Imagine: You have a major health issue. You reach out to a trusted provider via a form on their website. By 24 hours later, still no response.
You contact another provider that you’re less familiar with, also via a web form. After 48 hours, the second provider emails that they don’t have any openings.
That first clinic? They never responded.
The lackluster response time from both offices left business on the table — and a sour aftertaste. Unfortunately, this is now the norm throughout much of the health care industry. But it doesn’t have to be.
Digital Leads Are Key
For Audigy members on our digital services, over 14% of digital leads came through email contact forms and chats in 2023 — up from just over 10% in 2022.
And some members’ clinics received 30% to 40% of their overall leads via email forms and chats.
Clearly, digital communication channels are growing in popularity every year. And today’s consumers are no longer comfortable with 24-hour response times — in fact, many expect a response within an hour or two.
When was the last time you reviewed your process for responding to digital-form leads that come to your email from your website, PPC, and social media campaigns?
Best Practices for Responding to Form Leads
We recommend the following to ensure you’re getting the most out of your digital-marketing investment.
Respond ASAP
Prospects shop around, submitting forms to multiple practices. Get ahead of the competition — respond as soon as possible, preferably within an hour! If the email or form arrives after business hours, respond first thing the next day.
If they provide a phone number, start with a call and follow up with an email and/or text if you have to leave a voicemail.
Use patient care best practices in emails, too
Every patient or prospect touchpoint is important — doubly so when they can’t see your smiling face. This goes beyond proper grammar (but that helps, too). Put your best patient-care foot forward in each digital interaction, just like when you’re talking face-to-face with a patient.
Leverage automation
Look into options for automatic text-message responses to prospects and patients who reach out via digital forms (if they provide a text-able phone number). Our members have the option of using our Online Reviews & Messaging program.
Health care has become a painful process for many patients. But you know patients deserve better.