less likely to engage
they are now, and taking advantage
content, mobile friendly websites with said company.
of this information is essential for
boost browsing convenience ten-fold.
Speed and Efficiency the financial success of your practice.
According to a study conducted by
Google, approximately 61% of users There’s nothing more convenient Conclusion
were likely to leave a website if it than being able to unlock your
Test your website today, open it
wasn’t mobile friendly and 67% were device, access a search engine, and
with a mobile device, and see how
more likely to make a commitment find the information you need within
easy it is to use.
to the company if their website a matter of minutes. Today’s society
worked on mobile devices. has adapted a “right now” mentality, Your website needs to be of good
meaning that there’s no desire to quality, and one of the most
Finding Businesses that Care
wait for information anymore. important factors is that it works
No matter how you look at it, not for everyone. It needs to work for
Approximately 50% of website
having a mobile friendly website is all the people using Ipads, iphones,
visitors will wait up to 15 seconds for
going to hurt your business more android phones etc. When I say
a website to load and over 44% of
than you could imagine. According to work, I mean it needs to load
users will leave a site if it takes more
ThinkWithGoogle.com, approximately within 5 seconds, have a menu
than 3 seconds to appear on their
48% of studied users claimed that which is easy to use, and allow the
mobile devices. These figures show
if a website wasn’t mobile friendly, user to see your phone number,
you just how important it is to have
they felt like the company didn’t care directions and email within one
an efficient and fast loading site for a
about their business. click.
better user experience.
When it comes to the healthcare Mobile visitors are most likely
Owning a mobile friendly website
industry it is imperative that you local, and close to your clinic,
is essential for the success of your
show potential patients you care, needing a Dentist ASAP, make it
dental practice, particularly if you
otherwise they will be far less likely easy for them to find you!
have your content professionallyDental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts Dental Report 2018 25
Usability of Website
A website is much more than an onslaught of words, pictures, and pages, as it
gives potential clients the information they need to decide whether to visit your
dental practice or not.
61%
61% of internet users are more likely to Visitors only
leave websites that are not clear and easy pay attention to
to use 28% of website
content, as
82% most people
77%
are at the age of 50 or older are visually impaired scan through a
and will find it difficult to read small font website
74%
of website
Only 26% owners are at
risk of losing
of Dental Clinics in Ireland of the people visiting your
website are interested in finding
clients due
have an integrated map on
the location of your business and to poor user
their homepage
your hours of operation interfaces
64% 37%
Only 70.28% of Dental Clinics in
Ireland have their email listed on
the homepage of patients contact their dentist through the Internet
of your regular traffic
is from people looking
for your phone number,
email address, or your
physical address
A One second 24% The average score of Dental
47%
delay in your page loading of visitors will websites in Ireland is only 64/100 of all website
time can lead to an 11% leave the website users expect an
decrease in page views, a 16% before the page entire website
loads if it takes 7 Average loading time of a to load within 2
decrease in satisfaction from Dental website in Ireland is
seconds seconds
website visitors, and a 7% loss 7.4seconds
in conversion26 Dental Report 2018 Dental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts
A website is much more than an onslaught
of words, pictures, and pages, as it gives
potential clients the information they need to
decide whether to visit your dental practice
or not. As one of the most important aspects
of owning a website, it is essential that you
offer a user-friendly experience that will entice
potential clients to want to learn more about
what you have to offer. Otherwise, up to 48%
of your visitors will become frustrated and
leave your page.
From understanding the benefits you’ll experience from
a user-friendly website to learning how you can take
advantage of enhanced usability, we’re going to delve
into the details of just how beneficial it can be to have a
stunning and easily navigable website.Dental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts Dental Report 2018 27
The Key Benefits of Having a User-Friendly Dental Website
As a dentist in the modern age, you should be aware of how important it is
to maximize your efforts and build a trustworthy online presence. Not only
is it important to consider things such as SEO and having an aesthetically
pleasing site, but it also has to be usable for your target audience. Although
it can be easy to get swept away in the idea of adding more images, brighter
fonts, and dozens of pages for your clients to browse through, it’s not the
most effective way to create a user-friendly website.
1. The Best Browsing Experience Possible
The first thing to consider is how simple it would be for your clients to be
able to go to your website and get the information they need. It’s said that
approximately 61% of internet users are more likely to click off of websites
that don’t offer a convenient and easy-to-use development strategy, whereas
potential clients will be 67% more likely to stay on your website if it offers the
best browsing experience possible (www.thinkwithgoogle.com).
In order to make sure that you can offer a phenomenal browsing experience,
you’ll need to cut back on the flashy images and outrageous font selection
so you can focus more on the information your clients need. Ensure that
you offer a navigation bar at the top of the site where they can move from
one page to another and implement a search bar where they can browse for
specific keywords on your site.
Everything should be laid out professionally and right in front of their eyes so
they can find the information they need without spending hours looking for
an answer to a single question. Just remember, the easier it is to browse, the
more time people will spend on your site.
2. Accessible to All Potential Clients
Another large benefit of having a highly usable website is that it will be
simple to navigate through for absolutely anyone ranging from the elderly
to the blind. If you don’t take these demographics into account, you could
be missing out on a large chunk of business that will be stolen by competing
dentists. Approximately 285 million people in the world are said to be visually
impaired, 82% are at the age of 50 or older (www.who.int/mediacentre/
factsheets/fs282/en/).
Making your website accessible to everyone is easy, especially if you’re
working with a web development firm that has experience with accessibility
options. There are different ways to help make your website more usable by
the elderly and disabled, such as ensuring that screen readers can be used to
access different parts of your website.
3. Enhancing Professional Appearance
People who typically use the Internet to look for a dentist generally have
an idea of what they’d like to see when they open a web page. In the past,
61% of internet users websites offered an array of design schemes ranging from bright hot pink
are more likely to click backgrounds to flashing red text against tiled images. In fact, according to
a study conducted by the Nielson Norman Group, the most information a
off of websites that reader is likely to pay attention to is 28%. This means you’ll have to make the
don’t offer a convenient most out of the 28% of information you should have on your site.
and easy-to-use In today’s day and age, it is important to consider the features that will
accentuate the personality of your dental practice. Do you want to offer a
development strategy28 Dental Report 2018 Dental Booster - Dental Research & Marketing Experts
Your clients want to see a
CLEAN, CLEAR, AND CONCISE WEBSITE
that is obviously put together by a team of professional developers.
professional appeal that sets you apart from other dentists in your area?
This is when a professionally designed site is what will make the difference
between an influx of new patients and a steady flow of current ones.
Your clients want to see a clean, clear, and concise website that is obviously
put together by a team of professional developers. They want to read through
content that is written with the highest attention to detail and that helps
them understand the importance of visiting a dentist. Also, they’ll want to be
able to find the information they need as quickly as possible.
The more professional your website is, the more likely people are to visit your
practice as they will assume that your services will complement the design of
your site.
4. Substantial Increase in Revenue
According to the Society of Digital Agencies, approximately 77% of website
owners are at risk of losing clients due to poor user interfaces which results
in a substantial loss in potential patient conversion.
As mentioned, having a usable website is essential for grabbing visitors
attention and turning them into paying patients. The more clients you’re able
to work with, the more money you’re inevitably going to bring in at the end
of each month. In fact, the majority of dentists need to rely on marketing
efforts to bring clients into their practices, as they essentially have to sell the
benefits of their office to potential patients.
With the help of a usable website that is either designed by a professional
team of website developers, you’re easily going to bring in approximately
40% more in revenue each year. All of this will be as a result of an effective
marketing strategy and a usable website. Take a moment to consider what
a 40% increase in revenue would mean for your business, and it’s easily
accessible as long as you’re able to develop a user-friendly website.
5. Easier to Manage
Once you have a user-friendly website established, there will be the need
to maintain and update it through the years to ensure your content stays
fresh and remarkable when compared to other Irish dental practices. On the
back end of the website, you won’t have to sort through an ample amount
of messy code or spend hours trying to find the right blurb of content that
needs to be re-evaluated.
The more effective your website design is, the easier it will be for you and
your website development team to manage and you can save up to 50%
of your time. You won’t have to spend more money on changing outdated
77% of website owners coding, as you’ll essentially be working with modern methods that can easily
be removed or enhanced to accentuate the best features of your site.
are at risk of losing
Over time, you may even get enough experience to where you will be able to
clients due to poor manage the entire site on your own and so you’ll want the framework and
user interfaces content architecture to be as simple to work with as possible.You can also read
