Word of mouth is still the best marketing method for any business. In the digital age, word of mouth takes the form of online reviews. For your dental practice to reach its maximum potential as a business, you need to have a strong online presence—and patient reviews are a crucial part of that presence. At Bryant Consultants, we want to see your practice thrive. That’s why we wrote this comprehensive guide to get more online reviews from your patients.
Step 1) Pick a review site
There are several websites out there where people can leave feedback about the businesses they solicit. Yelp and Google My Business are two of the more popular across all industries. In the world of health care, Healthgrades, Zocdoc, and Dentistry.com also gather reviews. Choose one of these sites, then claim or verify your listing on that site. Once you’ve completed that step, start funneling patients to that site to begin accumulating reviews. Otherwise, positive feedback will be scattered across multiple sites online, making it more difficult for prospective patients to research your practice. At Bryant Consultants, we prefer and recommend using Google Reviews as your main source of collecting patient reviews. It can have a positive impact on your Google ranking, and these reviews pop up first when searching your business name on Google.
Step 2) Create a review link
Now that you’ve identified a site that you want to be the platform for patient feedback and you’ve verified your listing, you want to create a review link that you can share with your patients. This link is customized and provides a direct route for your patients to leave feedback on your practice. If you’ve chosen Google My Business as the hub for your patient reviews, that site can generate an abbreviated URL that is easy to share. You can also use a link generator tool, such as bitly.com.
Step 3) Share your review link
Once your review link is created, you’ll want to promote it. This review link should be a key part of your digital marketing strategy going forward. You want to add that review link to all of your promotional materials: your website, your business cards, your social media profiles, and the signature of your email. More people seeing that link means more reviews, which means an expanded digital presence.
Step 4) Use templates for maximum convenience
Templates for text messages and emails streamline communication for your front office staff. You can use these texts and emails to ask patients for reviews. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. The message can be something simple like, “(Name), thank you for choosing (Practice). We hope you enjoyed your appointment at our practice. Please click the link to leave us a review of your experience.” We recommend setting the template to send a message like this after your patients complete an appointment. If your office use practice management software, many of these systems allow the means to send post-appointment messages automatically by text or email.
Step 5) Ask your patients for reviews
Automatic texts and email messages are great ways to solicit more reviews. However, there is no substitute for a personal touch. Some patients are more willing to leave reviews online if you ask them in person. Alternatively, whenever a patient checks out at the end of their appointment, have your office staff ask them to leave a review. Also, have someone on your team keep an eye on social media. Any positive comment left about your practice should be followed up with a thanks and a request for an online review. Don’t forget to include your customized review link in the comments!
Step 6) Be responsive
People are more likely to speak up if they know they’re going to be heard. The same logic applies to online reviews. In fact, according to a study published in the Harvard Business Review, the overall online rating for a business improved when the business had responses to reviews—whether those reviews were positive or negative. Responses should be short and succinct. If someone leaves a negative review, include your contact information so that the patient can reach out with their concerns.
Beef up your dental digital marketing presence
Today, a thriving dental practice has a strong online presence and a sound digital marketing strategy. Bryant Consultants can help you develop this. We can help with your website, your social media, or practice management that sends automatic texts and emails with review requests, appointment reminders, and more.
Why choose Bryant to help your practice? Our professionals have decades of combined experience in the dental and marketing fields. Find out more by calling (877) 768-4799 to schedule your consultation today.
