How frustrating is viewing a website on your mobile phone? I’m sure you would agree it is not only frustrating but it’s also so hard to read and navigate your way around so much so that we tend to give up and move onto something else. That could be what your potential patients are doing!
So, do you need a mobile website?
In Australia alone over 52% of the population (that’s around 11 million) own a smartphone, yet only around 15% of businesses worldwide have optimised their websites to cater for this market, a market that is clearly becoming more and more mobile savvy.
It is predicted that by 2013 the number of people searching the internet on their mobile will outstrip people searching on their PCs, laptops and iPads. Unbelievable! Did you see that one coming?
Here are 2 important facts:
70% of all ‘mobile’ searches result in action within an hour.- 70% of all ‘online’ searches result in action within a month.
NOT good news for those who don’t have a mobile strategy.
Some facts about mobile websites:
Mobile sites do not interfere with your normal website. A redirect code is placed in your existing site and detects whether the website needs to send the PC format or the mobile format.
Mobile sites should be relevant for specific information such as contact details, location, specials, events and what you offer. Mobile patients want to find information quickly and will act on it.
Incorporating a mobile marketing strategy using a mobile website, Facebook practice page and QR (quick response) code has shown to increase patient traffic.
QR codes are those little square barcodes you may have seen in ads and on wine bottles etc. They encrypt information or data, such as your contact details, web address, coupon, video or photo…basically anything. People can then use their mobile phones to ‘scan’ the code and the data will pop up on their screen. QR code readers are free to download for smartphones.
So make sure you are ready for this latest technology as it is not a trend or a gimmick – it is real and happening NOW and it’s future of healthcare practice marketing.
Embrace it now and you will reap the rewards.
