How Chatbots Can Help You Grow Your Dental Practice

While it might take time and investment to set up a chatbot, once it is established, it will serve your patients around the clock and help to turn interested visitors into loyal patients. In this article, we're going to explore some of the unexpected ways a chatbot can help you to grow your dental practice.

What is a chatbot?

A chatbot is a computer program that simulates human conversation. Chatbots are designed to help users find information or complete tasks.

For example, a chatbot might help you to book an appointment with your dentist. It could also help to answer questions patients might have about treatments, or help them to find the right information on your website.

There are two main types of chatbots: decision trees, and artificial intelligence.

A decision tree chatbot will take the user through a series of questions to help them to find the information they need. This type of chatbot is often used on customer service websites.

An artificial intelligence chatbot uses artificial intelligence algorithms to understand and respond to user queries. This type of chatbot can be used on any website where users might need help to find information.

How can chatbots help dental practices?

At first glance, a chatbot might feel like a gimmick, but when you dig a little deeper you'll see how useful this tool can be for your business. Here are just some of the ways a chatbot can help you to grow your practice.

Increase conversion rates

One of the main ways chatbots can help dental practices is by increasing conversion rates. Your website might get a lot of traffic, but if visitors can't find what they're looking for, they're likely to leave without taking any action. A chatbot can help to guide visitors to the information they need and encourage them to take the next step, even if it is out of business hours.

Improve customer service

Chatbots can also help to improve customer service. If a patient has a question about their treatment, they might not want to wait until your receptionists are available to speak to them. A chatbot can help to answer their questions quickly and efficiently. This could reduce the number of phone calls your practice receives, and free up time for your staff. Chatbots can also handle multiple enquiries at once, so there is no waiting on hold to speak to someone.

Gather feedback

Another way chatbots can help is by gathering customer feedback. You can use a chatbot to collect patient feedback and reviews. This can be an invaluable source of information to help you to improve your services. It can also help you to identify ways that your website is letting visitors down. If users are constantly asking the same questions on your chatbot, you can use this information to inform website updates

Features of a good chatbot for dentists

If you're considering using a chatbot for your dental practice, there are some key features to look out for.

• An easy-to-use interface: You want your chatbot to be easy to use, both for you and your patients. Look for a chatbot with a simple interface that is quick and easy to set up. It should also be easy to update, as you might find that users are asking similar questions and you would like to be able to provide specific answers. If your team is unable to update your chatbot, it might not be as useful as you think.

• Accessible on mobile and desktop: A common mistake practice owners make is to focus only on the desktop version of their chatbot, but it needs to be just as accessible and functional on mobile. There is a good chance that around 80% of your website traffic comes from users on a mobile device.

• Instant response: A good chatbot should have the option to speak to a real person during business hours, or get a response from an automated system outside of office hours. But if you do decide to offer access to a real person, they need to get an instant response. Individuals won’t wait around to speak to someone.

• Connect to calendar: If you want to reduce no-shows, including a calendar integration is a great way to achieve this. Once the individual has booked an appointment, give them the option to add this to their calendar, they will then get reminders which can help to reduce the number of no-shows.

How to get started with chatbots for your dental practice

If you’re interested in exploring how a chatbot could help you to connect with your ideal target customers, we’re here to help. We’ve helped hundreds of dental practices to set up and maintain their chatbots, so we know exactly what needs to be done.

Seeking expert advice before installing your chatbot will help to ensure you don’t make all too common mistakes that could cost your practice valuable leads. Get in touch with Elevate Dental Agency to learn more.