Weave study: Ineffective customer communications can cost small businesses

Weave, a customer communications platform based in Lehi, has release a new study titled “The Modern Small Business: Communication for the Future.” The company said the research illustrates how rapidly business communication is evolving and how technology is powering new ways for businesses to build customer relationships, remove inefficiencies and retain employees.

Weave commissioned an independent study of 1,500 U.S. small-business leaders and consumers in September to understand how business communication is evolving and what modern consumers expect from small businesses — everything from scheduling and payments to reviews. The study specifically looked at small healthcare providers and home services businesses.

“While the global pandemic forced the rapid deployment of digital transformation tools, small healthcare practices and home service businesses are now realizing both the benefit of these tools to their bottom lines and also the potential missed opportunities if the trajectory of adoption doesn’t continue,” study authors said.

“Small businesses in particular are experiencing enterprise-level customer demands at staggering rates. Technology can help preserve the integrity of small-business owners’ No.1 priority: customer satisfaction,” said Roy Banks, CEO of Weave. “Through modernizing every communication touchpoint from scheduling to service, all the way through reviews and payments, Weave can help them achieve the level of service their customers are demanding.”

For healthcare companies, the survey found:

• 61 percent of patients are more likely to pay their clinic bill if they receive a text reminder with a link to pay.

• 58 percent of patients consider filling out paper in-take forms “old fashioned.”

• 74 percent of patients expect clinics to keep an accurate record of their health profile, but 42 percent of patients have noticed an error in their patient file because the clinic misunderstood the handwriting from their paper in-take form.

• 94 percent of clinics say that online reviews are important to their success, but only about half of them send reminders to patients to leave a review.

• 33 percent of clinics spend over $1,000 a month on communication technologies like phone systems.

The top findings for home services businesses included:

• 90 percent of customers say they are placed on hold when calling to make an HVAC service provider, electrician or plumber appointment.

• 86 percent of customers check the online reviews of a new HVAC service provider, electrician or plumber before requesting an appointment.

• Only 13 percent of customers consistently leave online reviews for an HVAC service provider, electrician or plumber but 53 percent would do it if they got a reminder.

Weave commissioned an independent market research firm to study 750 business leaders and 750 U.S. consumers. The margin of error for this study is plus or minus 3.6 percent. Online sampling was conducted in partnership with TrendCandy, a survey sampling company.