Missing calls and losing patients. Here is what you need to do.

Communication is the key when you are running a dental practice. Imagine a working mother calling to book an appointment for her kids during her break and the phone goes unanswered or a patient in pain trying to get a time slot for their root canal. Well, if we look at the other end of the tunnel, as a dental practitioner, you might get hundreds of calls every day. It is not possible to answer all of them. It is natural to miss a few due to unavoidable circumstances. 

So, what do we do about this chicken and egg problem? 

The short answer to this question is Voicemails. 

While an answering machine isn’t a great way to be greeted on the other end, what is horrible is not being greeted at all. In the dental industry, voicemails are a saving grace. We are going to see how you can leverage voicemails and what else can be done to ensure that your patients feel heard, in this blog.

Why do you need voicemails?

Voicemail helps you inform your customers that you are still there for them all though you might not be available at the moment to answer their call. As a first step, you need to inform your patients why you are not available at the moment and how they can get in touch with you. Emitrr is a cool platform that allows your patients to communicate effectively with you. We will be discussing this in the next section. 

Here are a few things that you need to keep in mind while recording your voicemail:

1. There is no one message that works for all reasons. Have scripts that you can use for different times. For instance, you need to tell your patients that you are not available to take calls because it is your lunch break, holiday, or post office house. This creates a sense of trust and they will know when you will be available next.
2. Ensure that you keep your greeting short (10 – 15 Seconds) so that they don’t hang up halfway.
3.  Let them know what should be done in case of an emergency.
4. Inform them when you would get back to them.
5. Always mention an alternate method of communication. For example, if you are using Emitrr, you could say, Sorry we are not available to take your call, but you will be receiving an SMS after this call, please let us know the reason for your call and we will get back to you. If you are looking at booking an appointment, you can do so by replying to the message.

How two way texting for missed calls works

If you have done the first step (setting up the voice mail) you have already ensured that your customers know that you are not available for them now.

Is that enough? No.

The reason why they called you has still not been addressed. They either have to wait for you to get back to them or will have to call again. This can be cumbersome. What if there is a way to get in touch with you, even when you are not available.

Two-way texting is the answer.

According to slicktext, about 277 million people in America use text messages — that’s 80% of the total population. It makes sense to use such a powerful platform to connect with patients.

Automated two-way texting is the process of having a robot to human conversation and closing tasks while doing so. Here the robot acts as a virtual team member and helps in answering queries.

Emitrr is a two-way SMS communication platform. It automatically sends a message to the patients when they miss a call. This helps the patients’ book appointments or provide additional information to the practitioner. 

The app can be easily integrated with renowned tools and allows you to customize the message that is sent to the patients. This eliminates the risk of losing your patients. They can book appointments, reschedule existing appointments or simply set reminders for their upcoming appointments through personalized text messages, all on the go.  

If they are first time visitor, using Emitrr gives you the leverage to acquire leads. It also enhances the sense of trust among your leads because they get a text message just moments after reaching the voice mail. 95% of the text messages are read within the first 3 minutes after receiving it. The app collects information such as their name, contact, and the reason why they contacted. The app is equipped with advanced AI techniques such as a Natural language processor to understand the requirements of the user. In case you want to add a human touch to the conversation, you can turn off the auto-reply and quickly jump into the conversation.

With Emitrr, the working mother can now book an appointment hassle-free without calling back, and the person looking to get a root canal can have more inputs on it. Companies using Emitrr have claimed to have found a 30% growth in their revenue. 

Try out the 24/7 Answering Software now!