There’s a cultural shift going on in America, and it’s been going on for decades. If you guessed it was a changing economic, agricultural or political environment, you’d be half right. Today though, we’re talking about the use of bilingual answering services to cater to the varied languages among people living in the U.S. and more specifically, Phoenix, Arizona. Many service based business owners may not realize this, but the United States is the second highest Spanish Speaking country behind Mexico. Of all the languages spoken at home, English makes up just under 80%.
An article in the Guardian titled: U.S. now has more Spanish speakers than Spain – only Mexico has more, goes on to show us these language densities. Per capita we see that “New Mexico tops out at 47%, followed by California and Texas (both 38%) and Arizona (30%)”. The State of Arizona has the third largest Spanish-Only community. This is striking because as a state, it’s merely one tenth the size of California. It becomes all to clear that in the state of Arizona, answering services in Spanish are becoming highly sought after.
| State | Number Speaking Only Spanish | Percent Speaking Only Spanish | |
| 1. | California | 4,303,949 | 13.70% |
| 2. | Texas | 2,369,036 | 12.31% |
| 3. | New Mexico | 158,629 | 9.39% |
| 4. | Arizona | 435,186 | 9.16% |
| 5. | Nevada | 162,301 | 8.76% |
An overwhelming majority of Americans can only speak English. Few are capable of holding a basic conversation in another language, and this diverse shift of Non-English speakers is set to continue. The 21% of American’s speaking another language would welcome bilingual services sometimes offered by a select few businesses.
In medical practices proper and accurate communication is key and in these types of critical service industries, it pays to offer your patients prompt communication in his/her native tongue. It is something so obvious, but so undervalued. If you have a service business, can you afford to turn away people due to a language barrier, or risk a blow to your business’ reputation for poor service? It’s evident that there is a increasing trend of Spanish and Spanish-Only speakers in the United States– a trend that is likely to continue in the future. Any non-bilingual employees might not be capable of helping 1 in every 6 customers that call in for service.
With this in mind, here are the 5 reasons why businesses in Arizona should implement bilingual call/answering services:
1. Offer superior service to your patients
When any patient calls in to your practice, they can get exactly what they need in rapid fashion. Many medical practices/businesses are wholly incapable of dealing with the potential 1 in every 6 customers that may require their services due to a language barrier. Instead of frustrating your patients or driving them away, your business is now able to cater to the needs of Spanish speaking patients, for example, as they are served by someone speaking their native tongue.
2. Medical emergencies are handled efficiently reducing errors
Think of a medical call center, dealing with the frantic and pressurized situations of medical emergency. Maybe having to outsource or use slow translators. In these situations, this can waste precious time and resources. Businesses can completely avoid this issue when they have trained bilingual employees and trainers in their centers.
3. Strengthen your ability to capture, nurture and retain new patients.
Good business owners understand that clients are the lifeblood of any business. Maintaining a positive reputation will aid in client retention and satisfaction. If your practice is lacking in bilingual employees, you’re risking the lost of future business. Medical practices save money when the employ bilingual staff. They also allow for greater retention of new patients and those practices who outsource to a professional bilingual answering service save even more.
4. Cultural awareness and customer loyalty
The receptionist is the first impression of your practice that new patients experience. They are the first point of contact a customer will have with your establishment. The discrepancy between bilingual workers and the rising number of non-English speakers is large. By having bilingual employees, a business in Phoenix, Arizona for example, can set itself apart in their ability to deal professionally with bilingual customers. Something as simple as this, goes a long way in promoting your company’s cultural recognition. It will inspire loyalty from your patients who’s home language is not English.
5. Outsourcing saves time and resources
There’s a sunk-cost to having employees who are not bilingual. Cosmopolitan Medical Communications’ experience has shown over the years that our capability to offer bilingual answering services, increases efficiency, customer satisfaction and reduces the need for additional staff.
Your patients/customers can call in and have speedy communication in their own language, which will directly impact your bottom line. Your practice needs a well trained bilingual answering service that is professional, efficient and HIPAA compliant. We offer a wide varierty of customize answering service solutions based on your business needs. We’re driven and focused on continual improvement, with fast, effective communication, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
