What's in your Web site?

Your Air Medical Transport program's Web site is a front door for your four categories of customers. But how can you ensure that your customers' visits are satisfying and results-oriented after they enter?

While a fast-loading, professional interface can present your information in a neatly organized fashion, if you can't keep your customers on your site or entice them to come back, it's not an effective outreach tool.

"At minimum, your Web site needs to transform from a static information source to a dynamic customer gathering and engagement space," said Rich Obertots, CEO of ThinkThroughTools. "Keep asking, 'How do we better connect – connect – connect?'"

Engaging customers in an electronic dialogue is critical to your program's success. Your outreach initiatives need to optimize and synchronize the many e.Tools now available to engage with more customers more often through Web 2.0.

"We’re all experiencing the vast power of Web 2.0, which can be very simply defined as web-based collaboration and communities," said Obertots. "It is the age of nano-niches and those that provide places for individuals to connect and engage, and win!"

One way to keep customers coming back and attracting new ones is by adding content to your site at a minimum of once a week. Whether you write an informative article or case study, highlight a new customer, draw attention to a new content area, promote a priority service or product, or add an upcoming event, these are just some of the ways to emphasize what customers constantly crave—up-to-date information.
Constant communication with your four categories of customers is also essential. The informal, personal nature of a well-written blog can help your customers identify better with you. Keep your customers informed of industry happenings or even provide them with your commentaries on the latest trends and developments within your market space and the industry. Whatever you decide to write about, keep it short and fun.
While content in a text format is critical, Web 2.0 integration can also increase traffic to your Web site by providing a high-end, interactive experience for your customers through the use of multimedia applications, audio and video. One such interactive element of Web 2.0 is podcasts – a series of relevant, insightful audio/video commentary relating to your program's area of expertise—which can be downloaded in an .MP3 format for your customers. Providing expert information to your customers in this format can also reinforce your status as a market space and industry leader.

Another key component of Web 2.0 is user participation. For instance, adding a custom-built forum, polls and other online interactive applications allow you to integrate a social aspect into your Web site and keeps your customers wanting more.

Remember that whatever Web 2.0 application you ultimately decide to incorporate into your site, Obertots says that synchronizing your Web 2.0 outreach with your “traditional” outreach can generate sustainable high-yield outcomes.

"Web 2.0 is reversing the order of electronic outreach and marketing from gather and share, to share and gather," he said. "If you synchronize your on-demand outreach you can be engaging with thousands more prospects or customers than can your one to one or event-centric outreach efforts."

ThinkThroughTools is dedicated to providing your Air Medical Transport program with content, application and engineering expertise for you to operate innovative, powerful and exceptionally dynamic Web sites. For more information, please contact Rich Obertots at rich.obertots@thinkthroughtools.com or call 412-670-9906.