In this blog post, we'll explore the benefits and best practices of website chat for chiropractors.
More chiropractors are adding website chat to their websites. This is a good move because website chat tends to convert better than traditional website forms.
Let’s take a look at website chat and a few reasons why you should consider adding chat to your website if you don’t already have it, and if you do have website chat, let’s look at a few best practices.
Part 1: If you don’t have chat
If you don’t currently have chat, you should consider getting it for the following reasons (if you have it skip down to part two). Here are three reasons why.
Website chat allows you to meet your patients where they are when they are actively searching for information
This is important because your website visitors have a limited amount of time and attention span. When they come to your website they are going to take a few seconds browsing whatever page they land on and if they can’t find what they are looking for then they will exit your website and search elsewhere.
Adding chat allows you to greet your website visitors right when they land on your website, which is crucial since you’re working with limited time. You’re also able to answer any questions they might have so they don’t have to search all over.
Website chat has a higher conversion rate than forms (7.28% versus 2%)
This means that having a website chat is a more efficient way of converting website visitors. A conversion is when a website visitor provides their contact information. People are more likely to interact with a chat than they are to fill out a contact us form. If you aren’t providing a chat widget on your website, then you’re missing out on potential conversions.
Website chat visitors are 6.3x more likely to convert to customers than typical form fills
Not only are website visitors more likely to provide their information via chat than a form, those same visitors who come in through chat are more likely to take the next step and actually become a patient. This is important because at the end of the day you’re in business to serve your patients and to get new patients.
Part 2: If you do have chat
If you already have chat on your website, there are a handful of ways that you can optimize it. Here are just a few:
1. Keep response times short
Chat visitors don’t want to wait, but sometimes people will chat with you outside of business hours. If you’re available to answer the chat try to answer within a minute because they are there in real time waiting for your response. If you’re unavailable to answer, then make sure you have a message set up saying that you’ll get back to them within a certain window of time (maybe within 1 business day). Make sure you collect their contact information and questions.
2. Send a follow up email or text
After the chat is finished make sure that you send a follow up email or text message. Some chat software will automatically log the chat and give you the option to send the transcript that’s a great option. Otherwise just sending an email or text message thanking them for their chat is better than nothing. Also, if you are unavailable to respond to the chat when it comes in, you’ll want to make sure that you follow up with the contact.
3. Ask for feedback right after the chat
When you follow up with the email or text after the chat, it’s also a good idea to ask for feedback at the same time. If you wait too long, people might forget about their experience so it’s best to request feedback when it’s top of mind. This will help you improve your chat experience moving forward.
4. Make sure you get email and/or phone, but ideally both
It’s key to ask for email and/or phone early on in the chat - either right away or within one or two lines. This helps you know who you’re talking to and it provides contact information that you can use to follow up with them later.
5. Be personable
A lot of website chats are bots, so as you staff your website chat make sure that you are personable. This will help the chat feel better and more human.
6. Make sure your staff is trained
It sounds simple, but it’s worth pointing out. Training is essential for success. Make sure that all staff who will be responding to chats have training.
As always, I hope this blog post was helpful. If you’d like to get a website chat widget for your site or replace an existing solution, ask us about our website chat by emailing us at support@chirohosting.com.
