June 28, 2023
Last Updated on June 28, 2023
Consumer demand is changing. To protect and grow care revenues, build brand reputation, and attract new residents, patients, customers, and staff – care providers need to put greater focus on the digital experience. Lauren Williams, who heads up the health and care sector at Moneypenny, shares her top tips on attracting new customers.
Increasingly, online research is typically the first port of call for someone looking for care service support or a job in care. A website presents a powerful first impression of what your care home or domiciliary care service is like in real life and how you stand out from competitors – but they should be more than just a static ‘shop window’. They must offer informative and engaging experiences that put visitors one stop closer to becoming a customer.
People expect more from the digital experience and this comes down to not only what you can offer but how you make them feel about the service you provide.
We expect fast, professional and efficient service and accessibility from the big brands we buy from, so we certainly expect it when procuring care support for ourselves or those we love. Afterall the need for care home or domiciliary support is often emotionally charged and perhaps even urgent. So, when online experiences are productive, positive, professional and reassuring – the perception is that the in-person service is too.
Here, Lauren Williams, head of the health and care sector at leading outsourced communications provider, Moneypenny, shares her advice on how care providers can create positive digital customer experiences and make their websites work harder.
Finding You Online
Great digital CX starts with how easily a resident, patient or family member can find your website. This is also the stage that carries the most risk in terms of losing business to the hands of competitors.
In order to attract new customers, residents and patients, you must have a competitive edge and it’s essential to be visible online – SEO is the answer. When your care business appears in the top positions on search engine results pages, you receive more impressions and clicks, ultimately leading to increased traffic. SEO focuses on creating keyword-related title tags and meta descriptions, which will show up in the results pages.
While a SEO specialist can devise a strategy for you, you can also make some improvements yourself. When you optimise your tags and descriptions, you increase your click-through-rate, which increases your web traffic. Tools such as Accuranker and SEMrush (which has some great step by step advice online1) can be used to track and optimise your SEO strategy and help turn web traffic into valuable business.
It’s worth paying attention to which search terms are delivering traffic to your website, which terms you might want to include to broaden your audiences and where backlinks, that is links from other trusted sources (perhaps from the Care Quality Commission or Housing Care websites), could help to deliver traffic.
Crucially, you should also identify valuable keywords that your competitors are ranking for, but that you’re not. These keywords provide an opportunity for you to capture even more web traffic and be found more easily online.
First Impressions
As the saying goes, you only get one chance to make a first impression, and this couldn’t be truer when it comes to digital CX. All web visitors are looking for three key things –
- Clarity of offering – is it clear exactly what care services you offer?
- Strength of brand – does the website convey a coherent and recognisable identity, and match your brand elsewhere?
- Clear signposting – is the customer journey clear and can web visitors find what they need?
Recent research by Moneypenny revealed that almost half of care providers (44%) are failing to articulate their offering clearly online, while 82% aren’t doing enough to present a strong brand image and just over a quarter (26%) aren’t articulating how they are different to competitors. The findings also revealed that as well as care websites leaving web visitors wanting when it comes to clarity about services they offer, almost half (48%) either overwhelm web visitors with information or offer too little. Don’t overcomplicate things – instead, use clear descriptors to spell out your offering and why they should choose you. Invest in the creation of a strong visual identity and ensure it’s consistent – not just via the pages on your website, but also across email marketing, social media and beyond.
Aesthetically pleasing and well-designed sites positively impact digital CX. A strong and easily identifiable brand boosts trust in your web visitors, customers, patients and their families.
Navigation and Finding Answers.
Websites have the power to start and shape the customer journey – helping people to make care purchasing decisions and guiding them to appropriate resources, information and contact details. Our research also shows that the majority of care websites (76%) need to do more to improve their website signposting, with clearer information, calls to action (such as get in touch to book a tour) and links to contact forms. Ensure your website has a search bar function and a frequently asked questions section to allow visitors to self-serve by finding their own answers. It should also be mobile friendly. Poor navigation and information that’s hard to find creates frustrated web visitors – who are more likely to abandon their search and take their enquiry elsewhere.
Being Contactable
Research tells us that care providers need to do more to encourage web visitors to get in touch, ask questions or make an appointment to view your facility or discuss their specific needs.72% of care websites are not displaying their telephone number clearly enough online, despite the phone being customer’s most preferred channel2 and a web search often preceding a call. In addition, 96% aren’t offering live chat, even though the channel is a great way to triage enquiries 24/7 and provide the personal touch that could set you apart.
Opportunities were also missed with 92% of websites failing to offer appointment booking and 20% not offering web forms to capture requests. Websites should make it very clear how to get in touch and move forward on the customer journey. Well-considered web design draws people to and keeps them on your website. Well-written content and clear ‘contact us’ information is what will help convert visitors into customers.
Making changes
In 2023, all care must recognise the power of digital customer experience. Failure to meet digital expectations will only result in lost opportunities. Not just in terms of attracting new patients and residents, but new talent too. With a few simple website changes and a closer look at the customer journey, there’s a clear opportunity for care providers to make their digital first impressions shine.
NB: All website performance figures are taken from Moneypenny’s recent study of 50 care websites, including large multi-site care homes, independent providers and those offering home care, during January 2023 as part of a wider study into digital customer experience.