NHS ANNOUNCE MASSIVE ONLINE CHANGES FOR APRIL 2014
Last Friday I read this article about the forthcoming online changes to NHS Services in April 2014. You can read the full article here ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24959626 )
In short “all practices i.e Doctors surgeries, will have to offer and promote online appointment booking and repeat prescription requests”
For those who work 9-5 it’s nothing short of a nightmare making the decision to get caught in rushhour or wait in the call queue at 8am in the morning
Even as somebody who works for themselves it’s difficult – as i’m writing this i’m on the verge of Manflu arriving later this week and it will probably be 10pm a week down the line when I decide I finally need to make that call to the Doctors for an appointment
All in all … online booking and contact gives better choice and options for the customers
SMALL BUSINESS PLEDGE FOR 2014
With this in mind i’m asking that all Small Businesses Should Make The Pledge to Offer Efficient Online Contact whether it be
* Social Media – Twitter / Facebook for customer facing businesses
or
* Website – That Is Fresh and Up To Date
or
* Email – Which is checked frequently and responded to
or
* All Of the Above
Given the choice people want to buy local or use local services, they just need to be given the opportunity to do so without spending a 30 minute walk on their lunch break instead of a tweet or online check.
ONLINE CONTACT vs ONLINE BOOKING
You’ll notice a few lines earlier I used the phrase “Online Contact” rather than “Online Booking”
I say this because small steps rather than big leaps are needed for many small businesses
E-Commerce is great, but E-Commerce websites are expensive and online bookings can be tricky to manage. For smaller busy restaurants for example where 5 seconds of physical merged with twitter can create double bookings it’s easy to have a no twitter booking policy while still maintaining great customer service through twitter
But “Online Contact” with an active Social Media presence, a website that’s up to date and an email address that you can get a response from should be the minimum requirements
ARE YOU READY FOR 2014?
Do you need help providing a customer experience that people really want to use?
Get in touch for all your Social Media Services (including Social Media Training) on alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk or 07806 774279 … or for Web Design and Email we have service providers we recommend
