Bringing fresh acquisitions into your practice offsets fixed costs, replaces attrition, stabilizes cash flow, and fosters growth. Yet finding leads that readily convert into new patients can be a time- and money-consuming hit or miss process. Advances in technology now put an effective lead-generation tool at your disposal – the chatbot.

Understanding chatbots

A chatbotacts as an automated member of your medical office team and as a personal assistant to the user. The Pew Research Center recently revealed that 72 percent of adults who used the internet last year did so to find medical information. A chatbot interface provides a natural link between the consumer’s immediate quest for information, and an appointment at your office.

Top tips for chatbot lead generation

Simply having a chatbot on your practice website does not ensure successful lead generation. These characteristics are essential:

• Attention-grabbing – No matter how effective chatbot logic is at guiding visitors to useful information, it won’t provide leads if it isn’t used. The chatbot must get the visitor’s attention, and it should feel approachable enough to stimulate a conversation that entices the consumer to provide contact information before leaving the site. The right look, script, and pace are everything.
• Page-relevant – Most visitors land on your home page, so a very different chatbot logic should exist there – one that supports the authority and credibility of the practice by providing helpful guidance. Lead generation logic should reside on areas of your website most likely to be visited by potential patients (not those simply doing academic research). An experienced chatbot developer can help you determine which pages will produce the strongest results.
• Intuitive – A chatbot is not a substitute for your years of experience in contact with patients, but it can talk with a lot of them in a short time frame. Key phrases and patterns of questioning reveal valuable information. The bot can figure out what motivates your site visitors, thus changing script on the fly to address services or offerings likely to stimulates commitment. Consumers quickly develop confidence in an intuitive bot.
• Ethical – Consumers know that the medical profession is legally required to protect their privacy. A chatbot that presses for sensitive details will cause the conversation to end abruptly, without contact information.

You can buy a chatbot program simply to say you have one on your website, or you can invest in a customized tool that pays for itself in effective lead generation. Visit www.offhourpatients.com to learn more and claim a special trial offer today at www.offhourpatients.com/trial/