Essential Ingredients for Your Practice Website
Is your web site a great marketing tool for your practice? If not, maybe you're missing out on one of the essential things that your visitors need to know before they’ll even consider coming to you for a treatment. Just as in the real world, your potential clients need to know that they can trust you, and that you can help them with their particular problem. This article shows you how to build trust and convince people to do business with you through your web site.
- Identify yourself
Your web site should clearly identify itself in a prominent position (for example, a common header) on every page. This tells someone that they’re in the right place, with just a quick glance. For example, the tag line Yoga for people with special needs instantly tells visitors what this practitioner does. People also want to know who they're dealing with, so include either your own name or your business name; as well as your logo if you have one. - Location, location, location
Surprisingly, this essential piece of information is sometimes left out! There’s no point finding the perfect yoga studio, if it's 200 miles away from where you live. Location is so important, that you might want to include it on every page too. - Be easy to contact
Make it as easy as possible for prospective clients to contact you. A phone number is essential, and an email address or contact form on your web site allows them to contact you when it's convenient for them. Once again, consider adding your contact details to every page. - Don’t just list your modalities
Many therapists automatically list their modalities in their web sites and marketing brochures, but only a tiny proportion of their readers will know what each modality involves, and what it can be used to treat. Instead concentrate on conditions - people want to know that you can help with their ADHD or the pain in their heel; they don’t care that you're using naturopathic nutrition or Bowen to treat these conditions, they only care about getting well. Of course, you can still explain what your modalities are, and how they work, but make this supplemental information, rather than the main thing. - Gain their trust
Include testimonials on your web site to build trust. Simply ask your clients for a little quote you can use explaining how you helped them, or why they enjoyed their treatments with you. For the best effect, try to include a lot of information about the person speaking - for example, their first name, location, gender, age, or occupation - whatever makes sense for your business (but always ask permission first).
Do you have an About us page on your web site? This is another important trust builder. Include information on your qualifications or training, and your professional association memberships. A photo of yourself really helps visitors to connect with you.
Also consider the general effect of appearances. Typos, spelling or grammatical errors, blurry photos and dodgy clip art will do nothing for your business. If you're not an expert, consider getting a professional to design your logo & web site - the extra sales will pay for the cost many times over.
Summary
A successful web site is one that converts visitors into paying clients, through:
- showing them that you can help them,
- showing them that they can trust you, and
- making it easy for them to do business with you!
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