MAKING THE INTERNET WORK FOR A HEALTHCARE FACILITY Creating functional websites with optimal Customer Service

Basic Informational website  Some companies interact with their customers through websites and offer “low interaction communication” or self-service.  Customers take care of themselves finding information and using tools such as FAQ (frequently asked questions)  These websites may be more like an electronic marketing brochure—moving some of their information, such as, company name, address, phone number, location and customer service tools to the web  These websites may satisfy customer needs but only to a point  There is not a lot of interaction on these websites

Interactive website  With an “interactive website” a customer can usually communicate with company quickly and efficiently  The website tries to engage the customer through interactive website components such as downloading forms, web chat, questions etc…  Customers may be able to participate in multiword searches in the FAQ area rather than just a list of FAQ.  Some sites offer a searchable, self-learning knowledge databases.  A knowledge database is an online repository of information, may also contain information regarding company products or services  Interactive websites usually give the customer a chance to fully experience the company website 

Healthcare websites…what would you like to see?  If you could design a healthcare website what are various components that you would include in your website?

Possible problems with a business website  Problems 1. Website going down 2. Site navigation confusing 3. Response to customer enquiries is very slow 4. Clients/patients become frustrated with technology 5. Site is cluttered, hard to find things, generally unattractive

Solutions to business website problems

Tips on how to evaluate and create effective business websites and e-service  Tip 1: Track Customer Traffic  Companies should track where their customers are going and where they have been using web services that specialize in “Web analytics” Whether the customer is a first time visitor Track service resolution Abandonment rates  Tip 2: Benchmark Service Levels  Company should keep careful statistics about their service levels ‘benchmark service levels’. These service levels should be compared to their competitors  Things to keep statistics about may be: average response rate per page request average time to respond to inquiries

Tips on how to evaluate and create effective business websites and e-service  Tip 3: Teach your site to learn  If the content on the site never changes then you may not be satisfying current customers  Successful e-service requires things such as: What doesn’t work and what content is missing What click paths end in dissatisfied customers  Tip 4: Build an ongoing E-relationship  To build an e-relationship companies can:  Offer notifications to customers (notify them of changes, specials, discounts, etc…)  Always get permission from the customer to as company does not want to spam customer and become annoying

Tips on how to evaluate and create effective business websites and e-service  Tip 5: End High for Better Loyalty  Always leave the customer on a high note, thinking positively about the company  Before customers leave the website they should be thanked for coming to the website  Customer may be offered a discount for their next visit or purchase  Free shipping

Social Networking Sites (SNS) on the Internet  The popularity of Social Networking on the Internet has exploded in the last couple of years  These sites link friends, families and business associates of all ages  Sites and not just for young people. The fastest growth on these sites are MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER USERS

What do SNS provide?  Great tools for promoting Customer service through customer interaction. Customers can gain access to customer information, customer specials, discounts, etc…  Hundreds of millions of people log on to these networks each and every day  Social network sites can also hurt companies tremendously through unhappy customers  In the past an unhappy customer would tell one or several people that they were not happy with their experience, today customers can reach millions of people through the click of a mouse  Fortunately for companies…good news also travels fast on these networks  Companies cannot overlook the customer service potential of these networks

Popular Social Networking Sites (SNS)  Facebook  MySpace  Linkedin  Frendster  Tagged  Twitter  Care2

Internet and Technological Communication  Companies can also use the Internet and technological gadgets to communicate internally (with employees) and externally (with customers)  There are various types of Internet and technological communication tools for business use  Web Conferencing  Webinar  Video Conferencing  Marketing  Google Apps, Apple Apps  Text messaging, Instant messaging  Blackberry

Major Companies jumping on the SNS and Internet Communication bandwagon  CNN on FacebookFacebook  Sony Canada on TwitterTwitter  City TV iPad (Apple) appiPad (Apple) app  Even George Brown is on Facebook with…2953 friends!Facebook