It's no secret that today's consumers have high expectations when it comes to how and when they can contact a business. In fact, one of the reasons clinic management software has become so popular is that they allow patients to book appointments and make payments online day or night.
Online booking and other cloud-based services are very convenient for your patients, but they won't solve all your communication needs. To excel at customer service in the modern marketplace, you need to provide consumers with multichannel access.
Multichannel Access: Why Is It Important (for Patients and Your Practice)?
When a patient has a question or complaint, they don't want to invest time in learning how to contact your practice. Instead, they want to be able to quickly contact you using whatever "channel" is easiest for them.
Multichannel customer service allows your customers to reach you using the medium of their choice, online or off. For example, some patients may wish to contact your office via phone, while others may be happy to communicate via email. Other consumers prefer to contact their favorite businesses through social media or live chat options.
Some patients may even choose to combine channels, contacting your office via phone to ask a question, but choosing to book their next appointment online.
The more ways you offer for patients to stay in touch with your chiropractic practice, the stronger their connection to you will be.
Meeting Patients' Multichannel Communication Expectations
The 2017 inContact Customer Service Experience Transformation Benchmark Study surveyed customers across several industries to assess their satisfaction with the current state of customer service. The survey findings reveal several facts about consumer wishes and expectations.
The survey looked at more than 10 different communication channels. Of these, phone, email and website visits were the means most commonly selected by consumers seeking to contact organizations. However, finding the quickest resolution to their problem was more important to most consumers than using a specific communication channel.
As a result, voice calls received high marks because a resolution of the caller's problem was reached 80 percent of the time; whereas email, while a first choice for making contact, resulted in slower resolutions.
Since speed is a high priority for consumers, voicemail is an unpopular avenue for customer service communications. Live chat is favored by some consumers, but they tend to prefer human responders over chatbots.
In general, a communication channel was less used by consumers when it required them to wait for a response.
What Does This Mean for Your Chiropractic Practice?
When providing options for your patients to make contact, follow-up speed is key. Email can be very effective if you're able to reply quickly. Voicemail allows your customers to make contact even when no one is available to take their call, but it doesn't lead to prompt resolution of their concern. So, by using all the channels at your disposal, you can achieve better results.
Communication Tips to Meet Patients' Customer Service Needs
Redirect patients to a faster route: One way to make your voicemail and email systems more effective is to alert your patients / prospective patients to their other communication options. For example, if you are using an online booking system, inform callers that this option is available. Include this information on your contact page as well, and you can even consider an auto-reply from your email.
Provide a one-stop-shop for common questions: You can also reduce the number of questions that require a phone call or email by creating a Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) section on your webpage. To make the most of this information source, ask your staff to make note of any questions they hear often. Begin compiling answers to these common inquiries for inclusion in your FAQ.
Then, tell your website visitors where to find your list of answers. Also, wherever you list your contact information, include a notation with a link to the FAQ page.
Provide accurate and consistent contact information: Speaking of your contact information, remember to be consistent when you list your name, address, phone number, and other contact methods. If your office uses different phone numbers for different types of inquires, make this information available on your website. You may even decide to include direct emails for some or all of your staff to make getting in touch with them easier for your patients.
Keep your team in the loop: Finally, keep everyone on your team informed and up to date on your communications policies. Create a written guide for handling customer inquiries. Make sure the guide covers all the available channels of communication. Create a schedule or other method of assignment to ensure everyone knows who is responsible for responding to patients communications and using what methods.
Reduce Friction Points to Enhance Customer Satisfaction
Clinic management software is designed to make it easier for you to operate your practice. One of the ways it can help you is by providing you with the tools to provide great customer service to your patients. With online intake forms and scheduling reminders, you can reach your patients in a variety of ways – and they can reach you.
Of course, each business is different. I recommend that you ask your patients how you're doing. Let them tell you how they want to communicate. Making strong connections with each patient is a great way to keep your practice growing and your patient base satisfied.
Daniel Ruscigno is the co-founder of ClinicSense (www.clinicsense.com), which offers clinic management software specific to the massage therapy profession.