If you are running a dental clinic, your need to ensure that you have an exceptional dental answering service.
Why?
People call in all the time with dental issues. You don’t know what is going on at the other end. They might be calling you to book an appointment in between the 10-minute break that they have or on the way to work. Keeping your patients on hold for a long time or sending them to a voicemail shows that you don’t care enough for them.
A survey done by Forbes suggests that about 80% of the callers do not leave a voice mail. This means you are actually losing your patients.
This is where a dental answering service comes into the picture.
What is a dental answering service?
A dental answering service is a software that allows you to take appointments or messages from your patients. It texts your patients on your behalf and collects messages, book appointments, and so on. Having a dental answering service shows your patients that you genuinely care about them.
Having a tool that sends text messages to the patients immediately after you miss their call asking them how you can be of service builds your reputation as a business. Imagine this being done round the clock.
This brings us to the next question, Why do you need a 24/7 answering service?
It is always not possible to have a help desk person, even if you do have one, what happens to the calls that are missed during after hours and on weekends?
The patients will have to wait for hours just to get an appointment if they are calling after work hours. This means they have to remember to call you again the next day within the stipulated time. Well, this is not the case when you have a dental answering service.
A dental answering service makes like easy for you as well as your customers. As a dental practitioner, you’d spend a lot of money on getting the leads. You wouldn’t want to lose them over a missed call, would you?
Here are a few features that you need in your dental answering service.
1. Booking Appointments
It could be difficult for a patient to call you during your office hours, especially if they are working as well. Having a dental answering service to book appointments can be convenient for your patients. It also brings a sense of trust among them.
2. Cancelling appointments
People cancel appointments all the time due to various reasons. Canceling appointments allows you to utilize your time effectively. With a dental answering service, patients can cancel or reschedule their appointments over a text message.
3. Getting a quote
Let us face it, we all get quotes from different service providers or companies before we decide on something. The dental care industry being a costly affair, it common for people to want to compare prices.
Imagine a patient calling you to get a quote and being put on a long hold. They are definitely not going to choose you because of the unpleasant telephone experience. Is it valid to lose a prospect over something as simple as this?
4. Giving Directions
Sometimes patients call you because they are somewhere nearby and are not able to locate your clinic. It can be frustrating during times like this if they are not able to reach you. A dental answering service can be used to give them clear and concise driving instructions.
5. Collecting Information
Sometimes, patients call you to get information on something. It could be a dosage, an allergic reaction, or anything of that sort. Calls like this are crucial. Missing them brings a sense of doubt and agitation among your patients. For all that we know, they could be calling you to convey something extremely important. In cases such as this, a dental answering service can get the information from the patients and pass it on to you. That way, emergencies can be attended to without any delay.
An in-house receptionist or a help desk person is necessary if you are offering dental service. But, it is not possible for the person to always be available. Setting up a dental answering service can help you achieve everything mentioned above and more.
Emitrr is a dental answering service that is equipped with advanced AI techniques such as a natural language processor to understand the requirements of the user.
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