Every business owner today knows that positive customer experiences means more recurring customers and referrals. However, drug addiction treatment centers face really unique challenges when it comes to marketing their services and dealing with customers.
There are so many centers doing a great job out there, but they face the typical challenges of addiction treatment center marketing. Since they are more often than not contacted by families who are desperate, reaching out in the darkness for someone to offer help in any way, shape or form, they are frowned upon when they reveal that there is also a business component to it.
The harsh truth is that running a rehab center is not cheap. Filling beds is literally the only way to afford top quality addiction professionals, and maintain a healthy patient/staff ratio in any nursing home, especially in the substance abuse field.
However, I was surprised to learn that one of their major challenges was to link SEO efforts to a properly trained call center management staff. Guy Sheetrit, CEO at Over The Top SEO and addiction treatment center marketing specialist, revealed some interesting facts regarding this extremely competitive niche.
"For owners and investors, this particular niche has become really hard to master. Not only because of its intrinsic challenges, but because they tend to focus on all the wrong things," Says Sheetrit. "Many are still thinking that by simply offering medically assisted treatment, and building lavish rehab facilities, they will have flocks of patients coming in. They keep putting the importance of Local SEO or a properly managed call center way down the scale."
"Look, I have seen AMAZING centers built from the ground up with patients in mind, and staffed to the brim with top-of-the-line therapists and addictionologists, close their doors in a couple of years just because more than half their beds remained empty," shared Guy.
"The cost of generating leads for rehab centers is prohibitively high, to say the least. It means that their best bet is to create a highly efficient local SEO campaign, period. But that amounts to NOTHING if their awesome website links to agents who wait until the second ring to answer, redirect calls to a voicemail, or suggest calling 911 when they hear a distressed voice. That's how you throw thousands of addiction treatment center SEO dollars down the drain. Also, not having an efficient call tracking system that lets you keep an eye on vital information like average length of call, admissions per agent, ad sources..., means you are unable to direct your marketing efforts where they can have the biggest impact, " Guy says.
Many would be surprised to know that the rehab treatment center industry is a $35 billion industry, but less than 10% of those who need help actually receive any. "That's what motivates me," Sheetrit continues. "Filling beds not only means more money, like most people like to believe. In most cases a failed center means there is a disconnect between true caring professionals and their patients. I believe that SEO, combined with a properly trained call center staff, often makes a huge and life-changing difference for victims of substance abuse who would otherwise skip rehab."
