Introduction
In today’s digital age, MSO and DSO groups face a unique challenge when it comes to building their online presence. Specifically, those with multiple brands to manage in their portfolio. This article delves into the typical methods these groups use to create multi-brand websites and highlights why these approaches often fall short. From outdated one-off websites the doctor’s cousin built to the struggle with maintaining multiple platforms, we explore the pitfalls that hinder the effectiveness and efficiency of these online strategies. But it’s not all doom and gloom – we also introduce Carenetic’s innovative solution, a game-changer in the world of MSO and DSO web development.
The Typical Methods for Multi-Brand Medical Websites
Option 1
The obvious option 1 is the brand’s website is a one-off each time and built from scratch each time. Worse, they just migrated from the acquisition and it’s still the same site that the doctor’s cousin made in 2016. Now they are stuck with different Content Management Systems (CMS), different domain and hosting providers, and a new learning experience with each login and with each new employee. Not to mention they have a really hard time tracking metrics and understanding what is working and what isn’t (more on that in another post).
Option 2
The organization, in the name of simplicity, chooses to drop the domain names and bring each brand under the umbrella of the organization’s website. This is typically seen with a orgname.com/locations/location-name. Still different looking brands technically, but they are on one domain name. The effects of this are the brand loses it’s domain history and authority and therefore the local SEO suffers along with the brand recognition.
Option 3
The third option is the copy and paste method and goes something like this:
- Parent organization creates a template site that fits the mold for most of their brands in regards to structure and services.
- Copy and paste the template and fill everything out from scratch including services, doctors, locations, colors, policies, and technology connections
- Maintain, update, host each one as it’s own separate entity
The justification here is usually that they want each brand to keep its own look and feel which is the right play in our book. However, your maintenance costs rise as a result since one change such as a new software, service, or security update means that change must be repeated for each site. 50 sites = 50 separate changes. Additionally, it takes time to make content updates and optimization for things like PPC campaigns, SEO strategies, and AB testing are usually not feasible. Unless you only plan to have less than 10 sites total, this is not a great way to go for scale.
Shifting the Paradigm: Carenetic builds websites different for MSOs and DSOs
Carenetic realized this problem and built an entire system to have the best of both worlds. Custom brands, strategies, and information at scale. As an industry, we are underutilizing the investment that a website is. With our approach, the more brands added to your network, maintenance and hosting are not linearly added as an expense. Instead, the sites have a connected backend infrastructure but a unique front end experience for each brand.
In doing this, we create a system with the following benefits:
- Unique brands and domains
- Fast uptime for new sites (typically 2 weeks or less)
- Ability to A/B Test across multiple brand sites as they are now apples to apples
- Push optimization changes across sites quickly – liked the result of that experiment? Make them all that way in a few steps.
- Simplified hosting and maintenance (read: reduced cost)
- Sites that can be improved and perform well with that 1 or 2 person marketing team.
- Security and uptime monitoring simplified and confident
These benefits are nice but I really should just list them as “less time, less money, better performance with your money”. Carenetic’s approach to MSO and DSO websites allows for the L on the P&L to become a P. We seek to make the job of the organizations marketing leader easier, the job of our performance marketing partners easier, and most importantly, make the patient experience significantly better.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the conventional methods employed by MSOs and DSOs for constructing multi-brand websites are not only inefficient but also costly in terms of time and resources. These approaches, ranging from building from scratch to the copy-paste method, fail to capitalize on the potential of a unified, scalable web system. In contrast, Carenetic’s approach revolutionizes this space by offering a bespoke yet interconnected web infrastructure. This innovative system promises not only to simplify maintenance and reduce costs but also to enhance the overall online performance of these organizations. Ultimately, Carenetic’s methodology transforms the traditional loss on the profit and loss statement into a profit, streamlining the marketing process and vastly improving the patient experience online.
