Tags – Get More Patient Reviews as a Dentist
As a dentist, one of your main priorities is to build trust with your patients.
And what better way to do that than by getting patient reviews?
Simply, positive reviews on Google, Facebook, Yelp, and other social media sites can have a significant impact on whether or not patients call your practice.
And reviews will not only help you attract new patients, but keep current ones coming back too.
So the more people are saying nice things about your practice, the more your patients are helping you establish a positive online reputation.
However, the importance of online reviews does not end there: reviews are also an essential part of increasing your dental website’s ranking on search engines – and the higher you rank, the more traffic you’ll receive and the more likely to convert these users into loyal patients.
With that said, here are 5 simple tips to get more patient reviews as a dentist!
1. Just Ask!
You may not have thought about it, but many of your patients will leave you a review if you just ask for one.
So each time you finish an appointment with a happy patient, ask them to go online and leave you a review – it’s that easy.
But if you don’t want to ask in person, then you should have a system in place where the patient receives a follow-up email once they’ve left the practice and the experience is still in their minds.
Here, you should ask them how their experience was and give them a link to a review site. I know it sounds straightforward, but the trick is to do it at the right time.
2. Provide Outstanding Care
If you want positive reviews, you have to provide a positive experience and give your patients the best care possible.
Again, this sounds obvious, but this is what will motivate patients to actually take the time out of their day and write something nice about you.
Essentially, until you don’t go above and beyond, your patients probably won’t write a quality review.
Think about it: if your service is average, your reviews will most likely be average too – and that certainly won’t make you stand out against your competitors.
3. Make it Easy
Accept that people are busy.
And sometimes they just simply don’t have the time to leave a review unless they are really compelled to.
As such, you need to make it as easy as possible for patients to leave a review, not only on Google, but social media sites like Facebook too.
The Software of Excellence’s tool makes it even easier to leave a review, with Online Reputation Manager assisting you in gathering reviews from your patients.
You may give your patient a tablet with the Online Reputation Manager, which they can use to select the number of stars they wish to leave and then submit a review.
Later in the day, Online Reputation sends them an email with a link to the relevant platform, such as Google or Facebook, where the patient can copy and paste their review online.
4. Offer an Incentive
It’s not unusual to have patients that love your practice and yet don’t feel compelled to write you a review. But who can blame them?
After all, no one wants to sit down and write a review after an intense procedure.
As such, you should try and find ways to motivate your patients to leave you an online review post procedure, like offering them an incentive.
Whether you want to go all out or keep it simple, the choice is entirely up to you (from a free dental check or discount voucher, to a travel sized tooth brushing kit) – consider things that will genuinely encourage your patients to leave an outstanding review.
5. Don’t Panic – Bad Reviews Will Happen
Despite your best efforts, there will always be a handful of patients who take no responsibility for their oral health and therefore fault your services.
So be prepared for bad reviews too and don’t panic.
If you do get a 1-star review, don’t ignore it – that’s the worst thing you can do. Instead, try to address the issue politely and professionally.
Sometimes, the criticism may be out of your hands; they might be having a terrible day and decided to vent their frustrations on your reviews or they truly had a bad experience.
Regardless of the reason, addressing it will only improve your reputation and demonstrate that you’re not afraid to shy away from negative reviews.
And these efforts may also assist future patients understand that you take responsibility for your dental practice and your patients.
Wrapping Up
People are reluctant to spend their time and money on things they’re not 100% sure about.
However, reviews help to build brand trust with both new and existing patients.
Not to mention, the more positive reviews you have, the more appealing your website looks online.
For more information, please contact us today.
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