Why Do I Need Mobile Presence As Dentist?
Mobile technology is exploding with growth in the U.S. and globally, this accelerating mobile growth represents both the present and the future. This phenomenal growth offers a lot of opportunities not for reaching out to existing patients but attract new ones as well .
The traditional forms of advertising and marketing campaigns like direct mail, newspapers, radio and television are undergoing fundamental changes and do not offer a greater return on investment like it was in the past.
When compared to the mobile platform because this platform which includes social media is more permission-based and tends to respects the concerns of the audience it targets.
In study conducted by Google Inc. and Nielsen Inc. not only did 65% of respondents noticed mobile search ads during that study but 59% of them find mobile ads useful. This is what they said…
“No extra clicks needed”.
“They don’t’ take up much of my small screen and give me just info I can use”
To buttress this point further here are two quotations from very leading sources as to why as a dentist you need mobile strategy or presence.
“Every business should be thinking about building mobile apps today. It’s not a fad or passing trend. It’s customer service”. – Forbes.
“Mobile marketing is the most potential media ever invented”. – New York Times.
Ok I get it, What’s mobile presence, how and where do I start?
Bonus:Get the mobile presence checklist GRAB IT
Any effective and efficient mobile strategy or presence should have three (3) main components
Mobile Website
Mobile App
Mobile Advertising
Let me begin mobile websites they are two ways for optimizing a website that was originally designed for a desktop computer.
1. Creation of a separate mobile friendly website that redirects mobile device users from the desktop to the mobile version to give the desired mobile experience. Such mobile websites are named like m.mydrilldentist.com, mobile.mydrilldentist.com. These mobile specific websites may not render or appear well on tablet devices like ipad.
If want a tablet device friendly website a separate website for tablets would have to be built for it.
2. The second approach involves the creation of just website for multi-screen devices like smart phones, tablets, desktops and smart TVs. This approach commonly referred to as responsive web design or One Web is the one preferred by Google Inc. and is pushing of it. This responsive web design can be applied to existing desktop website version or created from scratch or as part of redesign.
However, another approach called adaptive web design converts an existing desktop version into one that is responsive. Cost and time are the driving factors in deciding whether to adapt or create a fresh one. Each situation being different calls for the client (dentist) and the web development agency to decide the best approach. If money is not an issue it is always better to start afresh. I say this cognizant of the fact some dental practices may have already invested heavily in their desktop version and would have immediate resources for a new design. In this instance it would be prudent for them to use adaptive web design .
The next series of images in the gallery below are designed to get you the information needed to make a decision and embark on your mobile strategy journey.
Bonus:Get the mobile presence checklist GRAB IT
Gordon Fletcher is the Principal Consultant (Engineering and Mobile Technology) at Compumagick Associates and can be reached at 217-441-2559 or compumagickassociates.com/contact, @compumagick