It is not uncommon to find healthcare practitioners or wellbeing brands operating out of the home environment. When you can set up an effective office and treatment space in a domestic property, there really is no need to funnel resources into more unnecessary workspaces.
The result is that many healthcare providers can and do offer their services and treatment plans from home. From chiropractors and physiotherapists to psychologists and homeopaths, there are a wealth of opportunities for those within the industry to build their organization around the home environment.
But this can present its own set of barriers and unique challenges. The growth and success of a healthcare brand based out of a home office may be easier in some respects, such as reduced cost of running, but in other areas, it becomes more difficult. Factors like awareness and customer acquisition are different for home-based businesses, and this is no exception for healthcare.
So what can you do to improve your chances of succeeding in the sector?
Build an Excellent Website
Studies have shown that 80% of people will research a product or brand online before making a purchase or taking further action. This is concerning when you consider the fact that 50% of businesses don’t even have a website.
Given that the majority of your potential patients and clients will come from the online space, you need to have a website available for them to browse. Social media pages and digital listings can support customer acquisition online, but nothing can provide the same depth of information as a website.
Even if you have a website, however, you may actually be doing more harm than good. Research has also shown that poor-quality websites can leave customers with a negative impression of your healthcare organization.
What this means is your healthcare business doesn’t just need a website — it needs a high-quality website. Consider your website the introduction to your brand and compare it to a physical practice. If your practice was run-down and old-fashioned, you’d struggle to get people through the door. Instead, you’d need to develop it to meet expected standards, and a website is no different.
Utilize Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Do you understand the term SEO? If not, you’re missing out on crucial patient acquisition opportunities. If you do understand SEO but aren’t actively pursuing it as a practice, you are just as worse off.
Around 250 million US citizens actively use Google to find what they are looking for. They go to the platform for everything. It doesn’t matter if they are searching for a recipe or seeking out treatment for headaches; the search engine is where they go. This means you need to be working to get in front of these users. Having a website is great for direct traffic and people who are actively searching for your home business, but what about getting noticed by those who don’t know who you are? SEO opens your home practice up to an entirely new and untapped customer base.
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the practice of developing a website to give you visibility on Google and other search engines, allowing new customers to find your healthcare brand when searching for relevant services. By incorporating the best SEO practices, including the use of keywords and well-developed content, you will find your website appears within the Google results pages for terms and queries your customers are searching for, potentially leading them to your business.
The same survey that identified that 50% of businesses don’t have a website also noted that 75% don’t follow SEO practices. What does this mean for your healthcare organization? It means you probably aren’t using SEO to maximize your potential for success, but you should, given our modern-day affinity for Google. It also means that your competitors probably aren’t using SEO either, so by getting involved in the practice, you can position yourself ahead.
Many agencies offer services that do this for you, but as a small home business, you may not have the budget for SEO support. That doesn’t mean you can’t do it yourself, though. Plenty of guides offer basic search engine optimization tips and advice. You don’t need super-advanced SEO to at least start getting noticed — even basic improvements can make a big difference.
Establish Appointment Reminder Technology
So far, we’ve looked at providing a website to inform potential patients and using SEO as a method of acquiring clients. But once you’ve built your platform, you need to keep your customers on board.
Currently, the healthcare industry in the United States faces a big problem. The sector is hemorrhaging money as a result of missed appointments. This can cost your home business around $200 per failed attendance, which totals to around $150 billion across the entire healthcare sector.
You need to make sure your patients are sticking to their appointments and attending them, or your home business will suffer as a result. This isn’t as difficult a problem to solve as you might think. Most missed appointments are due to mix-ups or simple forgetfulness. To improve attendance rates, all you need to do is remind your clients they have scheduled appointments.
This is where an appointment reminder service comes in. Technology that can be integrated with your appointment schedules to send out automated reminders through texts, calls, and email formats, the software keeps your patients aware of when they are due to attend your home healthcare business. By maintaining that awareness, you dramatically increase the chance of a person turning up for the appointment — or at least canceling early enough to allow it to be given to somebody else.
Key Takeaways for Home Healthcare Businesses
The power of technology should not be underestimated when it comes to building a successful healthcare business that operates out of the home office.
The online platform is incredibly important for providing information and getting noticed, while digital solutions can ensure you hang on to patients you do manage to acquire and keep them from missing important appointment dates.
Working from home is, in many ways, a modern concept, which means it requires modern practices in order to work well. Consider the points outlined above and adapt them into your healthcare brand as best you can, and you should see major improvements to how your home business operates.
