We see many businesses putting their heads in the sand when it comes to online reviews. Perhaps if they don’t acknowledge them, it means they aren’t real? No such luck. This is why today, we want to share a few tips about online reviews that can help your medical or dental practice shine.

  1. negative reviews recovery marketing planIgnoring online reviews is not an option. Unfortunately, ignoring negative online reviews can have the opposite affect… it can validate them! Whether a review is bad or good, you should respond. It shows your practice cares and lets you show your values publicly. A genuine response can spotlight a positive review and soften a negative one. 
  2. There are nuggets of gold in negative reviews. Every review provides the opportunity to learn something, improve, or handle a situation better next time. Am I actually providing excellent customer service? Are people waiting too long? Was this practitioner kind and patient or were they rushed? Was this staff member irritated?
  3. Negative reviews can be avoided with a proactive approach. Oftentimes, you can stop a negative review before it happens by handling a not-so-great situation with flying colors. We have helped practices do this by providing them an upset person protocol. If people get upset, you often have the power to turn the situation around before they release their frustration in the form of a negative review.
  4. Positive online reviews can be traced all the way back to strong practice leadership. Are you doing your best to motivate your team and empower them to provide a positive experience to patients? This shows in your reviews. 
  5. If you can get 2-3 good, authentic reviews a month, you’re doing great! A simple way to do this is to encourage satisfied patients to write a review—whether you do this verbally or by using a service that emails them after their appointment.

At Virginia Creative Group, we know there are no shortcuts for authentic customer service. But by carefully monitoring profiles and responding to each review, we can help strengthen your reputation in today’s online marketplace and help your practice put strategies in place to get more good reviews.

Ready to grow? Learn how we can help.