The Invisible Orthodontist patient referral website has been voted the best in the dental industry.
Friday 13th was very lucky for The Invisible Orthodontist (TIO), which won Website of the Year at the inaugural Dental Industry Awards at a ceremony in London. The awards were established this year to recognise excellence and enterprise in the UK dental industry and the winners were drawn from companies striving to set new standards of business excellence. The organisers, FMC, commented that they were delighted by the uptake of this brand new initiative and received well over a hundred entries from across the whole dental industry, which makes The Invisible Orthodontist’s win all the more impressive.
The award citation stated that:
‘The Invisible Orthodontist’s website is recognised as an outstanding performer within the industry, delivering high quality strategy and an online platform which aims to inform, educate and engage with dental professionals and patients‘
The Invisible Orthodontist is a large independent network of 22 specialist orthodontic practices in the UK. Together these practices currently treat approximately 10% of all Invisalign cases in England, including those carried out by general dentists, with TIO’s registered specialist orthodontists fast becoming recognised as some of the best and most experienced Invisalign clinicians across the UK and Europe.
TIO’s award winning website – www.theinvisibleorthodontist.co.uk – is designed to promote the orthodontic services of its 22 member practices and educate the public about the specialism of orthodontics and why an orthodontist is the best person to straighten their teeth. The site is at the promotional hub of the network and uses innovative functionality to educate and guide patients towards TIO’s practices as they take their first steps towards seeking orthodontic treatment.
Interactive site
The site includes an online Smile Assessment – an interactive tool which allows visitors to actively engage with the website and explain more about what they are looking to achieve with the treatment. This means the orthodontic practices are given as much information as possible about potential patients, so that they can provide the most relevant information from their very first interaction.
The website’s Live Chat facility also allows visitors to ask questions about any potential treatment from the comfort of their own home, as opposed to pushing them directly to sign up for something which they are uncertain about. This feature not only allows practice staff to be prepared with relevant information on first contact, but it also saves time, as often patients’ initial questions and concerns have been addressed before they come in for their first consultation.
Steady growth
As a result of this thoughtful and intelligent approach, the TIO website has experienced excellent growth since its launch in September 2013. 175,000 people have visited the site in the last year (a year-on-year increase of 78%), with over 6,000 of them requesting an appointment for orthodontic treatment at one of TIO’s practices across the UK. This means that the average TIO practice was sent more than 300 appointment requests for an initial consultation in the last 12 months.
On winning, TIO’s Director of Digital Strategy David Nelkin commented: ‘We are delighted to have won the Website of The Year Award. It is a real accolade to be recognised by experts in the dental sector in this way. The TIO website is designed to be a destination site for anyone in the UK looking to straighten their teeth and improve their confidence. TIO’s research found that only 64% of people know the difference between a GDP and a specialist, so a key objective was to educate visitors about why they should choose a specialist orthodontist for their treatment. Through educating visitors and allowing them to make an informed choice, the TIO website has meant that more people are choosing specialists – and ultimately having expert treatment to straighten their teeth’.
Membership of the Invisible Orthodontic network is currently exclusively limited to registered specialists, and is only available in areas where a network practice does not currently exist. If you are interested in becoming a TIO practice, please visit the award winning http://www.theinvisibleorthodontist.co.uk to find out whether membership is still available in your area.
