Some of the most popular review sites include:
- Yelp
- Consumer Affairs
- Ripoff Report
- Better Business Bureau (BBB)
It’s imperative that your practice not only monitor these online review sites but also act ont he postings listed. When a potential customer googles your practice to learn more, assuming you don’t have any extreme SEO discrepancies, your website should be near the top of the search results. This will usually be followed closely by review sites that have listings for your business. If that user then sees multiple low-score reviews, they will have a negative outlook of your practice before visiting the location or even viewing your website.
What Are the Best Tactics When Dealing with Online Reviews?
1. Remember the golden rule of the Internet: No one wins an online argument
This is especially true for businesses. On these review sites you may find ludicrous claims, flat-out lies and unhappy customers in general. The main goal you should keep in mind is to get the conversation somewhere private. Move it to either email or the phone. This is done by leaving a response to the online review that apologizes and shows that your practice is willing to work with the irate customer, but on your terms. This prevents the back and forth bickering that can occur, which makes both parties look bad. An example response is below:
“Hello____. My name is ____ from _____. I am sorry to hear that you weren’t completely satisfied with your visit! Please reach out to us at (__) __ ____ and we will do everything we can to make it right.”
2. Respond to your dental practice reviews!
I know this seems obvious, but you would be surprised at how many companies fail to act once they see a negative review. When you withhold a response, you are suppressing your side of the story. This can be extremely problematic when potential customers visit the review site and only see one biased version of the story. Not only does this skew the perception of your practice, but it could also indicate to the patron that you don’t take customer service seriously.
3. You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on review sites
Websites like Better Business Bureau, Consumer Affairs, Trustpilot and many more have paid options for the business. Usually you can still publicly respond to reviews on the free versions though. The paid versions will include features like direct messaging, customer verification or “accreditation” with that specific platform. However, none of these are essential when it comes to reputation management. You are better off saving your money and putting it toward a better customer experience.
4. Don’t forget one of the most important demographics of online reviews: current and ex-employees
There are multiple sites that were built with the intent to review places of work. Some of hte most popular ones are Kununu, Indeed and Glassdoor. These aren’t only important for reviewing business practices. They also control how you come across to the public. If you have lots of negative reviews on Glassdoor, potential customers may assume they will be treated the same way as the disgruntled employee that left the review.
Make sure you follow these guidelines and start looking at your online reputation today. Work to improve the customer experience by reaching out to anyone who may have had issues with your practice and addressing those concerns with the customer. Your other option is to get more happy customers in the first place. That’s where Launch Loyalty can come into play. If you offer a discount plan to cash-paying patients, they are more likely to be a repeat patient. Setting a discount plan up yourself can be time consuming and a hassle, so leave it to the team of experts at Launch Loyalty. We will have positive reviews of your practice flowing in in no time!
