Stylesheets - OT: Marketing Question

Author

OT: Marketing Question

rhino

2007-03-28, 7:19 pm

I realize this is somewhat off-topic but this seems like a good place to get
started with this question; I hope someone can point me in the right
direction to get the information I need.

I have gotten my chiropractor interested in the idea of doing a website to
publicize his practice. He hasn't said yes or no yet but something that
might help me get the job is some information on how effective websites are
in attracting new customers.

While anecdotal information is not completely irrelevant - e.g."I built a
website for my family doctor and his client base doubled in just six
months" - I'd really like to find some sort of reliable statistics that give
some idea of how much new business might be expected if a medical practice
that had never had a website suddenly acquired one.

The problem is that I have no idea how to find such information. In fact,
I'm not even sure such figures are published. Frankly, I'd expect this to be
proprietary information. For instance, if the Texas Chiropractors
Association commissioned polls to find out how many people went to a new
chiropractor in Texas primarily because they discovered the chiropractor
with a website, I'd expect that to be confidential to members of the
association, not something that was accessible to the public. Then again, I
could be totally wrong on this.

Does anyone have any idea if such statistics do exist and how I might find
them? I should note that I have no money with which to buy these statistics
if they are not in the public domain.

Also, do any of the web designers who use this newsgroups have any
suggestions for effective arguments to use in persuading someone to build a
website for their medical practice?

I don't want to sell any snake oil here, I'm just looking for honest
information on how much new business is likely to come the chiropractor's
way if he goes to the trouble of paying for a website.

Finally, does anyone have any really good medical sites - ideally
chiropractic ones - to recommend that I could use as a starting point for my
chiropractor's website?

--
Rhino

Ed Mullen

2007-03-28, 11:18 pm

rhino wrote:
> The problem is that I have no idea how to find such information. In fact,
> I'm not even sure such figures are published. Frankly, I'd expect this to be
> proprietary information. For instance, if the Texas Chiropractors
> Association commissioned polls to find out how many people went to a new
> chiropractor in Texas primarily because they discovered the chiropractor
> with a website, I'd expect that to be confidential to members of the
> association, not something that was accessible to the public. Then again, I
> could be totally wrong on this.

So, do various Google (and other) searches to sniff out what the various
local Chiropractic associations may have published. Search out your
doc's zip code using a Boolean "AND chiroprac" to see who else in your
area is already online.

Also look up the national Chiropractic Association. Email them and ask
your questions as an agent of one of their members.

Do the same for your doc's state Chiropractic association.

>
> Also, do any of the web designers who use this newsgroups have any
> suggestions for effective arguments to use in persuading someone to build a
> website for their medical practice?

Absent any concrete marketing data the only argument could be:

"Hey, it's cheap to do, put it out there and see what happens."
Frankly, done correctly it should be cheaper than establishing Yellow
Pages advertising. Effectiveness will be determined in a year or so.

Seriously, it's not hard to do. The important thing is to have the site
useful and credible.

My own eye doctor's web site is hideously broken. They should take it
down altogether or pay someone to fix it. As it is, it is probably
driving away customers.

KISS: "Keep It Simple Stupid." Anyone searching the Web to find a
chiropractor in Blissful, Arkansas won't care how technologically spiffy
the site is. They just want to know:

- where is the office
- what health plans do they accept
- hours of operation
- services provided
- doctors on site
- contact info

Basic stuff. Hell, if (as I have) my back hurts so much I beg my wife
to drive me to the emergency room, I could give a rat's butt what the
sire looks like. I just wanna know how to call and get someone to make
me not want to kill myself. Pretty design is totally immaterial.

--
Ed Mullen
http://edmullen.net
http://mozilla.edmullen.net
http://abington.edmullen.net

dorayme

2007-03-28, 11:18 pm

In article <euedpq$8k4$1@news.datemas.de>,
"rhino" <No.offline.contact.please@anonymous.com> wrote:

> I have gotten my chiropractor interested in the idea of doing a website to
> publicize his practice.

Try to persuade him to let you do a section on the placebo
effect. Which is closer to 100% than in most other medical
practices, (yeah ok, sure, beaten by homeopathic aroma therapy
but so what?)

[Slightly OT footnote: There are some physiotherapists one can
find who are not too bad with martian neck problems.
Chiropractors, on the other hand, have been known to result in a
martian head detached in their laps.)

--
dorayme

Ermoder9

2007-04-01, 1:52 pm

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