BY KATHY FOLTIiIER, AUD
keysto
Patients
ontheInternet:
Searchto
;,i''i'll;i
"WhatonethingcanI do
,i,,*,tfi; skanyaudiologisttoday,
*:". foryourpractice?"
andthemostcommon
answer
will be"patient
referrals."
Nodoubt,
audiolo' |, ,\: gistsarethebestqualified
to
meet
the
hearing
,,
'
andbalance
needsof patients,
butto doso,con;1,,,,
iiriiisumers
mustknowwhomto callwhentheyor
theirlovedonesexperience
hearing,
understanding
or balanceproblems.
Intheabsence
ofthatknowledge,
a hearingor
balance-impaired
consumer
mayneverbecome
a patient
the
audiologist
canserve.
Education and awareness are at the core of quality healthcare
marketing. For a consumer to choose "audiology care," they
must understand what it means, why it is unique, how it impacts
hearing and balance care, and how hearing and balance impacts
quality of life. Quality audiology care should not be about the
products we sell; it must focus on the impact audiologists have
in the healthcare process beginning with proper diagnosis and
continuing through appropriate treatment and rehabilitation,
which may or may not include hearing aids.
Although traditional marketing efforts such as newspaper,
direct mail, flyers, special events, telemarketing, and the many
other promotional activities we have used for years can attract
patients, such marketing is becoming increasingly ineffective,
expensive and even obsolete.Direct mail production and postage
costs have increased; readership and distribution of ner,r'spapers
is declining; and laws have been passed to restrict telemarketing.
So what is an audiologist to do to educate and attract patients?
Considering today's Internet technology, every audiologist
can and should have a professional Web site. A qualitv \A,ebsite
adds immediate credibility, whereas not being found during an
Internet search not only results in lost opportunities, but also
can generatea negativeimage of the "missing"
audiology practice.A Web site can be simple,
but the overallimageincluding colors,graphics,
tagline,and contentwill impact its overalleffectiveness.All partsof the Websitemust combine
to createa powerful messagewith which any
target consumerwill identify and understand
the businesswithin seconds.
Historically, content on Web sites has been limited to the aesthetic appeal and written word, but more recently video portals
have become available, are expanding and can be included as
Web site content. In fact, some feel the written word will become
obsolete and be replaced by video communication in the not-sodistant future. Certainly, YouTube has contributed to the overall
impact of video on the Internet.
Developing an attractive, informative and educational Web site
is relatively easy, but driving the "right" consumers to that site
plus getting those consumers to call the office pose yet other challenges. Driving Web site traffic through key root-word searches,
written content and video content using search engine optimization strategies and pay-per-click or sponsored ads can be highly
effective techniques for attracting consumerq if done consistently.
All search engines have a limited number of nonpermanent listings for every root word, which means including the 'torrect"
root words in Web site content does not guarantee visibility.
In today's highly competitive market audiologists have an
opportunity to unite and educate consumers about "audiology carc" on a national scale using the Internetboth locally and
nationally. Tools exist that make it easy for patients to call an
audiologist directly from a Web site. Pairing a vanity number
with a Web address and adding educational practice videos can
improve the return on marketing investmentby increasing calls
to the individual audiologist's office. As always, tracking is key
and can be automated via Web-based call-tracking reports that
include the contact information of every caller.
A challenge for every individual audiologist is to achieve the
necessary content redundancy that is required for success with
Internet marketing, and that canbe measured by page placement
after a key word or phrase searches. Although local promotion
helps, audiology care must be promoted nationally to create the
necessary redundancy and repetition that results in attracting the
right people though effective Internet marketing efforts.$
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28
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