Why Your Spinal Decompression Clinic Needs to Go Mobile

If mobile marketing isn't in your plans, you might want to rethink your strategy. Some big—and growing—numbers suggest that mobile marketing has arrived in a big way.

Why You Need Mobile

As Pew research points out, over 90% of Americans own a mobile phone. Smartphone and tablet ownership continues to maintain an explosive growth rate. And tablet owners, particularly iPad owners, typically represent a consumer group with a significant amount of disposable income—a good audience for any business to target.

Mobile devices are steadily growing and impacting buying decisions. An increasingly mobile shopping force use mobile devices to locate clinics, check on services offered, comparison shop, make telephone contact and schedule appointments.

A well-designed mobile site can mean the difference between new patients and lost opportunities. Consider these findings from Google. According to Google Ad Blogs, 67% of mobile consumers are more likely to reach a purchasing decision on a mobile-friendly site and 61% say that if they can't easily find what they need, they will leave and go to another site.

Additionally, 57% of mobile users disclosed that they wouldn't recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site.

Mobile Optimization

While most practitioners have adapted to online marketing, many are missing out on the mobile trend because their sites aren't optimized for mobile devices. As the numbers above indicate, a website that is not optimized for mobile access runs the risk of losing opportunities with a majority of mobile users.

Optimizing a site for mobile greatly enhances the user experience and adds to the odds that consumers will actively use it. Application performance is critical in the mobile market. Native apps, Android OS for Android devices and iOS for iPhones and iPads, outperform html apps in the mobile space and enable added functionality. Mobile users prefer applications designed to their devices' operating software. A 2013 study from Flurry Analytics found that iOS and Android users spend 80% of their time in native apps. Native apps enhance the user experience by integrating with all of their many other tools. One-touch phoning, emailing or calendaring, for example, provide a quick, convenient and efficient way to take care of business on the fly.

Native apps provide a superior customer experience and enable companies to project a far more professional image. Developers acquainted with mobile optimization can greatly enhance your mobile website effectiveness

Ways to Use Mobile in Your Practice

The trends in mobile device usage demand that your site is optimized for mobile access. Consider these factors as you add mobile capabilities:

• Make your site mobile friendly and easy to navigate from an smartphone or tablet
• Prominently display your phone number to encourage a simple touch call
• Include mobile appointment setting capabilities
• Make your clinic contact information and location readily accessible with maps and directions
• Enable opt-ins for spinal condition education and special offers
• Optimize your site for mobile operating systems

The bottom line is that, if you want to reach your audience, you need to build an effective and professional presence in their preferred media channel. That channel is increasingly becoming mobile.

Is your spinal decompression website optimized for mobile?