No one in business is perfect. For every company success, there’s often some failure or miscalculation, however minor. Unfortunately, drug rehab marketing mistakes aren’t always minor. They can interfere with a facility’s ability to grow and prosper.
In its experience interacting with addiction treatment facilities all across the country, Dreamscape Marketing has observed the good, the bad and the ugly. Many facilities operate smartly, having sidestepped unscrupulous marketing and web companies. All too often, however, we’ve seen drug rehab marketing mistakes made on a grand scale. Here’s one of the most common:
A Marketing Company Tells You, “You Need Our Software”
You would never knowingly allow ransomware to hijack your computer and hold all of your files hostage until you pay a ransom. Yet, many companies wind up in that very situation with their websites. Typically, a web developer wants to install analytical tools but they do so under their own account. Does this sound familiar? Hopefully not. It’s another situation where an unethical web developer can put you over a barrel. It’s clearly one of the most dangerous drug rehab marketing mistakes that facilities can make.
You might wonder how such a scenario could possibly happen. It’s actually surprisingly commonplace. For example, let’s say that you’re a drug rehab center excited about getting up a new website or launching an extensive rebuild. A web developer sells you on the importance of Google Analytics or some type of proprietary software. So far, so good. These really are important tools. Naturally, you say, “Yeah, let’s do that.”
A short time later, they start giving you reports based on extensive analytics. Web traffic improves… more qualified leads are being generated and your admissions are going up. That’s wonderful news, and you’re feeling great. And you don’t even realize that you’re just made one of the classic drug rehab marketing mistakes.
All of your initial happiness could easily vanish in an instant when your contract with the developer ends or you decide to fire them. All of this precious data could be lost—permanently. Everything that helps you plan the future of your marketing efforts could suddenly become unavailable to you. So much for feeling great!
Welcome to Your Marketing Nightmare
With the analytics tools under a web developer’s name, you have access only by the kindness of their hearts. And, like any hostage taker, they can kill the victim at any time. In this case, it means they could delete any or all analytical information… at any time… just because they want to.
In all likelihood, they aren’t doing it for spite. There’s no profit in that. They probably want you to pay what is essentially a ransom to get the information you’re looking for. However, that’s not a good situation for a detox or drug rehab center to be in. Drug rehab marketing mistakes like this jeopardize company goals and endanger profitability.
The lesson here is fairly obvious. When a web developer or a marketing company suggests installing Google Analytics, you need to give them a Google account to use that you have complete access to. Any reputable marketing company won’t object to this. In fact, they will recommend it as the most appropriate way to do business. If a company gets nervous at this suggestion, you’re dealing with the wrong web developer.
Backups – You’re Going to Need Those
It’s easy to assume that your vendor is backing up your website. Unfortunately, that’s another one of the major drug rehab marketing mistakes that you can make. Many companies go through hell if they’ve been hacked or their site goes down for some technical reason and they suddenly realize that they have no backup of their website. This can be demoralizing, expensive and time-consuming to fix.
It goes without saying that backing up your website is absolutely essential. However, don’t just assume it’s being done. Many companies get themselves into trouble thinking that. Any good web developer will do auto backups of your website. However, you should still verify this. Once again—don’t assume. If a web developer makes it sound like doing auto backups isn’t really necessary, it’s time to find a new web developer.
Don’t Let Drug Rehab Marketing Mistakes Hinder Your Facility
Marketing should result in a library of assets, regarding your target market, that holds value for you. Those assets must never be held hostage. That’s why it’s best to work with a digital marketing company with integrity and a good reputation for serving healthcare clients. Learn more about reputable addiction treatment marketing with Dreamscape Marketing by calling 888.307.7304.
Read much more about drug rehab marketing mistakes in Dreamscape Marketing’s new whitepaper “4 Marketing Lies You Could Do Without,” available for download here.