Going to the dentist is a very big deal for most people. It can be a little nerve-wracking, to say the very least. The idea of someone putting all these different tools in your mouth and the sound of a drill hitting your teeth is enough to make your palms sweat like crazy! Ok, so maybe I'm just speaking for myself...

Since most people go to the internet for research before they choose a dentist, or any professional service for that matter, I thought I would do a website case study of a local San Diego sedation dentist so that you have an idea of what I believe constitutes a customer-friendly website.

I decided to do this case study because I know that there are many people out there with new businesses who want to create their first website. Those of you regular readers may find the information a little redundant as I've done several case studies on my old blog, Customers Are Always, but it's been awhile since the last case study. I think that websites are evolving and we could all use a refresher every once in awhile.

In this case study I'll be sharing with you New Image Dental, the website of Dr. Scott Strommer and Dr. Leslie Strommer, a husband and wife team.

The Most Important Page of a Website

When people first come to your website, they typically want to know who you are and what your business is about, so an "About Us" page is highly recommended. This page tells people what your background is and what the mission of your business is. This is a very important page because it is equivalent to a handshake if you were meeting a customer for the very first time.

On their About Us page, the Strommers share their education and background in dentistry. They also included a picture of themselves - another element of a website that is recommended. Even if it's just a website, you still want to make a personal connection with your customers.



How Will Customers Contact You?

You'd be surprised how many people forget a Contact Us page. If a customer wants more information about your services, there needs to be contact information or else you stand the chance of losing them as a customer. Make sure to include an email address, phone number, and the mailing address of your business. You want it to be as easy as possible for customers to contact you.

In addition to the standard contact info, the New Image Dental's Contact Us page includes business hours as well as a map and directions to their office. Having this information on your website saves the customer the hassle of calling you on the phone to get that information.


Information, Information, Information

What kind of services do you offer? This is the type of information you also want to include on your website. Dentists offer various services and many of these services may be foreign to customers. Offering definitions, descriptions, how-to information, a F.A.Q. page, or news about your services or industry is valuable and helpful.

New Image Dental has a "Patient Library" page, an "Online Resources" page that connects customers with information about the field of dentistry, and a "Your Questions" page that answers the most frequently asked questions that clients have about their practice.



When people do searches on the internet, the information you provide on your website could show up in those search results. The more information you have, the more chances you have of showing up on the front page of a search engine like Google. For example, if a customer was doing a search for "San Diego veneers", the New Image Dental website would probably show up.

Make It Easy To Do Business With You

What I like about the New Image Dental website is there are forms that new patients can download and fill out before they even come into the office. This saves new patients a great deal of time on the day of their appointment. They can just walk in and all their information is ready to hand over to the receptionist. This is an idea that doctors or lawyers could adopt - or any other business that requires paperwork for clients to fill out.


Think about what you could add to your website to make it easier or more efficient for customers to do business with you.

Personal Connections

Nowadays we have many ways to connect with our customers. I've mentioned Twitter before. There's also Facebook, MySpace, a myriad of social networking websites, and blogs that are available to communicate with others.

One thing I would like to see the Strommers do is create online profiles to social networks and link to them from their website. Of course having an online profile isn't a necessity, but it could help build their personal brand and possibly connect with new clients.

On a Scale of 1 to 10...

I would give the New Image Dental website a 9. The overall look and feel of the website is inviting and easy to navigate. I knocked off a point for not having a blog or social network profile connected to the website. Like I mentioned before, these elements are not a necessity, but I think a blog would be beneficial for clients who want to learn more about their business. A blog would give the Strommers a chance to build upon their expertise by offering information that isn't available anywhere else.

If you have other thoughts to add about the New Image Dental website or website creation in general, feel free to leave a comment!