The Marketing Cost of Missed Appointment Calls in the Healthcare Industry

As a healthcare marketer, driving appointment calls is only half the battle. Your patient acquisition rate also depends on your contact center agents’ ability to answer those calls and convert them. Do you know how many of the appointment calls you drive are going unanswered? And do you know how much those unanswered calls are costing you? The answer may surprise you.

Healthcare Marketers Are Spending More Each Year to Drive Appointments 

Digital ad spend in the healthcare industry will increase by 11.5% in 2022 - 1

The average cost for a healthcare lead is $162 - 2

Patients Prefer to Call 

68% of patients prefer to communicate with businesses via phone more than any other channel - 3

44% of consumers call because they need more information to make a purchase - 3

30% of consumers call because they’re most comfortable completing high-stakes purchases over the phone - 3

Patients Will Abandon Their Calls If You Don’t Meet Their Experience Expectations

74% of consumers have hung up after being placed on hold - 3

75% of consumers hang up after hearing a message about long wait times - 3

Nearly ⅓ of Callers Will Hang Up Within 5 Minutes of Being Placed on Hold - 3

Phone Leads Are Often the Most Valuable

84% of marketers say phone calls have higher conversion rates with larger order value (AOV) compared to other forms of engagement - 5

Callers convert 30% faster than web leads - 5

Caller retention rate is 28% higher than web lead retention rate - 5

41% of organizations report having increased phone conversion rates by 25% or more in the past 12 months - 5

These Marketing Sources Drive Calls with the Highest Sales Opportunity Rate

• Paid Social: 30% appointment opportunity rate
• Bing Paid Search: 26% appointment opportunity rate
• Organic Social: 25% appointment opportunity rate
• Google Paid Search: 24% appointment opportunity rate
• Facebook Paid: 24% appointment opportunity rate
• TV and Radio: 23% appointment opportunity rate - 4

19% average healthcare appointment opportunity rate across all channels - 4

These Marketing Sources Drive the Highest Appointment Call Conversion Rate

• TV and Radio: 57% appointment conversion rate
• Listing Site: 52% appointment conversion rate
• Display Advertising: 45% appointment conversion rate
• Email: 44% appointment conversion rate
• Google My Business: 43% appointment conversion rate
• Organic Social: 43% appointment conversion rate - 4

43% average healthcare appointment call conversion rate across channels - 4

You May Be Missing More Phone Calls Than You Realize

Unanswered Call Rate Across Healthcare Verticals:

• 37% dental
• 36% hospital networks
• 36% specialty care
• 31% medical practice
• 24% primary care
• 17% senior care
  

The healthcare industry has a 29% average unanswered call rate - 4

And Those Missed Calls Are Costing You

Example: The Marketing Cost of Missed Calls for a Large Healthcare Provider 

Average Healthcare Cost Per Lead: $162

Average Monthly Call Volume: 100,000

Average 29% Unanswered Call Volume: 29,000

@ 19% Sales Opp Rate: 5,510

@ 43% Opp Conversion Rate: 2,369

2,369 x $162 = $383,827/Month wasted marketing spend

Want to Learn How to Recapture Lost Appointment Opportunities? Request your personalized walkthrough of Invoca today.

Sources:

1. eMarketer
2. Linchpin SEO
3. Invoca Buyer Experience Benchmark Report, 2021
4. Invoca customer platform data, 2021
5. Forrester