Channels and their effectiveness: Pros and cons

Choosing the right channel for sending survey invites is one of the most important factors when it comes to response rates and the quality of feedback. Each channel has its strengths and weaknesses, and understanding them helps select the most effective method for reaching your patients.

Let’s look at the most popular channels and their pros and cons.

Email

PROS:

• Widespread use: Email is a common communication tool, and a reliable option for reaching a broad audience.
• Detailed messages: You can include more information and customize the survey invite, e.g. with branding elements.
• Easy tracking: Email platforms offer tracking features for open and click-through rates.

CONS:

• Spam filters: There's a risk of emails being caught in spam filters, which reduces visibility.
• Variable open rates: If patients don’t check their emails frequently, this can lead to delayed responses.
• Overload: We all receive a high volume of emails daily, and your survey invite can get lost in that. 

SMS

PROS:

• High open rates: SMS messages have high open rates because most people check their phones regularly.
• Quick delivery: SMS is immediate, more so than any other channel.
• Accessibility: Text messages are accessible to a wide demographic range because they’ve been a standard in communication for decades.

CONS:

• Character limit: Limited to short copy, which can restrict the information you can convey.
• Perceived intrusion: Some patients may find SMS intrusive, especially if sent at inconvenient times.
• Cost: Sending SMS messages can incur higher costs compared to some other channels.

WhatsApp

PROS:

• High engagement: WhatsApp messages tend to be read quickly, with high open and response rates.
• Global reach: Popular worldwide — an excellent choice for diverse demographics.
• Rich media support: Allows for multimedia messages, including text, images, videos, and voice notes, enhancing the survey invite experience.

CONS:

• Privacy concerns: Patients might not be comfortable sharing personal information via WhatsApp.
• Consent required: You need explicit patient consent to communicate via WhatsApp.
• Platform dependence: Effective only if patients use WhatsApp regularly.

In-App notifications

PROS:

• Integration: Seamlessly integrates with patient apps — a smooth user experience.
• Instant access: Immediate delivery for users active on the app.
• Customization: Big potential for personalization based on user data and app behavior.

CONS:

• Limited reach: Only effective if patients use the app regularly.
• Notification overload: If the user has many app notifications, your notification can easily get lost.
• Technical barriers: Patients need to have the app installed and notifications enabled.
• Initial investment: Designing and developing a custom-made app is a notable up-front investment.

Phone calls

PROS:

• Personal touch: A direct and personal way to ask for feedback, potentially increasing engagement.
• Immediate responses: You’re getting real-time feedback and clarifications.
• Higher trust: Patients may perceive phone calls as more trustworthy than digital messages.

CONS:

• Intrusive: Can be seen as disruptive, especially if patients are called at inconvenient times.
• Time-consuming and resource-intensive: Requires a part of your staff, scheduling, etc.
• Scalability: Not practical for reaching a large number of patients.
• Getting data: If you’re not recording your calls and then re-listening, analysis is a problem. And if you are, that’s very time-intensive.

Social media

PROS:

• Broad reach: Easy to engage a large audience, but only if your patients are active on social media.
• Shareability: Encourages patients to share the survey and reach more respondents.
• Engagement: You can use interactive and engaging content to go with the survey invite.

CONS:

• Visibility issues: Posts can get lost in the feed.
• Varied use: Not all patients use social media — you might end up with a segmented audience.
• Reputation risk: Negative feedback might be publicly visible.

Customizing your approach

InsiderCX helps you customize your survey invite channels based on your goals, your patients’ preferences, and based on our experience in the field. 

Our platform allows you to send the invites using the most effective channels for each patient segment. And it doesn’t end there — you can use our analytic capabilities to track response patterns, which helps you refine your strategy for optimal results.

Key takeaway

Using the right channels for your survey invites maximizes response rates, and the quality and usefulness of the gathered feedback. For a more detailed comparison, check out our guide on collecting patient feedback.

Understanding the pros and cons of each channel, and using a customized approach with InsiderCX, is the shortcut to a great patient feedback strategy — one that gets you the insights for improving patient experiences.