Manage Online Reviews
What’s worse than a negative online review of a physician practice?
A negative review that’s left to linger in perpetuity, unanswered, like sagebrush drifting across a ghost town. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), a whopping 99% of healthcare consumers said physician ratings found on the Web were “very important” or “somewhat important” in their decision making.
Digital recommendations can be a boon to your office, but digital slams can be equally impactful in dragging down business. Seventy percent of consumers base purchasing decisions on online recommendations from strangers, and that figure rises to 80% for Millennials, according to a 2015 study by global market research firm Mintel. Some 86% of consumers will hesitate to purchase goods or services from a business with negative reviews on sites such as Yelp, Healthgrades.com and ZocDoc.com.
Clearly, your online reputation is important, and requires attention and nurturing. During the Public Relations Society of America annual conference in Orlando, which SPRYTE attended, Matt Weber, CEO of ROAR! Internet Marketing, presented “First Aid for Online Reputation,” which offered techniques to help physicians take command of their standing in cyberspace.
First, Do No Harm
Poor or rude service, long waits, arbitrary billing practices or missed diagnoses may foster negative reviews, so start by running a professional, pleasant operation. Why invite negativity? If, despite your best efforts, patients complain online (and there will always be a few), you can manage that feedback and maybe even turn it into a positive endorsement.
Claiming or register your business on the relevant review sites, then keep your ear to the tracks. Just about all of them will alert you when reviews are posted, but you should also sign up for Google Alerts or FreeReviewMonitoring.com for your practice’s name.
There are also paid tools for review monitoring, including:
The Treatment Plan
If a good review shows up, great! No need to do anything, unless you want to write a brief “thank you” note in response.
When a bad review surfaces, however, spring into action pronto:
Respond quickly, preferably within 24 hours. The more prospective patients who read negative comments without seeing your side, the worse it is for your practice. Additionally, no response gives the impression you simply don’t care.
Set up login information and keep it handy. Make sure key support staff have the passwords for all the key review sites, so someone else can respond quickly if the designated employee is unavailable.
Create template responses. Be ready to go with a pre-written but sincere apology and promise to do better, or to address the patient’s issue in more detail, offline and in private. Then follow up. With a few tweaks, you can customize your reply quickly and let the commenter know you’re listening to their specific concern.
If you believe you’ve addressed the problem to the patient’s satisfaction, consider requesting an amended review. A changed opinion could be a great outcome for your practice!
Solicit reviews. You can do this with a third-party site that will manage the process, like SurveyMonkey.com, or by e-mailing patients requesting a review, with direct links to the major review sites.
Review Malpractice
Don’t ever post a fake review, or ask a friend or relative to do so. Google and other sites have algorithms that will weed out fraudulent reviews, and they’ll be removed.
And don’t post reviews from the office, even if they’re legitimate ones compiled from patients. Review-posting on behalf of others is frowned-upon by search engines. Not to mention, patients may not provide their completely honest feedback while they’re still in the office.
Sometimes, despite your best efforts, patients and clients will share their negative encounters with your practice on the Web. But if you are monitoring and KNOW what they are saying about you, you can be in control of reviews, rather than letting them control you.
