Smartphone applications or apps may have started out as fun diversions from your everyday routine, but they serve a real purpose today. There’s an app for nearly every business and interest, including the dental and medical arts. As a professional, you should consider an app for your practice. Their use among your patients will be priceless in no time.
Perception is Everything
The mere fact that you have an app for your medical or dental practice establishes you in the industry. Many professionals simply overlook the value of an app. They don’t believe it’s applicable in their line of work. However, you must carve out a reputation for yourself.
Combining an app and website together tells everyone that you’re connected to the technology of today. It familiarizes you with the general public. Because you’re a tangible professional at the touch of an icon, patients are more likely to work alongside you than a mysterious person behind a wall in a neighborhood practice.
Constant Reminder
It’s a fact that most people don’t actively think about their doctor or dentist unless a problem arises. They go about their day as they constantly tap on their smartphones or tablets. When you have an app, however, it’s a regular reminder about your practice.
Every app has an icon or image created on the device’s home screen for tapping purposes. Medical and dental professionals must simply design an icon that’s indicative of their practice. You might already have a logo for your practice installed on the building’s exterior. Use these visual reminders as your app logo. Although your patients may not tap on the icon every day, they see it and the image becomes part of their subconscious thoughts.
One-Tap Ease
Patients used to be limited to long, phone calls into their medical or dental offices. Any questions or appointment-scheduling tasks took up considerable time. With a smartphone app, patients can tap and go.
Your app should have basic features, including scheduling, contact information and informative tips. By making the interaction process as simple as possible, more patients will be inclined to make an appointment. If patients require any extra information, the app can also be a pathway toward the full site. It opens a browser, which helps the patient in record time.
Connects to Your Website
Some of your patients may be accustomed to your website. Using an app isn’t their comfort level. However, the app is advertised on the site. By connecting the site and app together as an dental or medical practice, most patients will install the app. It’s simply easier to access than typing a site address into a smartphone browser.
With more people visiting the site through the app and vice versa, your search-engine ranking should improve. You’ll see even more traffic to your practice because of the background connections and analytics. Add in a geo-specific location, and you’ll see even more exposure to your practice across the virtual platform.
Try to have a holistic approach toward marketing and use experts to make sure everything including your website and app is interconnected and aligned through cohesive SEO efforts. To choose the right experts, go with companies that provide a wide range of services and are present in various markets. Solution21 is an example of such experts with clients all over the US and Canada offering medical and dental applications to doctors and dentists.
Push-Notification Simplicity
Your patients don’t have to be the only active participants when they use the app. As a professional, you can send out regular reminders through the installed app. When your patients add the app to their devices, they can sign up for push notifications. You send a notification, and it pops up as a banner on the patients’ devices. There’s no need to tap the icon or log in. These pop-up reminders are one of the most valuable features of having an app for your medical or dental practice.
Quick Tips in the Palm of the Hand
Patients are smarter today than ever before. The Internet gives them a chance to look up countless ailments for verification, especially if they’re experiencing a personal issue. An app puts your patients in charge by offering helpful content tailored to their needs.
Within the app, offer FAQ queries that explain commonplace questions in your industry. An informative blog might pop up, which soothes the person’s concerns. They may still make an appointment with you, but their immediate worries are abated with your professional help.
Going Over Personal Files
An option that many patients appreciate is access to their files. They might wonder when they had a previous appointment or vaccination. Your patients log into their account through a secure pathway in the app. They gain this pertinent information and move ahead with their day. Because your practice is simple to work with, they’ll instantly think of you when an appointment is necessary. Solely using a website doesn’t offer the same convenience of an app.
Continue to update your SEO and website content alongside your app’s development. Keeping up with both platforms will only draw in more patients. The dental and medical arts will thrive as technology improves patient communications with each device and software update.
