ROC Weekly Marketing Minute
ROC Weekly Marketing Minute
How to Use Live Chat to Help Get Rehab Clients and Make Your Website More Effective
Using a live chat service on your website is an extremely effective way to connect with website visitors and convert them to clients. Live chat offers a channel for potential clients to reach your facility instantly and directly, rather than waiting for an email reply or speaking on the phone. This helps you speak to potential clients right when they are thinking of committing to your services.
Many people say that having an immediate response to their question is a major factor in whether they will make a commitment to a business. By using live chat, you can identify client needs, nurture them through education and information, and use marketing strategies to gather their contact information and convert them to clients.
How to use live chat effectively
Here is a list of ways that you can use a live chat platform effectively:
Use it to communicate value- You can use live chat to answer client questions and convey the value of your facility and offerings.
Train the chat support team- Having a trained team who handles the live chat can help your conversion rates. Ensure they can answer questions, train them on best practices for client conversion, and have them use the language of the client (be informative, friendly, and empathetic. Avoid jargon) to help build rapport. Be sure to avoid sarcasm and jokes, as they rarely translate well over text.
Break up lengthy answers- If you have to type a long answer to a question, break your text up into smaller paragraphs and pieces of information. This helps the client read your answer and respond to it.
Create a seamless system- To help create a seamless experience for clients and to help your employees offer consistent and effective messaging, you can prepare for common interactions and utilize the features on the platform:
Input a friendly and effective automated greeting
Create templates for interactions and promotion, but be ready to modify them
Have a list of FAQs ready with appropriate answers so they can be copied and pasted, but make some effort to customize these responses when possible
Make a list of opportunities to gather someone’s contact information, such as when they ask about pricing or service options, or if they are uncertain and seem to want to stay in touch
Use triggers to automate the live chat option- You can set up triggers which initiate the live chat at certain points on the site. Try to not be too distracting and don’t have your trigger set when the potential client is already meeting the goal of your site, like filling out a form.
Answer questions quickly and set expectations- Be sure to acknowledge the person’s question, even if you are busy. Informing them they are on a waiting list and providing the time it may take for you to respond to them is very important in their live chat experience.
Show you are listening- While the client is entering their comments, concerns, or questions, respond to show you are following what they say. You can say things like “I am following” and “I understand.”
Ask open-ended questions- To help develop the conversation and gather information, you can ask open-ended questions that prompt the person to take part in the conversation. Instead of saying “Can I help you?” consider saying “What can I help you with?” When you provide answers to their questions, be concise.
Benefits of using live chat on your rehab website
Here is a list of benefits of using a live chat service on your site:
Builds trust: Having someone available to answer questions directly, listen to client concerns, offer helpful advice, and attempt to connect further can help build trust in your business and staff, and increase your chances of client conversion.
Creates a positive experience with your brand and site: Live chat offers immediate connection to your business, helps you speak directly with potential clients, and allows you to ask them questions to help with interaction and rapport building.
Increases online engagement: Live chat adds to the effectiveness of your site, helping visitors find the information they want right away. It also helps increase the session times for your site, which is helpful for SEO.
Helps you connect with people what are interested in your services: If someone is on your site, it is likely they or a loved one can use your services. Live chat allows you to offer them even more information, increasing the chances they will take the next step in the client journey.
Reduces customer contact costs: Streamlining your customer contact with live chat can help you manage your direct contact with clients and reduce the number of people and amount of time needed to do so. Your team members will handle multiple inquiries at a time, increasing the productivity of your engagement team.
Helps you measure and optimize your efforts: Most live chat services offer the option to measure your efforts, allowing you to review what works and what needs improvement.
Tips for using live chat on your rehab site
You can set up your live chat so that people must enter their contact information before they can reach your customer service. You can use this to direct the chat right to their cell phone, gaining you instant access to them on their mobile device, helping you to contact them with follow up campaigns, and continuing the conversation once they have left the site.
You can create marketing campaigns with the information you gather from live chats. Consider creating a campaign for both potential clients and loved ones of potential clients and target your messaging to suit each group. This can include automated texts and follow up emails.
Common live chat services for your consideration
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