I do, and so do 63.2 million others.
The popularity of smart phones has soared during the last decade, especially within the past three years, thanks to Apple’s iPhone, which was only just introduced in 2007. So amazing to me because I remember a time when cell phones didn’t exist. It was a time when I actually had to pay attention to the road instead of preoccupying myself with calling friends to catch up or reminding my husband to pick up dinner. (Before you judge, I am not alone. According to
Pew Internet, 61% of adults talk on the phone while driving. Furthermore, this phenomenon is changing as laws are being altered as I write.) In fact, I remember the good old rotary phone that was attached to a wall with a cord. I also remember getting very annoyed when I had to dial a phone number that contained a bunch of zeros. After dialing for ten minutes, the person would not be home and I would have to continue to call him or her back because he/she didn’t own a big box with a tape that recorded messages on it, a.k.a. an answering machine. Of course, back then, CDs were something people purchased at a bank that accrued interest, and a microwave was mentioned in conjunction with radiation and the universe. Anyway, back to the matter at hand, mobile technology.
As I was saying, mobile technology is becoming more prevalent in our everyday lives (Thank you IPhone). Not only can you use your phone as an address book, calendar, reminder and task list, but you can access the Internet. It is becoming more and more like a small computer with the capability of adding applications that are specific to your needs. Mary Meeker, a
Morgan Stanley analyst, predicts that within the next 5 years, more users will access the Internet over mobile devices than on personal computers. Moreover, mobile devices will be the primary connection tool to the Internet for most people in the world by 2020 (
Pew Internet). According to Meeker, Internet usage via mobile devices is being adopted by users faster than AOL or Netscape was in the early 1990s. In addition, they expect mobile data traffic to increase by almost 4000 percent by 2014. Another astonishing statistic is the amount of people using texting on their mobile devices. In an average month during the February through April 2010 time period, 64.6 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile devices (
comScore). By virtue of this growth, mobile device users are remarkably open to advertising on their phones (
internetnews.com).
So what does all this mean to healthcare providers?
Because mobile phone penetration is greater than that of cable TV, home Internet access, and home computers, a healthcare provider would be missing the boat if it did not have, at a minimum, a mobile-friendly Web site. According to a Greystone study done during in the last quarter of 2009, only 1 in 5 health care systems currently have a mobile-friendly version of its Web site. This is a low number considering the creation of a mobile-friendly Web site does not take a huge amount of time or money. Given the most recent data collected on mobile site Internet access and guidelines from Greystone’s proprietary grade card, we recommend including, at a minimum, the following when creating a mobile site:
Mobile-friendly interface – Creating a mobile-friendly site is easy to accomplish, but take the time to form a strategy around your site. Strategic determinants to consider include:
- Deciding what demographic to target, the services to provide and goals to accomplish.
- Developing a list of tactical action items and prioritizing them.
- Determining how to leverage the mobile site either through current marketing campaigns or new campaigns.
- Creating a set of performance standards to measure return on investment and business value.
Content – The type of content and the way it is presented is essential to a mobile site. At a minimum, include:
- Directions and contact information
- Mobile-friendly health content
- A mobile-friendly physician directory
Navigation –
Creating a positive navigational experience is critical on a mobile site. This alone can determine whether a visitor has a positive experience and returns beyond his or her initial trip. Keep it consistent and provide pathways by target audience.
Texting and Advertising – Keep in mind that mobile device users are open to advertising and text messaging. Think of ways you can leverage this into an opportunity to connect with patients and potential patients. Appointment reminders, prescription refill reminders, updates on classes and events, and hospital news are just some of the ways you can connect to your users.
Mobile Internet access is becoming less of a novelty and more of a mainstay in our everyday lives. A mobile-friendly version of your Web site would be fairly painless to implement and would allow you to reach out to a new group of potential customers, as well as help you to retain existing customers. So, what are you waiting for?