Suppose for a moment that you are looking online for a window cleaner.
You would go onto a search engine, type in “window cleaner near me” and scroll through the results. And, more than likely, you would choose a window cleaner with the highest reviews.
While it used to be more of a word-of-mouth case, now, online reviews do the talking for most businesses and are a driving force behind most people choosing an exemplary service. In the world of dental care, this is no different.
So, when you run a dental surgery that has a website online, how do you best manage your online reputation?
Monitor your online presence regularly
Keep an eye on websites like Google, Yelp, and Facebook to see what patients are saying about your practice. If you spot an issue, reply to it. You should respond to both positive and negative reviews professionally and constructively. Thank patients for positive reviews and apologise and offer solutions for negative ones; this is a key part of any successful dental marketing plan, so stick to it!
Encourage patients to leave reviews
Following a visit to your surgery, you should ask for follow-ups. You can take this one step further and make it easy for patients to leave reviews by providing a link to your listing on review sites or sending an email to them after their appointment. This can increase the chance of patients leaving reviews and shows them that you care about their opinions.
Maintain a solid online presence
Of course, you will need to ensure that your presence is known online. You will have to make sure that your website and social media profiles are up-to-date and provide accurate information about your practice. If they are outdated, not only do you risk losing potential patients, but you also risk dropping in the Google rankings. So, be sure that your surgery is online at least once a day, posting relevant and vital information about your work.
Address any false or damaging information
Sadly, while most people leave honest reviews, there are a select few who will not and are simply trying to be problematic for the sake of it! So, if you see any false or negative information about your practice online, address it promptly and professionally. You can also consider reaching out to the website or platform hosting the information to request its removal, especially if it is false or contains foul language.
Highlight positive reviews
Of course, when you get positive reviews, be sure to put them at the front of your website and on your social media page. It is also worth sharing these reviews in marketing materials, such as emails or even vlogs.
Continuously improve
You will need to use patient feedback to identify areas for clinical improvement and make changes to enhance your patients’ experiences. If, for instance, many patients state that your dental website is hard to use, it will be worth contacting a digital marketing team to address the issue.