Top Reasons Live Chat is an Essential Tool for Medical Device Companies

Phil DeLong
Stream
Published in
4 min readAug 19, 2020

Software as a Service or “ SaaS “ integration has grown over the last several years, generating nearly $85B in 2019 and projected to reach $250B by 2021. API-driven services like Live Chat can be easily and quickly integrated into existing apps and provide companies a strategic advantage over the competition by improving Team Collaboration, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and Customer Support.

Navigating the high-octane Medical Device Industry can be a beast to conquer, even for the Top Medical Device Companies, so useful tools such as Live Chat can be a differentiator in a half-trillion-dollar industry.

1. Track Leads with CRM Integration

Medical device consultants and managers are in constant communication with team members, company personnel, and healthcare professionals to coordinate various business initiatives. Not only do they need to convey their message to targeted Healthcare Providers, but also win the approval of office staff, purchasing managers, and scheduling personnel.

Device companies can boost their sales force productivity by integrating Live Chat and Messaging apps with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) plug-ins like Zendesk Sell or Hubspot. When a user registers a name and email address, your chat app will store this user as a new lead. Hubspot can even store transcripts for future reference.

You and your team now have access to these leads and clear oversight for future business development. With integrated Live Chat and Messaging, sales managers can have clear oversight of their business and employee progress by creating custom chat channels for teams or territories.

2. Secure B2B Consultation

Medical device consultants are frequently an integral part of the healthcare planning process. Medical consultation can include strategic planning for surgical procedures or postoperative protocol. Top device consultants are highly-trained and may have permission to receive certain medical information about patients when discussing complex procedures.

Designated Live Chat and Messaging allows Healthcare Professionals and device consultants to communicate similar to the way they would with traditional text or email, but with the added peace of mind of holding these conversations on a dedicated, secure platform. Live Chat is a great solution as it can be used for 1:1 conversations or group messaging for a unique, collaborative experience.

Did You Know?

The Office of Civil Rights (OCR), a division of Health and Human Services, oversees and enforces HIPAA compliance. The OCR takes compliance measures very seriously and will hold all parties responsible for any involvement leading to released patient information. In 2016, a device firm based in Florida was ordered to pay nearly $250,000 after moving files “containing protected health information from the company’s office, left the information exposed, and then abandoned it.”

3. Boost Marketing and Product Training

Medical device manufacturers need to have their finger on the pulse when it comes to industry trends. A company representative will act as a resource within the healthcare system when educating or training on new products. As telemedicine continues to grow as a viable resource for healthcare education, reps can coordinate these types of events electronically, saving time and money for themselves and their clients.

Traditionally, medical device consultants turn to literature or in-person training to effectively market their products to the field. Live Chat offers medical device companies and healthcare professionals a flexible chat platform capable of joining multiple parties together for fast, reliable communication. Teams can hold meetings in real-time, and provide audio or video demonstrations for medical technology that requires more in-depth training.

4. Improve Team Collaboration

Effective team collaboration is a primary focus of medical device companies. Managers need to stay up to date on daily operations to effectively execute company strategies. Managers commonly have wide territories and oversee several teams, potentially totaling dozens of employees that need direction and support.

Company apps with Live Chat allow users to receive messages and updates in real-time, maximizing efficiency and minimizing missed information. No matter how fast your company is growing, Live Chat can meet the demand and provide better oversight for company representatives in a variety of ways:

  • Send company-wide announcements to designated channels
  • Team channels for scheduling and planning meetings
  • Clear communication and oversight amongst cross-functional teams
  • Limit unnecessary messaging to outside individuals

5. Simplify Customer Support and Troubleshooting

Just as someone might call for assistance with complex products such as home appliances or computer software, doctors have similar questions for their medical device consultant. These consultants are frequently an integral part of the healthcare planning process and provide key knowledge about their technology.

In surgery, it’s not uncommon to have several, if not dozens of medical devices used simultaneously, so it’s important to have helpful resources readily available in case issues arise. With Live Chat, healthcare professionals can quickly find answers to questions or concerns regarding Medical Device products, and reach out to support with the click of a button.

6. Manage Product Inquiries

Medical device companies and consultants receive daily inquiries regarding product information. Although fielding these types of calls is important, it can be extremely time-consuming and quickly hinder individual productivity.

Live Chat is a perfect solution for product inquiries and other requests with Chatbot Automation and Push Notifications. Using AI, Live Chat can identify specific language within the initial message, and funnel the user to a qualified individual to help.

Live Chat for Your Business

We’re learning daily about how Stream Chat can improve companies’ communication capabilities by offering the most feature-rich, scalable chat on the market. To try Stream Chat FREE, sign up for our 28-day trial and see the benefits for yourself.

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