Texting And Visitor-to-Lead Rates
The visitor-to-lead rate is: for every 100 visitors you get, how many of these become a lead? Or give you a first and last name, phone number, procedure of interest, etc.? In analyzing the texting opportunity, you need to understand the visitor-to-lead rate for both phone and email.
Practices should have a visitor-to-lead rate at a minimum of 5 percent and a maximum of 15 percent. Anything below 5 percent is not good. Evaluate the other issues going on first and then implement texting once those problems are fixed.
Instant Communication
This is a positive: being able to automatically connect with a potential consumer is extremely opportunistic for the practice. However, it also leads to a couple of immediate negatives.
“Not Instant” Communication
This is a negative. If a consumer reaches out because you provide texting and you don’t respond right away, you could create a negative risk for your practice.
Time Consumption And Lead Generation
Another thing you need to consider is the time necessary to respond and reply to each text, and the impact on the lead generation rate. If it’s lowering the amount of leads you’re getting and increasing the amount of time you’re spending managing questions from people who aren’t willing to give you information and schedule an appointment, you have an unproductive situation.
To really understand what’s going to work best for your practice, go ahead and try texting from the practice website. Financially, it should only cost a few hundred dollars per month, and it should be based on a short-term contract. Texting is a low-risk opportunity. Analyze the time and visitor-to-lead rate. If you stay at 5 percent or higher for the visitor-to-lead rate, that’s great. If not, eliminate texting from your practice website.
