Delivery rates in feedback surveys

Delivery rates have a big role in the effectiveness of healthcare feedback surveys. 

They indicate the percentage of messages successfully delivered to recipients’ devices out of the total number of messages sent. High delivery rates ensure that your survey invitations reach the intended recipients, forming the basis for subsequent patient engagement. 

Or, in other words, they set the stage for higher response rates and valuable feedback.

How are delivery rates measured?

To calculate the delivery rate, use the following formula:

Deliver rate = (no. of successfully delivered messages/no. of messages sent) × 100

For instance, if you send 200 messages and 190 are successfully delivered, your delivery rate would be:

(190/200) × 100 = 95 %

Impact of delivery rates on feedback

High delivery rates indicate that your messages are reaching your patients, which is the first step towards gathering feedback. Successfully delivered messages increase the likelihood of patients opening them, engaging with the content, and ultimately completing the survey — leading to more comprehensive data and actionable insights.

Low delivery rates suggest that a significant portion of your survey invitations are not reaching patients. This can happen due to various reasons such as 

• incorrect phone numbers 
• network issues
• carrier restrictions. 

Low delivery rates can impact your ability to gather feedback, leading to incomplete data and potentially skewed results. This emphasizes the need to clean and verify contact lists regularly and address any technical issues with your messaging platforms.

Delivery rates for SMS and WhatsApp messages

SMS typically has high delivery rates, often above 90% — it is a well-established and reliable communication method. Most people have their phones with them at all times, ensuring prompt receipt of messages.

However, despite high delivery rates, there are other factors at play, like incorrect phone numbers, message filtering by carriers, and recipients having their phones turned off. Additionally, some patients might have opted out of receiving SMS messages from unknown numbers.

WhatsApp messages generally have very high delivery rates, often nearing 100%, due to the app’s popularity. Messages sent via WhatsApp also come with instant delivery notifications, providing info on whether the message has been received and read.

However, WhatsApp requires that recipients have the app installed and that their phone numbers are registered on the platform. Privacy settings and consent requirements can also limit the reach: e.g., if a patient has not saved your number, they might not receive messages from your organization.

Monitoring and improving your delivery rates

With the InsiderCX platform you can track delivery rates in real-time. Here are some strategies to make sure they remain high:

• Verify contact information: Regularly update and verify patient contact details to avoid sending messages to incorrect or outdated numbers.
• Monitor network issues: Keep an eye on any network or carrier-related issues that might affect message delivery, and work with your service providers to resolve them.
• Obtain consent: Ensure you have the necessary consent from patients to send them messages, to avoid legal issues and improve delivery rates.
• Analyze delivery reports: Use delivery reports to identify patterns or issues in message delivery and make necessary adjustments to your strategy.

Conclusion

Delivery rates are fundamental to the success of feedback surveys. In the healthcare context, ensuring that survey invites are delivered promptly and reliably is crucial for capturing timely feedback on patient experiences.

The immediate benefit is helping healthcare providers to continuously improve their services and patient care practices based on real-time data. Using tools like InsiderCX, you can track, analyze, and improve delivery rates, ensuring that your feedback surveys yield the most accurate and actionable insights to enhance patient care and satisfaction.