In this digital age, live chat has become a vital part of customer service. It provides a viable platform to communicate with current and potential patients in real-time.
Plus, the benefits to your practice can be huge.
1. It Reduces the Amount of Time on the Phone
Live chat instantly connects patients with an agent. There’s no need for the patient to look up a phone number, press button after button, or wait on hold. In fact, 79% of website users prefer live chat for customer service, according to econsultancy. Plus, it’s more private than making a phone call, where family members or colleagues could overhear the conversation.
2. It’s Convenient for Patients
People are busy and like to multi-task, which is another reason they love live chat. Even if they have to wait a few seconds for a response, they can continue doing something else. This is particularly helpful for people who are researching your practice while they’re working, as well as for parents of young children who might be demanding their attention.
3. Provides Fast Answers
One of the biggest benefits for patients is their inquiries can be addressed and resolved quickly, anytime of the day or night, 365 days a year.
4. Saves Staff Time
Dental staff members are often busy and may not always be available when they’re needed to answer questions. A live chat service can handle questions about services, insurance, office hours, payment methods, and scheduling, which reduces the workload of your front office team. Not only will adding live chat maximize staff productivity, but it frees up your team to be able to better focus on the patients in front of them.
And it’s not just about the time you save your staff. The time your patients save is significant, too.
5. Increases the Effectiveness of your Dental Website
The beneficial effects of live chats are tangible: website conversions can increase by up to 20% and have a 300% ROI on sales, according to the American Marketing Association.
The numbers keep getting better. With Simplifeye’s Live Chat service, practices saw 8–23X increase in average ROI and an average of 6–10 additional new patients a month. This makes it a fantastic lead generation option that saves time, labor, and money for your practice.
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6. You’ll Gain a Competitive Advantage
Do the dentist offices in your area have live chat on their websites? Probably not. It’s a great opportunity to get ahead of the pack. What’s more, 78% of patients will book with the practice that responds to them first. With so many potential patients online, live chat allows you to interact with them quickly—before they abandon your website and bounce to a competitor.
7. Extends Your Hours of Customer Service
About a third of website visits happen at night and on weekends, when dental practices are typically closed. Live chat is available 24/7, so representatives can engage with patients any time, including nights, weekends, and even holidays, without hiring extra staff. And here’s the really good news: Simplifeye’s analysis of live chats in 2020 discovered almost half of all live chats during non-business hours led to a request for an appointment. Just think of all those opportunities the practice would have missed.
8. Removes Language Barriers
Live chat companies like Simplifeye support multiple languages which makes your practice accessible to a wider patient base. If you have a diverse community, this is a great way to communicate with potential patients without requiring them to call your practice and wait until a bilingual team member is available to talk.
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