Help Lightning Blog
Remote Assistance Software ROI: 5 Positive Outcomes For The Medical Industry
The question of remote assistance software ROI is a pertinent one, especially for businesses in the medical space, given this industry’s emphasis on excellent customer service (or in some cases, ‘bedside manner’) and high quality materials for medical devices.
Expedited by the COVID-19 pandemic, the big benefits offered by technologization and remote assistance software to medical businesses’ bottom lines are extremely attractive. For instance, as doctors’ offices outsource customer services to other regions of the country (and the world), accommodate remote workers, and expand their patient portfolio, the importance of the question of how to connect has become increasingly salient.
So for those reasons, in this article we’ll be diving into: 1) what exactly to look for in a remote assistance software provider, as well as 2) what 5 positive outcomes you can expect from a provider that ticks all the right boxes.
What Is Remote Assistance Software?
Before we dig into what to look for in a remote assistance software partner, or the benefits they may extend to your business model, we need to briefly overview what remote assistance software entails.
Essentially, remote support software, otherwise known as remote-first service, involves leveraging augmented-reality enabled technology to more easily accomplish a set task or series of tasks in a shorter period of time.
What Should I Look For In A Remote Assistance Software Partner?
We have a more in-depth remote assistance software checklist which dives into the benefits of each feature, but for the medical industry specifically, here are the main features you should hone in on:
- Excellent collaboration capabilities
- 3D annotation
- Merged reality
- Role switching
- Photo/document sharing
- Face-to-face interactions
- Ease of communication
- Call recording
- Pause video
- Invite links to customers
- Multi-party calls
- Optimizing key processes
- Access call histories
- Analytics of calls
Remote Assistance Software ROI: What Can I Expect?
1. Increase CSAT
CSAT stands for customer satisfaction scores, and the question of how to increase your CSAT has always been relevant because of how directly it impacts your company’s customer churn.
Some remote customer service software features that are particularly useful for doctors offices communicating with patients, in addition to medical suppliers and manufacturers interacting with clients include the use of merged reality, 3D annotation, easy invite links to customers (versus having to download an app), as well as photo/document sharing, and multi-party calls.
All the above features work to: 1) ease out any kinks in communication, 2) provide customers with immediate access to expert help/advice with less wait time, and 3) leverage the use of recorded calls to run analytics and give productive, specific feedback to customer service personnel on how they can improve customer experiences.
2. Improve sales numbers
For medical device and equipment suppliers, the more you know about a potential new client, the better. Being able to employ remote assistance software to conduct onsite learning from afar will give your business development team increased knowledge on potential pain points, business functions, and long-term client objectives, all of which can be employed during the sales process to speak to clients’ concerns in a way that lands with gravity.
In a nutshell? Remote assistance software is a convenient way to get a leg up on your competitors through information asymmetry, as you gather more pertinent information on a prospect.
3. Expand your target market
Sometimes, getting patients into the medical office can be difficult, especially given that most doctors work within typical hours of 8am to 5pm, and patients have to include commute time in their break from work. By offering remote patient care, doctors are able to appeal to more patients, while also expanding their potential pool of patients.
Specifically, medical professionals will be able to offer a unique service (remote care), which not all doctors offices currently do, thereby extending an extra value proposition to patients searching for a new primary care provider. At the same time, these medical professionals will be able to reach new target markets out of their immediate vicinity by not limiting patient demographics to those within a 30 minute drive.
This potential for high-touch care from a remote distance will allow doctors and staff to reach patients effectively and quickly from a virtual setting.
4. Offer opportunities for virtual training
Potentially one of the most appealing remote assistance software ROI offerings is the ability to train staff, sales representatives, and any one else in your organization remotely. This offers excellent flexibility to both staff and experts as they can accommodate employees in different locations at the same time.
Particularly as it relates to the selling and distribution of medical supplies and equipment, being able to virtually train customers in the use of a technology or device will be particularly handy in reducing travel expenses, while expediting the time from which a customer can be considered fully “onboarded.”
Interested in learning more about fast, efficient remote medical equipment training? Check out our in-depth article on it.
5. Easier supplier qualification
A critical component of picking the right supplier is the vetting process, in which your medical organization can check the materials, services, and regulatory requirements of potential partners. Sometimes, though, all this information can require multiple trips, check ins, and interviews. Fortunately, remote assistance software is an excellent way of evaluating and eliminating suppliers that aren’t the right fit early on in the qualification process, before investing too much time and capital.
Once you’ve narrowed down your selection, you can conduct reviews of your suppliers’ manufacturing, production, and technological capabilities in real time (several Help Lightning partners love our technology for conducting inspections), and gain peace of mind that your team has carried out audits that protect your compliance.
Closing Thoughts
If you’re interested in other ways to increase your remote assistance software ROI, or you’d like to know exactly how this technology could benefit your medical business, then get in touch today to schedule a free demo. You can also download our KPI guide to understand the metrics to track.