1.02 Who is a practice web site for ?

Lets start by considering the visitors who are likely to come to a practice web site. Sort them into groups, try to define their needs and consider how best to serve them.

Sub-sets
We could go on for page after page breaking possible visitors into smaller and smaller sub groupings - A Fordfull of drug company reps in this column. All the relations of the youngest trainee over there. We filled several notebooks with the exercise before concluding that there are three broad groups.

The rest
A large group as most of the online population of the world comes into this category. They may be perfectly presentable – or they may not - but they certainly aren't particularly profitable. The best way to impress them is to do a good job of serving the needs of the other two groups.
“The Rest” may be safely ignored.

Potential clients
We are using “clients” here in a very broad sense. We include everyone who is likely to have a commercial or professional relationship with your surgery. This will include veterinary colleagues and companies looking to supply you with goods and services as well as the puppy owner looking for a vaccination.
Your potential clients will probably be looking for your practice on the basis of the geographical area you serve or possibly a specific service you might offer. They need to find your practice details when they look for a veterinary service and a placename – they won't know your name until they find you.

Existing Clients
Again, we use “clients” in the broadest sense. Like your potential clients, existing clients will need your site to be easy to find online. They will still, from time to time, need to look up some of your basic details. Your fax number or your Saturday opening times. Even if they know you have a web site they are likely to look for you by entering your practice name in a search engine rather than by typing your web address into their browser.
You need to decide what you are going to provide for your existing clients once they have found your web site. How do you expect your practice to benefit. If you can attract them to visit your site regularly you gain an opportunity to promote improved animal care in your area and to let them know about new products and services.

We'll return to the needs of your existing clients in a few pages time. First, let's take a closer look at the needs of your potential clients.

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