Your web site can, and should be, one of the top ways you bring patients into your practice. That can be a pretty bold statement for someone who doesn’t use the internet very much or doesn’t get ANY new business from the internet.

Many practitioners tell me that most of their clients come from referrals. That is exactly how it should be - word of mouth referrals should be your number way you attract new patients. Your web site should be number two. I don’t care what industry you are in, the fact is that most consumers are searching for health related information online.

In fact, 86% of online adults are searching for health related information an average of six times a month. Is your practice reaching this online healthcare consumer? If you’re not sure, here’s where you start…

The first step is to have a professional web site that meets some of the basics for attracting patients.

• Your contact information is readily accessible from all pages.
• Your web site has a professional look and feel.
• You clearly educate visitors on who you are and what you do

….the basics.

After fulfilling “the basic” needs, your goal is to create ongoing methods for attracting visitors to your site. One easy way to do that is to have your site changing all the time. Search engines like Google are attracted to sites that change frequently rather than those that are put up and then stay static for several years. So if someone with poor vision goes to Google and types in “eye care Philadelphia” your web site will pop up.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll take a look at some easy inexpensive ways to make this happen

To your success!
Kelly Robbins
www.AMarketingConnection.com

If you spend one or two hours a week leveraging several “new media” opportunities, you will easily double the number of clients that find you on the internet and increase your sales dramatically.

Why is having a strong web presence so important? Because over 80% of consumers go to the internet FIRST when they need health related information. A patient was referred to you by a friend - they check out your website to see who you are. Experiencing a pain or discomfort - your prospective patient is going to the internet to search the symptoms. Do you offer a cure?

You already have a website; do you know how effective it is? What words would a prospective patient type in Google to find you? Try it and see where you come up. Are you on the first page? Your success can greatly depend on you having one of those top spots. Not the paid spots on the side, but a site that naturally comes up to the top of list. This site is often searched, is healthy and changing often, and is safe for visitors.

How can spending one hour a week using “new media” techniques help you make more money? Posting educational articles, blogging and podcasting are just few examples of systemizable marketing tasks you can do consistently to ensure your information the first thing prospective clients see when they look online.

Not sure how your website ranks? Our website optimization package can check for you and give you specific feedback on things you can do to improve. Contact us to learn more about our new media marketing packages

To your success!
Kelly Robbins
www.AMarketingConnection.com

Best Buy sponsored an event at the DNC titled @15 for 13-15 year-olds. Best Buy’s philanthropic efforts are now going towards issues that are important to this age group, of which I have a daughter. The idea behind the event was for the “powerful leaders” at the DNC to have an opportunity to learn about issues that are important to these kids. The kids were hosting the event and were to approach the politicians and introduce themselves and begin the conversations. My daughter, Shelby, really put herself out there to do this. She is naturally shy but walked up to several adults, “powerful leaders” none the less, and said hello and talked about what is important to her. I am posting some photos of Shelby and I together at the event as well as a photo of the police presence — which was huge! I’ve also included a photo with Shelby and New Hampshire lobbyist Jim Demers. Jim was very nice and explained to Shelby what a lobbyist actually does and how they help representatives understand the issues on the bills. Jim was head of the Obama campaign in New Hampshire and is a former legislator. I thought it would be fun to share these “off topic” photo’s with everyone.

To your success!
Kelly Robbins
www.AMarketingConnection.com

As the internet continues to increase with popularity, your web site could be the number one way prospects find you and learn about you. If you don’t have a web site, now is definitely the time to start thinking about setting one up. Take some time look at your site to tune it up so it’s functioning at maximum potential.

Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Do you tell people exactly where to go next on each and every page? If people read your home page, do they know what steps they should take or what page to look at next? Don’t assume they will just click around.
2. Does every page have your contact information? And this does not include a “contact us” page on your navigation bar. I recommend to all my clients that they also include an email link and their phone number at the very bottom of every page too. We want to make it very easy for everyone to contact you.
3. Do you have testimonials scattered throughout each page of your web site? If not, what can you do to get some today? Your site is there to start building trust with your prospects. Testimonials are an essential piece of that trust.
4. Are your paragraphs short and easy to read? This may not have been something you thought about when you first did your site, so do a quick once- over. In general, your paragraphs should be two or three sentences and that’s it. Do you break the page up with bullet points or bolding?
5. Headings and subheadings. Do you have any? Important key words that prospective clients would use to find you should be in the headline of each page at the very top, and then in subheadings throughout the page. I find that many clients that write their own web sites don’t know to do this part and don’t realize the importance it plays in the search engines finding you. If the search engines aren’t finding you, chances are some of your prospects aren’t either.
6. Have you added any new products or services since you last worked on your web site? Any new samples to show or testimonials to add? Any changes that need to be made to older products or services? Maybe you want to update your bio on the about us page?
7. Do you have a way to contact your prospects information? A free report? A newsletter? This is the number one thing your site should have as it allows you to stay in contact with your prospects and help them move farther down the sales funnel.

To your success!
Kelly Robbins
www.AMarketingConnection.com

Have you taken some time to refresh your marketing efforts and systems lately? Do you know what’s working and what’s not?

Here are some ways to refresh your marketing efforts and systems:

• If you have specific marketing systems that you’ve always done, such as always doing a St. Patrick’s Day promotion or networking with a specific group, take the time now to analyze if that is productive for you. Is it time to change things up a bit?
• Do the same exercise with any services you have packaged or bundled. Can you change them around a little bit, add some coaching, or partner with another business to freshen things up?
• Do you offer a free report or educational handout to patients? Could that use some updating? How about your newsletter or brochures?
• When was the last time you updated your website? Take a glance at it. Are all your new services, coaching and packages listed? (stay tuned to The Healthcare Marketer next week for more information on updating your site)

To your success!
Kelly Robbins
www.AMarketingConnection.com

You should take the time to clear the clutter from your practice and free up our energy for growth at least once a year. Patients come to you for healing - it’s imperative your office has a clean and energetic feel to it.

Take an hour or two and follow some of these tips to create space with a “Practice Cleanse”.

• Sit in the reception area as if you were a patient and look around - are the magazines up to date? Are there too many lying around? Are the pictures on the walls dusty? How does the place look and feel?
• Take a look at the reception area and treatment rooms. Have the pillows or chairs developed holes? Are the children’s toys in working order? Get rid of old things and bring in some fresh new items.
• Freshen the atmosphere up a bit - add some fresh flowers to the reception area, a fresh coat of paint if necessary, dust the ceilings and other unusual areas (especially those of us that have patients that lay down, check this it’s easy to miss).
• Closets, cabinets and other areas for storage space have the opportunity to collect clutter all year. Old supplements and unused office supplies have a way of piling up and collecting dust. Clean it out!

To your success!
Kelly Robbins
www.AMarketingConnection.com

At one point or another in our healthcare careers we face the challenge of coming up with new marketing ideas. Consistently coming up with ideas for new ways to attract prospects attention or to keep your name in front of existing clients can be exhausting and frustrating.

Sometimes we just plain run out of ideas. If you feel that you have implemented all the ideas you have, feel stuck, or are just looking to approach things in a different way this year, here is our last tip for ways to get new marketing ideas flowing:

Tip #6: If you don’t have much time and are feeling pressured to come up with a marketing promotion right away, at least try to back away from your problem for a little while. Ideas don’t generally flow when you’re under pressure. Watch a movie; read a novel. Your great idea may come while you’re sleeping or in the shower once you relax. Oftentimes you have to let things go so they can come to you.

To your success!
Kelly Robbins
www.AMarketingConnection.com

At one point or another in our healthcare careers we face the challenge of coming up with new marketing ideas. Consistently coming up with ideas for new ways to attract prospects attention or to keep your name in front of existing clients can be exhausting and frustrating.

Sometimes we just plain run out of ideas. If you feel that you have implemented all the ideas you have, feel stuck, or are just looking to approach things in a different way this year, here is tip #5 for ways to get new marketing ideas flowing:

Tip #5: Search for marketing ideas online. You may have some ideas you’ve been kicking around but haven’t fully materialized. Jot down some key words and just go digging around. You never know where your next great idea will come from.

Stay tuned to The Healthcare Marketer for our last tip for coming up with new marketing ideas.

To your success!
Kelly Robbins
www.AMarketingConnection.com

At one point or another in our healthcare careers we face the challenge of coming up with new marketing ideas. Consistently coming up with ideas for new ways to attract prospects attention or to keep your name in front of existing clients can be exhausting and frustrating.

Sometimes we just plain run out of ideas. If you feel that you have implemented all the ideas you have, feel stuck, or are just looking to approach things in a different way this year, here is tip #4 for ways to get new marketing ideas flowing:

Tip #4: Allow yourself one day a month to get outside your office — outside your normal work environment — and brainstorm. Find a relaxed setting where you can sit down for a while and just write. Write down what’s happened over the last month or so, where you’re heading, and where you’d like to go in the future.

Find out what environment works best for you to do this exercise. It may be finding a big comfy chair at Starbucks for a few hours, or working from home instead of the office. It’s hard to come up with ideas when you’re in the thick of things; so get out of your work environment and relax. The ideas just might flow.

Stay tuned to The Healthcare Marketer for 2 more tips for coming up with new marketing ideas.

To your success!
Kelly Robbins
www.AMarketingConnection.com

At one point or another in our healthcare careers we face the challenge of coming up with new marketing ideas. Consistently coming up with ideas for new ways to attract prospects attention or to keep your name in front of existing clients can be exhausting and frustrating.

Sometimes we just plain run out of ideas. If you feel that you have implemented all the ideas you have, feel stuck, or are just looking to approach things in a different way this year, here is tip #3 for ways to get new marketing ideas flowing:

Tip #3: Find someone (or several others) that does what you do in another part of the country. Watch their ideas and marketing techniques. Sign-up for their ezine. Try to get on their mailing list. In addition to finding similar companies online you may try to network with someone through a national association or at a networking event.

Stay tuned to The Healthcare Marketer for 3 more tips for coming up with new marketing ideas.

To your success!
Kelly Robbins
www.AMarketingConnection.com