It’s not just early adopters anymore. Healthcare providers and companies across the industry are leveraging live chat for its proven ability to retain and acquire customers through improved online support.
Patients and customers expect to locate information quickly and easily from their healthcare providers just as they would if they were searching for other products or services. In an ever more competitive industry, healthcare providers and companies that utilize live chat as a communication tool with their patients, are providing not only much needed answers, also a great customer experience, connecting instantly to their patients.
Here are 4 of the most popular ways leading healthcare companies are leveraging live chat to grow their businesses:
Automated Appointment Set-up
Through advanced integrations with CRM systems and other platforms, leading live chat platforms allow customer service representatives—or even the tool itself—to execute actions after a chat session. For example, should a chat be initiated from the “Set an Appointment” page, the customer service agent can create a new appointment record, record chat history, and even execute email notifications from a single screen.
Private and Secure Q&A
Healthcare providers do business with sensitive and often delicate information. Live chat offers a “safe” space in which individuals can discuss personal or private details whether billing-, benefits- or health-related. Not only can patients rest easy knowing they won’t be overheard as they would with a phone call to the office or a customer service line, but leading live chat platforms can tout security features such as data masking and blinded chat log retention.
Converting Web Visitors into Patients, Customers, and Members
Today, almost 60% of the “buying cycle” is complete before a customer even speaks to a company. In the healthcare industry, buyers are patients, and if you’re not providing answers early in your patients’ journey, you’ll likely be passed over for a provider that has information more readily available. Enabling live chat on your website offers an easy and immediate way for potential customers to ask questions. Leading live chat tools also allow two-way chat engagement where representatives can reach out proactively, offering information, guidance, and a reason to schedule an appointment, make a purchase, or sign up for membership.
Research Collaboration
Although far from a traditional or standard use, some of the largest pharmaceutical companies have used live chat platforms as collaboration tools for their researchers. A robust, enterprise-level live chat system offers the confidentiality and flexibility drug research teams need, for example, to communicate with physicians and/or each other over the course of a study or R&D project.
