Savvy brands have long known that social media is not just for selfies. Social media is a chance to connect with your audience on a more personal level and show that your brand is human. Ironically, one of the best ways to do so will be with a robot.
The Chatbot Will See You Now
We predict that one of the top social media trends in 2020 will be using the various platforms for more holistic, integrated and just plain better customer service. With the exponential advances in chatbot technology making the programs more accurate and more accessible than ever before, chatbots can be a game-changer even for small brands.
As a physician-owner or practice manager, imagine being able to respond to your patients or potential patients 24/7. With chatbots, that’s a lot closer to reality these days than it is to science fiction.
Chatbots are AI programs that can automate conversations, or at least parts of them. You can program them to answer frequently asked questions about locations, services provided, hours and more.
In the past, chatbots had to be pre-programmed with a narrow range of responses, which limited their utility. Not so today. Chatbot algorithms are becoming more and more sophisticated, to the point that they can search your site (or the internet at large) for answers if they run up against a question with which they’re unfamiliar.
Obviously chatbots won’t replace doctors or their admin staff, but think of the possibilities. Being able to engage with patients after hours provides a better patient experience than having to leave a message on the practice’s main number. Giving answers to common condition or procedure questions can both satisfy patients and free up your staff.
How is this related to social media? Although there are other platforms available, Facebook has made its Messenger app available to host chatbots. You might think an automated chatbot would turn people off as much as an automated on-hold message does but, for the most part, you’d be wrong: Nearly two-thirds of customers expressed interest in using chatbots to interact with brands, according to a 2019 survey.
Preventive Customer Care
Chatbots and other smart uses of social media can be one part of a modern customer service strategy, and it’s one we’re going to be seeing successful practices implementing in 2020. Another will be attempting to answer their patients’ and prospective patients’ questions right on the website, reducing the load on their call centers, front desk staff and social media accounts.
Medical practice websites can be customized in a staggering array of ways. We love WordPress for its performance and ease of customization and recommend certain plugins to get your website humming along. But one that really stands out in terms of adding to the patient experience is TriageTrak.
TriageTrak can help you head off questions before they get asked. It allows you to keep your provider data—locations, hours, conditions treated, insurances accepted—up to date with a few keystrokes, no IT expert necessary. There’s nothing else like it on the market. As official implementation partners, Points Group can help you get TriageTrak set up on your website. If you’re ready to take your customer service to the next level in 2020, contact Points Group today.
