Recent figures are suggesting that over the next few years the amount of people accessing the internet via mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets and Kindles is likely to overtake those who use desktops and laptops. It certainlyseems that as the cost of mobile devices decrease, the number of
internet searches carried out on them rises. But why have these devices become so popular? It’s because we live in what has been dubbed an ‘on demand’ society where we want to be able to access information instantly. Whatever we want, whether it is ordering food, buying clothes or
searching for services, all we have to do is reach for our phone.
The TV companies and astute advertisers have grown wise to this and now work on the presumption that everybody has a phone or tablet nearby when watching television. This ‘two screen’ theory is why we so often see adverts that feature hashtags or voucher codes, these are placed within the advert to spur the viewer on to pick up their phone or tablet and search the company online immediately.
This is proof that consumer behaviour is changing. The bulk of our internet usage is no longer during office hours. A mobile device means that access to the internet is available on the way to the work, whilst waiting in a restaurant, stuck in a traffic jam or late into the night.
Many dental practices have made the migration to the internet but now they need to take another step and make sure that they are mobile compatible. This makes them much more accessible to their patients, who will be able to book an appointment at any time of day. In fact, someone suffering from dental pain is more likely to use a mobile device to try and book an appointment than call. Dental pain is less noticeable during the day when you are active as the adrenaline released absorbs the significance of the pain. However, when asleep your heart rate drops and you don’t pump as much blood around your body, this makes you more sensitive to pain. This is why
many find that toothache disturbs their sleep. In this occurrence, most will immediately try to book themselves an appointment with a local dentist for as soon as possible. But because of the time they are unable to call a practice so instead turn to their smartphone or tablet to book online.
Practices need to consider this and make sure that they are making themselves available across as many platforms as possible. People’s behaviour changes throughout the day, so not only is a desktop presence needed for 9-5, but access via mobile devices needs to be catered for as well.
One way of providing this is by having a website that is optimised for viewing on a mobile device. A website built with responsive design will detect the size of the screen it is being viewed on and will automatically adjust itself to fit. Without this technology, viewing a website on a mobile device can be very frustrating as only the top left hand corner of the site will be visible.
Getting a website with responsive design can be quite an expensive process, however, for those looking to keep costs down there are other options. Some online booking sites give practices their own responsive design profile page as well as the ability to offer both online and mobile booking. Websites like
this make the process of booking a dental appointment quick and
simple for the patient. Some of them even integrate Facebook connect technology which means that they can sign up with the information they have stored in their Facebook account, so they don’t have to waste time filling in all of their personal details. Not only is this quicker than calling a dental practice, it can be done at any time of day and will also have a wider selection of vacant appointments for the patient to select from.
The way that we access information has changed. It is no longer simply the case that dental practices need to get online, it’s that they need to consider how they approach it. By making sure their online presence encompasses
mobile platforms dental practices can look forward to a host of new patients joining.