The Internet is a funny place and a powerful one at that. People visit the internet to google their symptoms and decide whether they are worth visiting a doctor.
Therefore, even though it is a noble profession, a hospital (or a doctor / Consultant) is ultimately dependent on being insight at the right time. For this simple reason, a consultant/doctor/hospital should have a website of its own.
You may think that this is not reason enough to have a website. After all, you can reach out to the people seeking treatments through online advertisements and marketing as well, right?
Well, that might be true to an extent but not entirely. You would need a landing page for your advertisements where people will want to check the services you provide and then get in touch with you.
But, apart from this, there are several other benefits of having a website:
1) Constant and Instant Marketing:
The most beneficial aspect of having an online presence through a website is that your name/ hospital is displayed on the searcher’s screen regardless of time or place, giving you the power of reaching the person who desires to visit you. In contrast, in the traditional methods of marketing and advertisement, you show yourself to a multitude of people who may or may not require your services.
2) Global scalability:
Another added benefit of a website is that you are not geographically dependent on only the local people to find you. You can reach across the borders. This is exceptionally helpful if your expertise lies in niche services and people are trying to reach you from afar.
3) Cost-Effective:
Probably the most cost-effective solution for staying visible, having a website not only ensures that you have a landing page in case of online marketing, but it also ensures visibility in a plethora of options. It works as an informative tool wherein you can update the accessibility of any new services/machines.
4) Direct communication:
A good website will have listed various ways for the patients to get in touch with you directly. Once someone has checked your website and is interested in visiting you, they can get in touch with you directly through emails, chatBots or contact numbers, whatever is preferable to them and is mentioned on your website. Websites also have an FAQ section where all the general queries are answered making the process easier. You can even reply to the questions of the patients who are trying to reach you through your website.
5) Gives validation / builds credibility:
People usually want to test your expertise through the experiences of others. A website is a validation tool that talks to the people, on your behalf, about your expertise and your specialities along with the reviews from patients who have already visited you. Your interactions and exchange of information about your services builds credibility and instil faith among the people at large.
6) Gives Patient Analytics/insights:
Your website gives you insights about who visited you. What age group of people looked up for your services, their demographics, what services they were seeking, etc. This analytics can further help you in carving your services in a targeted manner that will help you obtain and retain these patients.
7) Gives Specialists information/Doctors working in the hospital:
Oftentimes, what seals the deal of a confused patient is the panel of specialists that are made available. A website can list down the doctors and specialists as their team and ensure that people know whom to visit in case they want to get treated by someone in particular.
8) Smooth Patient /administrative process:
The long queues, the waiting hours, the time spent to book an appointment; these are major deterrents in today’s fast-paced world. With a well-designed website, the entire administrative process can be made much easier, more efficient and quick. With the information available on the website, the patient knows well-in-advance of what to carry along with him for his appointment. The patient’s wait-time is reduced which in turn increases the efficiency of your staff resulting in smooth functioning of the institution.
Apart from these, there are several other benefits of having a website, the results of which you will be able to see over a period of time. In today’s world having an online representation of your services in the form of a website is as important as medicines are to a patient.
