Are you constantly “googling” your name or your practice’s name to see what your reviews look like? You’re not alone. Most medical and cosmetic practices are very concerned about how they’re portrayed online, and they should be.
Studies have shown that the average patient visits multiple review sites (of each doctor or practice) before making a decision. And with Google constantly evolving (and for the most part, improving), coupled with the average person’s search skills improving, having positive reviews online is more important than ever.
If you’ve followed this blog at all in the past you may have noticed that I’m a big fan of video marketing for cosmetic practices, specifically video patient testimonials. However, since these videos are published on your website or your YouTube channel they lose a little objectivity. This is why third party reviews are so important and influential.
Like blogging, and most forms of marketing, there’s a process that, if implemented, will increase your chances of success. In this case, success is determined by the number of positive reviews.
Here are some tips for managing your online reviews:
1) Make sure you’re listed on each of the major review sites. This starts with Google+ Places and Yelp. I would also include local business review sites such as CitySearch.com and YellowPages.com, as well as medical-specific sites such as Vitals.com, RateMDs.com and HealthGrades.com. Here’s a convenient breakdown of all the review sites where your cosmetic practice should be listed.
2) Actively promote your review sites by:
a) Asking patients directly. When the’re about to leave after a successful procedure or follow-up ask them if they were happy with the results. If yes, then say “would you mind taking 5 minutes reviewing me online? I’m really trying to grow my practice with patients like yourself, so I need more online reviews.” I can’t stress enough how successful this approach can be for you.
b) Leaving patients with a postcard as they leave the office that highlights the steps for reviewing you online
c) Sending out an email asking patients for reviews (with links to the review sites)
3) Manage negative reviews appropriately. Many review sites give you (the business owner) the ability to respond to a given review. Some allow other users to respond. Utilize these functions if you can! If the review is blatantly false or misleading see what the review site’s policy is for challenging reviews.
4) Optimize a blog article or video for your practice/doctor’s name + “reviews.” See if you can gain any rankings that way. You’ll need to drive links to this page, or video, and give it some time, but that may help you gain a little more control of the results people see when they’re researching you.
If you follow these steps then your practice should successfully grow the number of positive reviews. By doing this you’ll inevitably improve the practice’s reputation and image. Of course, this requires a pro-active approach. Don’t neglect review sites only to find out that the number of negative reviews is already out of control.
If you have any additional tips for generating and managing reviews online we’d love to hear them. To learn more about how you can improve your practice’s reputation and generate more leads schedule a consultation with TRBO here, or give us a call at 877-673-7096 x2.
