Messages on hold for Medical Practices in Stamford attract more consults

Messages on hold for Medical Practices in Stamford give your office give you two distinct opportunities.  Properly written, this medical practice marketing tool will

• help you attract more patients
• help existing patients in more ways

in ways that medical practitioners just can’t.

Your medical office is busy.  There are times when the telephone rings and you just can’t help them all at the same time.  So some callers are asked to “please hold.”  In fact, AT&T research shows that at your office 69% of your calls may be placed “onhold.”

Messages on hold for medical practices in Stamford can help

Your patients call you when they need you most.  When they do, waiting on hold can be boring, or frustrating.  First time callers can just hang up.  When they do, 30% of those hangups won’t call again.  But there’s a way to help fix the problem.

Messages on hold for medical practices in Stamford are written specifically for your practice, for your medical specialties.  They transform wasted hold time into an informative opportunity…a medical advertising opportunity…to educate your callers.  Interesting messages start to help your patient, even if your staff is busy.

What would you like your callers to know about you?  An effective phone message can appeal to both current and future patients.  They’re most effective when your on hold scripts are written by a professional who takes the time to get to know about you, your practice, and how you help your patients best.  Custom messages can

• Educate your loyal patients about the range of your specialties, and how you can help them achieve optimal health in ways they hadn’t thought of
• Tell prospective patients about your education and background, building awareness of your skills, and building confidence that you can help them.

Click here to see how the process works.

Growing your practice with loyal patients

Throughout Connecticut, the current trends in medicine is towards specialization, and visiting specialists for ailments that you already have expertise in.  But patients aren’t aware that you can help them, and mistakenly assume that they need a specialist.

On hold recordings can be a part of an effective plan give your patients information that they want, and that you want them to have.

Book more consults

You’ll attract more new patients, and book more consults, when you transform your business phone system (whether you have a traditional PBX or new VoIP system) with on hold marketing tailored to your practice.

Find out more about how The Informer can create professional phone greetings, and a medical telephone message that will help you sound more professional and help more patients.  You can simply click here for more information, or call us for a free 15-minute consultation:  In Stamford and throughout Connecticut, call us at (203) 655-3920.  Nationwide call (800) 862-8896.

Book more consults.  Help more patients.  Call us today.

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Communicating with Patients: It’s more important than ever

Communicating with patients during a health emergency is crucial for their health and well-being, and that of your other patients and staff.  Hospitals, ER’s, and Urgent Care facilities are on the front lines of battling COVID-19, and providing the support that the public needs.  Here’s what helping them.

Communicating with patients right from the start

At a time when there are more questions than ever, medical providers are being asked for more advice than ever, so they need help responding.  General and Specialized medical practices are looking for the best way to

• provide important information
• tell patients how you can help them
• keep all their patients safer
• reassure them and calm their fears

Patient centered communication has helped

We work with a range of healthcare facilities, from one provider offices to hospitals, as well as with Municipal Authorities, and have helped them deliver timely information to telephone callers in search of information or assistance.  Some examples include:

• A Pediatric Practice that kept telephone callers informed of rapidly changing precautions and plans for treating their patients as the severity of the health emergency evolved. Their strategy changed three times in one week.  Each time the special COVID-19 alert on their telephone system greeting and the more detailed information in their “message on hold” was updated.
• A concierge family practice needed to inform patients that testing was not available at their office. In spite of email blasts (79% unopened) and website notices, patients continued to overwhelm their front desk with telephone calls.  Their automated answering system was switched on and a special greeting addressed the question, saving staff time that they could spend on actual medical needs.
• A Municipality that continually updates key information about official actions being taken to help and safeguard their residents
• A chain of Urgent Care offices uses Informer Messages to triage telephone callers, routing callers with COVID-19 fears for special attention, and educating them about “dedicated entrances” to the practice to isolate these patients and better protect other patients and unprotected staff.

Improving healthcare communication

Informer professional greetings and messages on hold are working at locations nationwide during the health crisis, and can help you deliver the right information to the right people at the right time.  Call for a free consult to find out about the right information that your practice should be giving patients today.  Call (800) 862-8896, or click here to sign up for a free 15-minute consult with our Medical Communications Consultant.  In Connecticut call (203) 655-3920, or call our New York Headquarters at (212) 355-6980

The Informer works with medical offices in New York City, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Long Island, Westchester, throughout New Jersey, in Connecticut in Greenwich, Stamford, Norwalk, Fairfield, New Haven, Hartford and nationwide

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Telephone tips for Medical Practices in New York help patients feel better

Simple Telephone Tips for Medical Practices can help you to help patients better every day.  That’s important, because your first contact with a patient in New York (or potential patient) is by telephone.  What do your patients think when they call you?

Telephone Tips for Medical Practices that always work.

Your practice is busy.  And at times calls come in too rapidly to handle. But it takes very little effort to make your patient feel that they’re receiving personal attention.  Here are 4.5 tips that you can use:

1. Smile.  It’s true that people can “hear your smile” over the phone.  My first boss had three busy representatives answering phones, and he put a mirror in front of each so they could see when they were smiling.  It’s a good habit that’s easy to start.  Even if you’re not in a great mood, research shows that you’ll actually feel better if you smile.
2. Answer the phone with a “standard” greeting that lets callers know that they’ve reached the right place.  If there are multiple providers in your office, reciting multiple names can be too time consuming.  But simply answer “Doctor’s Office” fails to provide enough information.  Find the brief way to answer the phone that helps your caller.
3. Take your time: even if you’re rushed, take that one extra moment so you don’t sound rushed.  You’ll speak more clearly (eliminating having to spend even more time repeating yourself) and help your caller more completely.
4. Don’t be distracted: don’t answer the phone while talking to a co-worker, or doing something else. Don’t let yourself be too informal: say “yes” and “no” instead of “yeah” or “nah.” Avoid “no problem” or “no worries.”  Try substituting “Thank you.”
   Listen to your caller: you’ve heard it all before…many times.  But each patient is unique, and you’ll save time and help them better when you listen to them.  They may not be saying what everyone else does. Listening closely can help you avoid misunderstandings and problems later.

4.5 Sometimes callers are placed on hold.  Before you do, get their consent.  “May I place you on hold while I find
out?”  In fact AT&T research shows that 69% of telephone callers to medical practices are placed on hold.  So
be prepared: helpful, informative “messages on hold” can make time spent waiting…

• seem shorter
• less annoying
• a way to educate callers about your practice and how you can help them best
  But don’t leave a caller on hold too long. Most phones “beep” after a minute to remind you.  Don’t leave a caller waiting on hold for more than 2 minutes without checking on them, and asking if they’d prefer a call back.

Simple Steps Make Difference

You can make callers feel more welcome, and have more confidence in your practice with these simple steps.

You can sound more professional and give callers information that they want and that you want them to have with Informer Messages on hold.  Click here to learn how they’ve worked for other medical practices, and can work for yours.
Or call us for a Free 15-minute consult about using Informer Messages at your practice: in New York City call (212) 355-6980.  Throughout New York State and nationwide call (800) 862-8896.  Call us, before your phone rings again.

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Healthcare Phone Systems can become overwhelmed: 2 steps will help

It doesn’t take a Pandemic for Healthcare phone systems to be overwhelmed.  Everywhere across the US, Urgent Cares and other medical practices can receive an influx of calls at any time, any day of any week.  But your callers don’t have to feel unappreciated or under-serviced.

Healthcare Phone Systems have un-utilized features

Your telephone system (PBX, Digital, Hosted, VoIP, or other) has features that will help you answer and help high volumes of incoming phone calls from your patients.  Two features are

• Auto Attendant: Not as personal as a “live” operator, this automated answering feature will answer your calls right away. A pre-recorded greeting is the first voice your patient hears, so it should be pleasant and well recorded.  The best option is a professional voice.  They just sound better.
• Queue Messages. The “queue” is the “waiting line” that callers enter when their phone call is answered by the Auto Attendant and routed to you “in the order in which they were received.”  When your callers listen to interesting messages while in the queue
  • the time spent waiting seem shorter
  • you can give callers helpful information that they’ll appreciate
  • you reduce frustration
  • callers will hold on longer before hanging up: According to North American Telecom research, Callers with music on hold will stay on the line thirty seconds longer than with silence. – Callers with information on hold will stay on the line for up to three minutes longer.

Making the most of existing phone system features

Using these features is simple: they’re already built into many phone systems.  Your phone service company can program the Auto Attendant and Queue features on your phones.  Simply record a greeting for the Automated Answer.  Your phone system will often play the same “default” music in the queue that it plays on hold.  The result: more callers will reach your practice without having to call multiple times.

Making a better first impression

You only get one chance to make a great first impression.  You can do that with a professional automated attendant greeting.  Queue time can be both informative and help build more loyal patients for the future, with Informer Messages on hold.  They can educate your caller about your specialties, your professional team, and how you can help them best.  Click here for more information about both types of recordings.

Free Professional Greeting

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, The Informer is giving away a Free Professional Auto Attendant Greeting to Urgent Cares, Hospitals, and ER’s that addresses the emergency (offer valid thru 4/30/20 but may be extended based on the emergency)  Contact us at (800) 862-8896.  We’ll professionally write and record your Health Emergency Greeting.  Your callers will appreciate the information and be reassured by the professional yet personal sound.

Start helping your callers better today.

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Planning for the future: when things change, you want to be prepared

Tough times don’t last.  But tough people do.  It’s a well-known sentiment, probably coined after observing a friend who simply toughed it out, and made it through.  That means that, in spite of today’s obstacles, Planning for the Future makes sense.

Since none of us can predict when tough times end, there’s never been a better time to plan for the future when things start to brighten up.  Making plans during the “darkest hour” might just seem like you’re overly optimistic, but it actually gives you a head start over your competition when things do start to improve

Planning for the Future starts today

What were your plans for 2020 back in December, before anyone had heard about Coronavirus?  What were your best opportunities?  We were still riding the wave of the longest economic expansion in history, and business was booming.  So what were your plans for your own continued growth?

Things have changed

Things have changed since then.  New information will have to be factored into your plans.  But the future still holds opportunities.  So new plans will have to be made: who will be your customers in the coming months?  What will they need?  What problems will they face?  What will they want?

Things have changed, but things always change.  Now’s the time to brainstorm about how you’ll attack that change and succeed.

Another maxim is that “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”  There are lots of plans to be made. One of them is to consider what you’d like your customers to know about your business, your products/service, and how you can help them best.  Let’s talk about your Informer Messages on hold so we’re prepared to make the most as things continue to change.

Call me to brainstorm about your plans

Call me today and let’s brainstorm about the message that you’d like your customers and best prospects to get when they’re have a problem that you can solve.  Call me at (800) 862-8896 today.  Or click here to email me.

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Keeping Patients informed in Uncertain Times: Free tool for Hospitals

Keeping Patients informed about how your medical practice can help them is the first step in calming their fears during the Corona Virus and COVID-19 outbreak.  Dr. Michael Debakey is well known for having told us that “Good Information is the best medicine.”  One of your greatest challenges is keeping your patients better informed.

Here’s free tool that can help.

Keeping Patients Informed Today

While website posts and emails can offer general information, patients with heightened concerns will continue to use the telephone to book an appointment with your providers.  That’s an important time to announce

• protective measures you’re taking
• announce “drive up corona virus testing”
• separate entrances for testing,
• restricted access at some locations
• and other measures you need them to be aware of.

Telephone contact remains the #1 way to contact medical providers.  So telephone call volumes continue to increase.

Free Emergency Greeting for Hospitals, ER’s, and Urgent Cares

You can reassure your patients with the professional sound of an Informer greeting that gives every caller the information they need. The Informer is now offering one Free Telephone Greeting to any Hospital, Emergency Room or Urgent Care that requests it during the current health emergency.

We’ll write and record your Emergency Telephone System greeting for you, sharing our experience about what has helped our clients across the country.

Good Information is the Best Medicine.  Contact us today for the professional Health Emergency Phone System Greeting that will help protect the health of your patients.  Here’s an example:

Call for your Free Health Emergency Phone System Greeting

Call us at (800) 862-8896 and we’ll record your free professional greeting within 1 business day, and help you have it loaded onto your system.  Or click here to email us.

Informer Messages on hold can help you take the next step, giving callers added information, directing them to helpful website pages, and more.  Ask for more information.

 

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Ooma Office: feature 33 makes it the right choice for New York Businesses

Ooma Office lets your replace your business phone with service that unlocks 35+ features to help you run your business better.  Features like Virtual Receptionist, Call Park, and Ring Groups help you save time and money, but there’s a feature you might have overlooked: it’s the one that makes the VoIP system a marketing tool for New York Businesses, and isn’t your goal making your business more profitable?  Here’s how to do it.

Ooma Office’s overlooked feature

Every business phone has one thing in common: it’s the “hold” button. It’s there because your office is busy, and (according to AT&T Research) you put most of your telephone callers on hold (in fact, 69% of them) just like every other business.  It’s what you do to prepare for this problem that makes all the difference.

Ooma has default music that your telephone callers will hear on hold.  You’ve heard it before (far too often).  It’s that same old music.  Nobody likes it.  Especially busy New Yorkers.

But there’s a simple solution when you have Ooma.  Ooma makes it easy to load a professional marketing message on hold that replaces the hold music.  It’s a game changer.

Here’s how it works on the Ooma Office

Picture yourself calling a local business for information. You want to know how the best product will work for you.  Will it solve your problem? How is it different from what the competition offers?

You could be learning about the best reasons to choose their product, even while you’re waiting for customer service to answer your phone.  You could be listening to a marketing message that helps you make your decision.

Isn’t that better than listening to music on hold?  Isn’t that the kind of thing that you’d like your own customers listening to instead of boring music?

What would you like your callers to know about?

What do your callers ask about?  Are they just learning about your product, trying to decide if they should buy?  Are they existing customers who would like to know about new ways to use your product, supplies and “consumables,” replacement parts, options and accessories?  Or maybe about the newest model that they might want to upgrade to?

Every customer phone call is a call for help.  Callers want information, answers, reassurance.  So when your callers have to wait “for the next available representative,” or are placed on hold for a few moments, why would you make the listen to music?  Why not start addressing their Frequently Asked Questions, or give them answers that they’ll appreciate?  You can, when you use Ooma Office feature #33 in a whole new way.

How to do it on your Ooma Office phone system

How do you create the marketing messages that are filled with information that your telephone callers want, and that you want them to have?  The easiest and most effective way is to work with a professional who has done it for others?

Want to find out how marketing messages on hold can work for you? Call for a free 15-minute strategy session, and we’ll give you specific ideas that you can use today.

The Informer will actually do everything for you, from developing a strategy for what you can accomplish, to brainstorm specific ideas about what to tell your callers (and when), to writing your script. Then we provide a broadcast quality recording that we can help load onto your Ooma Office phone system.  Every time a phone caller is placed on hold, they’ll hear your message.

In New York call 212-355-6980.  In Connecticut call 203-655-3920.  And Nationwide call 800-862-8892. Or if you prefer, click here for more information.

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