Your website is one of the main resources to market your practice. It is the source of information being fed to search engines and an effective way to capture potential new patients. Many of our clients are investing in their visibility on the web with paid advertisements using Google AdWords. This type of online advertisement, coupled with a PBHS-designed Campaign Page about the offer, helps boost traffic to your website and encourage phone calls from interested patients. It is important that all of the staff members answering the phones are educated in how to properly answer and engage these callers or leads. Below are some tips on how to best handle these calls.
1. The Greeting – Always keep your greetings friendly and helpful. It is important to include your name. The patient is likely to respond using that name, which will help create a rapport.
Example: “Thank you for calling the practice of Dr. ABC. This is Mary speaking. How may I help you?”
If you are using phone tracking (included in PBHS managed PPC campaigns), calls are preempted with a small pause before transfer of the patient. Please answer the phone with the normal greeting after allowing a second for the pause.
2. Information – Answer questions with adequate information, but keep it simple. Don’t give too much information about any particular procedure. You can scare a patient away if you provide too much clinical detail. Your main goal is to get your patient in the office so you can engage them in person. If a patient wants a lot of procedural information, encourage them to come in and meet with a doctor to discuss their needs.
3. Pricing – Provide some basic pricing information, but stipulate that this pricing is dependent on diagnosis and treatment needs. Make sure the entire front office staff is aware of any specials or sales pricing. Tip: Print out a price list of your current specials and have it handy for all front office staff.
4. Etiquette – Standard business phone etiquette applies. Always ask before putting someone on hold, and wait for a reply.
5. The Close – Always try to secure the appointment. Instead of asking if they’d like to schedule an appointment, ask when they’d like to schedule the appointment.
Example: “Dr. Smith will be happy to answer all of your questions. Are mornings or afternoons more convenient for you?”
6. Training – If you have a tracked phone number with your PBHS PPC campaign (a service which records your phone call leads) be sure to listen to these recordings. This can help your office staff to identify any weak areas in the call process. Practicing can also be helpful in preparing staff for phone calls.
Having a standard call process in place can help new staff members and give your patients a consistent, informative experience. The investment you have made into your website and Google AdWords can only be returned when leads are properly attended to.
A PBHS Google AdWords campaign with phone tracking presents a great opportunity to listen to the calls coming in to your office and make adjustments to your call process. For more information about Search Engine Optimization or Google AdWords Advertising, please contact PBHS at 800-840-5383