This issue marks the last official installment of VM’s Millennial Project for 2015! Soooo… raise your hand if you’re tired of hearing about Millennials? I get it. I am too.

We’ve thrown a lot of information at you but if there is just one thing you take away from the Project, I hope it’s the realization that you have to have a digital presence. It is shocking to me how many ECPs still complain about e-commerce or don’t use social media to market their business. It is pointless to resist and only singles you out for being irrelevant and out of touch. Having a digital presence is an undeniable truth of having a successful business today.

Some of you are thinking, “But I have a website!” A static site that hasn’t been updated since 2007 isn’t going to cut it. It needs to be dynamic, updated frequently, transparent and attractive. It is the only chance you have to make a first impression on potential new long term customers.

They might hear about you in a radio, newspaper or TV ad, if you are still spending marketing money there, but they will always head to your website first before they make an appointment.

While on your website they will judge you on its aesthetics, ease of use and availability of information. They will hop over to your social media outlets (which obviously should have prominent placement on all your web pages) to see how you speak and interact with customers and how you fare in patient reviews.

If you don’t pass muster, they are on to the next local ECP and you will never grasp the amount of new business you lost before they even walked in your door.

These things are not novelties. It is not a passing fad. This is the new status quo.

dcarroll@jobson.com