Dental patients have different needs and would like to get satisfactory services from a dentist. They will always want to speak to someone to have their issues addressed. Clients want to feel valued, especially when trying to reserve appointments for real health. If they call your office and do not get a good response other than the voicemail, they are likely to hang up a look for another dental office that will value their time. An answering service ensures that client time is valued and their issues are attended to in good time.
With your tight schedule, you want to have enough time to handle several issues and have other clients get the support they need. Having an answering service will ensure that you have enough time for your work outside the office. You will have a guarantee that none of the customers’ calls will go unanswered. Some benefits you will experience with the use of an answering service are:
- The need of your clients will be met because all the issues will be addressed on time.
- Your availability will always be felt because any client with an urgent matter will have it solved at any time it arises.
- All your clients’ needs will easily be tracked because the answering service can store the information received in your office.
- The services offered will be of good quality as the responses given to customers is direct and is done professionally
You may be questioning whether you need an answering service, yet you have a well trained live receptionist. Yes, you do. An answering service will be of help in various instances:
- When you have a lot of messages that pile each day and need to be sifted to identify those that need urgent attention
- If you are usually interrupted to respond to your client
- If you have staff cannot quickly transfer urgent calls to you in case of an emergency.
- They are good evaluation points that will help you see the need for an answering service to attend your dental clients.
The benefits of An Answering service
With your clients getting the best service from you, they are likely to make your business grow due to referrals they will make to other clients and the reputation that you will have maintained in your dental services. The benefits of answering services are:
There is an Improved Customer service
You need to get clients through the door to make them afford a smile because of your good services. If your clients can talk to a person once they respond from the answering service, they will be happy to have someone listen to them. Other than the machine that will respond to other issues, clients need to get your attention to ensure their concerns are addressed at the right time. An answering service becomes essential because your staff will have an opportunity to attend to other dental patients without the fear that customers are not being addressed. Your customers will also feel your services’ efficiency because they do not have to spend a lot of energy and time coming to your dental office to talk to you. They do it through calls, messages, and emails, and their concerns are taken care of. A happy patient will always refer to you and give you a positive review of your dental business. Therefore, your business is likely to be reputable and will grow in the future.
An answering service Saves Time and Money
With an answering service, you don’t have to spend time in your office attending to patients while others are there waiting for help from you. Your staff will also be busily engaged in other essential activities concerning patients to ensure effective services. An answering service takes care of these patients who contact the office through the digital platform without fail, saving a lot of time for you and your staff. What about time-saving?
An answering service requires low capital to have it function as needed throughout the month. Compared to a live receptionist who requires an off, monthly payment, induction training, among others, and answering service doesn’t require all those. With much cost saved, you will also have professional services provided by the answering service at a very low price. The amount raised by very few clients contacting your office is enough to sustain the answering service throughout the month, and you can use the rest to improve your business.
An Answering Service Will Help Your Clients make Appointments
Direct handling patients to have them book appointments can be time-consuming. Patients want their time to be considered, and you find that you also have other appointments elsewhere and do not agree. You leave the issue halfway solved to call back after some time to book an appointment for your client. An answering service doesn’t use much time to have the client book an appointment. Appointments are made online and are usually well planned to ensure that you have an allocated time to attend to each of the clients. An answering service also reduces the chances of you missing an important call from your faithful clients. Therefore, there will not be any opportunity to be lost with these of an answering service.
Patients Can Access After-Hours Services
Have you ever been interrupted by a client who needs your help at odd hours? How many times do you respond to them only to find out they were not as urgent as you thought? You do not need to do that anymore. You can have your best sleep and time with your loved ones after work and still have the clients' issues responded to by an answering service. Answering services are set so that messages and calls will only be relayed to you once there is an emergency. For those other clients whose issues can wait, you will have the messages and calls stored safely for access. You can go through then and plan on how to call back the client, and depending on their issues, you can have a good plan to ensure they are happy with your services.
There Will be Increased Productivity
When the level of your service is high, so is productivity. Happy clients will always ensure their friend visits your office for consultation or help because the services you offered to them was commendable. The reviews they will make on your websites are also likely to bring your business in the future. When clients are looking for a dentist, they do so in different ways, ask a friend or family member, use referrals, and use media reviews. If you are outstanding in your services and received a five-star rating in your services, it can be a way to grow your business. Customers will come from all over to get your service, and a network will be created in the long run.
The Quoting Services are Excellent
Some clients will want to compare quotes for different services in different dental offices. The patients do not have to wait until they get InTouch with you directly. You should ensure there is a way to get the quotations even when they are far or do not reach you. An answering service can help you out in that because the clients can access that. The competitive nature of dental service is high, and you should ensure that, even if your charges are high, it is worth the services you offer. Low prices and a bad experience can make clients not contact you anymore or even refer to their families and friends. Also, with an answering service having to quote the services, the process usually takes a shorter time than what the client would have experienced with a live receptionist.
There is Professional Representation
Professional services are essential for any business to grow, especially for your dental industry. When clients raise issues or want any form of help from your office, the least they want is to hang up when poorly attended. To avoid disappointing your clients, an answering service will help you present a professional image in your dental practice because clients will get the right answers and responses professionally. As compared to a live receptionist who may sometimes be worked up and end up behaving unprofessional, an answering machine remains professional at all times.
Other clients like visiting the office other than making digital communication. Suppose they do not know how to find your office. An answering service can give directions on where to locate your office. Therefore, your clients will not spend too much time trying to get to your dental office. Professional and reliable services will help boost your business and have it grow in the future.
It Is Easy to Collect the Contact Details of Your Clients
Imagine having a live receptionist allocate time to collect clients’ details and attend to other issues in the same office? That should not be the case! Time is valuable, and having the receptionist collect the patients’ details is a time-consuming activity. You need to ensure that every minute that passes, you have done something that benefits the business and ensures that the time used is to the minimum. An answering service can keep clients' details safe and can be accessed in the future. The information collected from clients can be stored in different ways depending on the ease of retrieval, and in the retrieval process, you will access the contact details for your clients to be called back.
An Answering Service Helps in Making Follow-Up Calls
Dental patients do not just call or leave a message to say hi to a dentist. They do have an issue that needs to be sorted by you. When clients leave a message to your office, they expect to be called back within 24 hours. Since an answering service can store the information and even categorize it, follow-up with your clients will be made easy. You will also spend a lot of valuable time thinking about which patient to attend. The service will prioritize the cases for you. A happy customer will bring more business, and hence your dental practice growth.
It is an Easy Way to Take messages
Having a live receptionist taking messages from clients can be hectic because they want to have their time valued. They want to take as much time as they want to be listened to carefully and be addressed professionally. Although no clients like leaving messages, there are those with no issues leaving a message to your office expecting to be called back within 24 hours. An answering service will deliver you the message, and you will act accordingly. Message taking is done regardless of the time of the day, hence full-time operations.
An Answering Service Increases Customer Satisfaction
To grow your dental practice, you need to ensure your clients are satisfied with the service you offer them that way. You are assured that they will still contact your office the next time they want some dental services help. There are different ways an answering service can help your customers feel some form of satisfaction. Full-time support is one of the ways to ensure customer satisfaction. Clients have the freedom to contact your office at any time. They also expect to receive responses too without any consideration. As a dentist, you need to ensure the same clients are happy with the services. Therefore, you need to have an answering service that will respond to clients' issues at all times despite the hour or the time of communication.
The service will manage the calls and messages for you and have these requiring urgent attention delayed to you in no time. The service can categorize the calls and messages as emergencies and routine.
No-Risk in trying out!
An answering service allows you to specialize the much you want in your dental practice because you have all the time to attend to clients. Depending on the type of industry you are operating, an answering service can:
- Screen and take all the incoming calls
- Provide general information about your dental practice
- Screen after-hour and all the emergency calls
- Send a reminder to clients who have booked appointments with you
- Help your client schedule appointments with you
- Record all the information that gets to your office and pass it along
You will see the effect of using an answering service after some time, and you will appreciate the service. There are usually no hidden costs you will incur to run the service. Neither will there be many disruptions as you service your loyal client. Allow your clients to experience the type of services you offer and the best you can give them.
