Reputation Management for Dentists
Online reviews shape potential patients’ perceptions of a dental practice. Effective reputation management strategies help control the digital narrative surrounding your practice.
Getting more positive patient reviews is crucial to your online reputation. Responding to negative reviews promptly and apologizing for the patient’s experience will show that you care about their feedback.
Positive Reviews
The good news is that online reviews don’t have to be a source of stress for dentists. Instead of losing sleep over a bad review, you can focus on building your positive reputation to win new patients.
86% of consumers rely on online reviews when choosing a business, including a dental practice. Having consistent, high-quality reviews on your Google Business Profile, Yelp, Facebook, and related directories is crucial to maintaining strong search engine rankings.
You can ask your happy patients for reviews in-office or via email, phone, or text message. You can also provide a link to your reviews on your website or in the email appointment reminder. However, it is important to note that you cannot incentivize patients to leave a review, as this is against most review site policies.
Using an all-in-one patient outreach platform like Adit makes it easy to reach out to patients and ask them for feedback, regardless of whether they have already left a review or not. The platform uses modern automation and SMS text messaging to streamline review invitations and responses, so your team can spend more time focusing on the customer experience and other marketing efforts that drive leads and growth. You can even automate the process to respond to negative reviews by expressing regret and inviting them to contact you directly, which will show your commitment to resolving issues.
Negative Reviews
Even a stellar dental practice can be hurt by one or two negative online reviews. Unhappy patients often feel they haven’t been heard, so they vent on review sites and spread their experience to anyone who will listen. This “reputation pollution” can be difficult to combat. It’s important to proactively generate positive online reviews from happy patients and drown out the bad ones with the good ones.
One way to do this is to have a reputation management system that allows you to monitor all review sites, not just Google My Business and Yelp. These tools can alert you to negative reviews and let you know as soon as they’re posted so you can respond immediately.
In many cases, it’s helpful to reach out directly to unhappy reviewers. This can be done through email or, if the patient has given consent to do so, by phone. Getting to the root of an issue and apologizing can go a long way in diffusing a negative review.
Another way to help counter negative online reviews is to have a plan in place for when a patient writes something libellous (a published false statement that damages someone’s reputation). While it can be challenging to get libellous statements removed, it’s worth attempting as they can damage your dental practice’s reputation and trust.
Search Engine Optimization
In today’s world, 86% of patients rely on online reviews to choose their dental practice. This is a seismic shift from traditional word-of-mouth recommendations, and it shows that reputation management for dentists is more important than ever before. Even a single negative review can cause potential customers to move on without giving your practice a chance. This is why ORM (online reputation management) for dental practices is critical.
ORM for dentists can include writing services and press releases to bury unsavory content, or it can be an active effort to encourage patients to leave positive feedback. The goal is to prevent negative content from reaching the first page of search engine results. Achieving this requires careful planning and consistent effort over time.
A great way to promote your positive reputation is to showcase your best patient testimonials on your website and other marketing materials. For example, a tool like ProSites can collect and display patient reviews directly on your website. This helps establish credibility and builds trust with prospective patients. Additionally, it allows you to highlight positive reviews on your Google Business Profile and other top review sites. This is one of the most effective ways to improve your search engine rankings. The more positive feedback you receive, the higher your site will rank, both organically and locally.
Social Media
Going to the dentist can be a nerve-wracking experience for many people. This is where social media can shine, bringing patients closer to the dental practice with customer testimonials, office images and client experiences. In addition, it provides a way for clients to interact with the clinic outside of the appointment and show their support in a more friendlier and less formal manner. For example, responding to a question in a tweet or liking a Facebook post shows the clinic cares about its patients and wants to help them.
Social media marketing can also help attract new patients and build brand loyalty. Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn are some of the most popular platforms for this type of marketing. These social media sites can be used to share news and photos about the clinic, as well as links to its website. They can also be used to promote specials, coupons or promotions. Social media also allows the public to leave reviews and star ratings for businesses, which can be an important factor when selecting a dentist.
However, managing multiple social media accounts can be time consuming and requires a consistent presence to grow engagement. A social media management company can help with this process by creating a content calendar and posting on behalf of the dentist. It can also help with tracking metrics and monitoring the results of these efforts.
