If you run a clinic, hospital, office, or any other kind of small business, you know that you need to be available and on top of things almost 24/7. Realistically speaking, that’s not always possible, but with an integrated phone service like Weave, you can definitely come close. Sometimes the unexpected happens, and you need to be prepared to deal with a less-than-ideal situation. To illustrate this, we’re going to tell you a real story from one of our clients.
John’s Story
It was early Tuesday morning when John* [Note: we replaced the real name & occupation of reviewer], a doctor*, awoke to the sound of sirens. Tornado warnings aren’t all that uncommon in his hometown in Oklahoma. After all, the Sooner State sees about 52 tornadoes a year.
John gathered his family in their tornado shelter for safety. As they huddled together, waiting for the danger to pass, John suddenly remembered something important—his patients.
John ran a local clinic a few miles away, and he had a full day of appointments scheduled. Now, he knew he would never be able to make it to the clinic with a tornado coming, but he still felt a sense of duty to contact his patients and reschedule.
Before the age of smartphones and unified communications, John would be in trouble; his patient directory would most likely be on his computer at work or maybe in a phone directory on his desk. If he did somehow have access to his patients’ phone numbers and schedules, he’d have to contact each of them individually. And even if all that worked out, what about all of the other patients that called into his office that day? No one would answer, which would potentially turn away business.
But, thankfully, John’s clinic was signed up to Weave.
With the alarms still blaring above ground, John whipped out his phone. He checked his schedule on Weave’s mobile app and made a list of the patients he had to contact. Then he called the patients directly using his office line, which he also had access to from the app. Then, as an extra measure, he recorded and set an emergency voicemail message for incoming calls, letting patients know what the situation was, how to contact him, and when they’d be back in business.
John did all of this in just a few minutes from the safety of his home tornado shelter.
This isn’t just a story we made up to illustrate a point; it’s a real account from one of our real customers. This is just one example of how having Weave at your fingertips can help you communicate more effectively when unexpected situations arise. Lighting struck our {business}, we lost power and breaker boxes. In all my years in {business} I had never experienced anything like this. Thankfully Weave took a lot of weight off my shoulders. In seconds, I was able to send our phone lines to my cell through the Weave app & answer client calls. ~Angel | Weave Customer
Weave's Smart Technology Helps You Do More with Less Effort
Weave: The Smart App For Smart Businesses
Weave isn’t just an app; it’s a powerful lineup of tools that work together to make your operations much more efficient. From the desktop client to our VoIP Polycom phones, Weave offers you everything you need to manage your business effectively.
Our mobile app is an extension of the Weave software. It integrates neatly into the system, providing you with incredible capabilities that go beyond simple calls and texts.
Here are some of the unique features you can expect from Weave’s impressive mobile app and how it can help you run your business even in a crisis situation.
View & Manage Your Practice’s Schedule
Never miss another appointment again. Stay on top of your appointments with Weave’s schedule manager. Take a look at what your day, week, or month has in store for you with just a push of the button.
Find out what time your session is, who the patient is, and even what the appointment is for. What’s more, you’ll see both confirmed and unconfirmed appointments, allowing you to follow up with the right patients when needed.
Call And Text Patients Anytime, Anywhere
Small businesses depend on open communication to thrive, but it’s even more important for businesses in the health and wellness industry. Doctors, dentists, and other medical professionals need to be accessible to their patients pretty much round the clock, just in case an emergency comes up.
Weave’s phone app allows you to make UNLIMITED calls and messages. It already comes bundled into your monthly subscription fee, which means that you don’t need to pay extra with heavy usage.
And when we say anywhere, we mean it. It doesn’t matter whether you’re calling customers within your town or from out of the country—you can still reach who you need to reach at no additional cost.
Manage Call Forwarding
Are you out of the office? Is it after business hours? Or is your staff busy? You can still receive calls! With Weave’s phone app, you can configure call forwarding however you like, whenever you like.
So if you can’t make it to your clinic, you can reroute all of your calls to your phone. You can even set up conditional call forwarding, such as redirecting calls received outside of operating hours, to forward patients to another response line.
Access Patient Information On The Go
Forget file cabinets and stacks of patient records; you can have all the information you need right at your fingertips. You can pull up your clients’ info, schedule, appointment history, and even remaining balances right from the Weave app. This helps you prepare for appointments ahead of time or monitor the progress of your patients. When unforeseen circumstances prevent you from doing your job, you can use this information to better prioritize clients and adjust as necessary.
Read Your Reviews
More than 90% of customers read reviews before making a decision about a business. Monitoring your online reputation won’t ensure a perfect 5-star rating, but it will help you handle negative feedback when you get it.
Weave’s smartphone app collects your online reviews from multiple platforms—Google, Yelp, Facebook, etc.—in one place. You can also set up notifications each time a customer leaves a review.
Time is of the essence when a negative review is posted. Leave it alone too long, and one unhappy customer could cause a major PR crisis. But take care of it quickly and appropriately, and your online reputation will flourish!
Communicate With Your Team
The Weave mobile app isn’t just useful for dealing with patients and customers, it’s also useful for talking to your staff. Open communication fosters a healthy working environment, more efficient operations, and better service. But communicating properly can be difficult, especially in the midst of a sticky situation.
This is where Weave truly shines. Weave has a Team Chat that allows for both one-on-one and group conversations. Easily see if one of your staff is online, broadcast messages to everyone on your team, and edit your messages—these are just a few of the unique features you have access to from the app. Plus, the program is 100% HIPAA-compliant, meaning that your conversations are guaranteed safe and secure.
Monitor Your Employees’ Performance
Good service is the foundation of any successful business. Your staff are the face of your business, which is why it’s important to keep track of their performance. Weave records all calls made through the system. Through the app, you can listen to calls and give feedback to your employees. The recordings are also particularly useful for when you need to double check information and find out exactly what happened on a particular call.
The app also allows you to check on important call metrics, such as how many calls were answered/missed, the average call handling time, and what your peak call hours are. This information is crucial to developing a customer care strategy that actually works.
Sync With Business Tools
Weave is great at what it does, but it’s probably not the only thing you’ll use to run your business. You may have ledgers, practice software, and other management programs that make your day-to-day much more efficient.
You don’t have to choose between one or the other. Weave seamlessly integrates with other apps and tools to help manage your patients, schedule appointments, and collaborate with your employees. This cuts down on the time and effort needed to run your business.
Conclusion
Smartphones are a relatively new technology, only coming into popularity in the late ‘00s, but they are already THE defining technology of our generation. They’ve made everything easier and more convenient—including doing business.
With Weave, even if you’re away from your desk or in the middle of an emergency; you’ll always have your customer communication system on your mobile device ready to go! This setup will allow you to manage your business at any time, anywhere.
Weave’s smartphone app has just as many features as its powerful desktop client. You can make calls, view schedules, and check in on your team whenever you need to.
Interested in seeing what Weave can do? Schedule a FREE live demo today and learn about Weave—the communication and management system that will change the way you do business.
