In the competitive world of healthcare, you work day and night to satisfy your patients with your services – and that leads to the growth of your practice. In this scenario, your online reputation plays a significant part, as more than 70% of people refer to online reviews before making a physical visit to a medical practice. To boost your reputation, you need more positive reviews. Let’s see how you can get them.
- Build your online presence
The first and foremost element for building your online presence is a stunning website for your practice. To get more positive comments, your site should have:
- Patient portal for easy appointment scheduling
- Informative content for visitors, related to their ailments and treatments
- Easy navigation throughout the site
- Good search engine optimization to rank high in search engine results
Get professional help for website creation to boost your practice’s image. Along with the website, some other ways to build your online presence are:
- Create an account on all social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.
- Create an account on popular review sites such as Yelp, Google My Business, Healthgrades, etc.
- Post blogs and guest blogs on relevant sites
- Participate in online healthcare forums
- Ask for positive reviews
After providing good treatment, you have the right to ask happy patients to post positive reviews of your practice. And they will surely do it for you. Remember, don’t ask your staff and family members to write reviews for your practice. Google’s algorithms are good at identifying fake reviews since there are more adjectives and less description of the actual experience. In the long run, this can backfire on your online reputation and know about the fake reviews will probably demotivate your patients to write about your practice. Remember not to force patients to write reviews or testimonials for you; just request them.
- Reply to all reviews
Ignoring reviews will result in damage to your online image. According to a study, more than 50% of people believe that a doctor should reply to reviews. So you need to regularly check your social media accounts and various review sites for any reviews and reply to all, whether positive or negative. This will reflect your proactive and considerate personality to your patients and gradually increase the number of positive reviews.
- Don’t be defensive
Not every patient will walk out satisfied. This dissatisfaction can lead to bad online reviews. Remember, they need not be taken personally. Don’t delete or ignore them; rather, reply to negative comments with thanks. Take them as feedback. Respond with a solution to your patient’s issue, assure improvement or request the reviewer to take his concern or issue offline. Offering a solution will shine a positive light on your personality and even result in removal of negative reviews.
It is always advisable to do some homework before dealing with negative reviews. Assess the negative comments by asking the following questions:
- Why was the patient dissatisfied?
- Is it a true comment or review spam?
- Do other patients have similar issues?
- Could your staff help in any way?
- What changes will delight your patient?
- Invest your time
You have a busy schedule and the exhausting task of treating your patients, which keep you quite occupied. But it is essential to respond after your practice hours to reviews by your existing patients and potential ones to know that you are available around the clock. The Internet is accessed 24/7, and this makes it more important for you to reply to negative comments and stop any damage from happening to your practice.
- Follow up
Since your patients took time to post a positive review about your practice, you need to appreciate the act. Thank them and let them know you value their reviews. Send them emails or make a phone call. Inform them about any modification made to your practice. Offer them other services such as no waiting time before appointments or a free consultation on the next visit, etc.
All this helps you build a strong online reputation that is the bedrock for positive reviews. Positive reviews cannot be built overnight, but negative reviews can damage your reputation overnight. Work hard and provide consistently good service. Additionally, work on your digital marketing strategies to increase the reach of your practice and win the trust of your consumers.