How to Get More Positive Reviews for Your Medical Practice

90% of customers read company reviews before supporting a company. And this statistic includes medical businesses, as well.

As a medical professional, you know you’re under serious competition. The easiest way to beat out your competition is by upholding a positive company reputation and receiving positive customer reviews.

Here’s the million dollar question — how do you get more positive reviews? Continue reading on how to create a strategy and for some useful advice on reputation management and positive reviews.

Ways to Get More Positive Reviews

Your medical practice can’t rely on word-of-mouth promotion or outdated advertising methods. Here’s how to get good reviews.

Ask for Reviews

There’s no shame in asking for reviews. Especially if you know a patient was satisfied with your service.

Provide links to all of your company placement pages and offer an incentive such as a coupon on your next prescription medication or free samples.

When you deliver a great experience and offer incentives, customers are 70% more likely to leave a review.

Impress Them the First Time

Of course, your medical practice always strives to deliver great patient care the minute a patient enters your practice. This is essential for multiple reasons, including customer reviews.

Only one in 10 happy customers will leave a positive review. But a patient with a bad experience won’t hesitate to leave a negative review.

While the statistics aren’t in favor of happy customers leaving reviews, you can ensure a few of your customers will leave a review or will recommend your practice.

Use a Review Management Service or Tool

We will go over individual review platforms later in the article. But you probably know there are many places where customers can review your practice. How do you keep up with your reviews? Invest in a review management tool or service.

Review management tools help incite customers to review your practice while on your website or any review platforms. In addition, they track the reviews you receive and streamline your reviews on a single platform.

Don’t have time to manage these reviews? This is where a review management service comes in. This service will track your reviews and will handle all negative reviews.

How Many Reviews Should You Have?

The good news is, there is no set number. The bad news is, you may have to get more positive reviews if you receive negative reviews.

One negative review can cost you tens of thousands of dollars. Whereas, five positive reviews only boost your business by 10%.

Instead of aiming for a number goal, aim to receive a steady stream of reviews. Even if you have a bad review, you know you’ll gain more reviews to even out the number.

If you would rather aim for a number goal, take a look at how many patients you have coming in.

If your practice is new, aim for a review each month or maybe two every month. If your practice is more reputable and busier, aim for a review or two a week.

Use some of the strategies already mentioned and we’ll also go over more advice on getting more reviews later on in this article.

What Should You Do About Negative Reviews?

You won’t get a positive review every time.

Even though you try and deliver the best patient experience, you’ll always have an unsatisfied patient. But what should you do about negative reviews? You can’t erase them from your database, but you can address them.

Most review platforms offer a response section. Start by responding to their review.

First, start by apologizing. Show sincerity. Then, offer a chance to make up for their negative experience. Providing incentives such as a prescription medication coupon will help draw that unhappy patient back in.

Steps to Get More Reviews

Your patients mean everything to your practice and you want to read what they have to say. Now that you know some helpful advice, just follow these steps for more positive reviews.

Make It Easy to Find Your Review Page

Maybe a reason why you’re not getting enough reviews is your patients can’t find your review pages.

First, diversify your review pages. You have your traditional review platforms such as Google My Business, Yelp, and Facebook.

There are also review sites specifically meant for doctors and practitioners. Examples include RateMDs and Healthgrades.

Who said you can’t offer a review section on your website? Your patients are likely on your website anyway, whether it’s to pay their bill or to read your blog.

Promote Positive Reviews

Do you search your competitor’s website and see they promote some of their best reviews? Promoting reviews is an easy way to entice patients to review your practice.

Start by showcasing the best reviews on your website. This helps create trust between you and new patients.

That’s not the only way to promote your reviews. Screenshot positive reviews and share them on your social media. You can take the review promotion a step further by creating a slideshow or marketing video with your positive reviews.

Go Beyond Review Platforms

Your reviews should be as transparent as possible. This is why you can go beyond review platforms and entice different forms of positive reviews.

Are you working on a commercial or ad for your practice? Don’t hire actors or models. Instead, put your customers in the action! Discuss what they love about your practice and why they’re always returning patients.

Video is also a popular content marketing method. Ask your patients to share their incredible experience with your practice.

For example, let’s say you run a plastic surgery clinic. If a customer is satisfied with their operation, ask them to create a video explaining their procedure and how your practice did a great job.

Video shouldn’t be the only way to express customer appreciation. Your customers can share a photo on social media. Make sure they have your social handles so they can tag you!

If a patient has a popular blog, collaborate with them and see if they will write a review on their blog.

Tips to Get More Reviews

Did you follow this advice and still aren’t having luck getting reviews? Here are additional tips to entice customers to review your practice.

Create an Email Newsletter

There are many benefits to having an email newsletter. One of them is to encourage more reviews.

Do you remember how we mentioned incentives for more reviews? Send out an email blast promoting the incentives. Include links to your review pages and ask to review your practice to get the incentives.

How do you know a particular customer reviewed your practice? State they must include their email address in the review. From here, you can email them the coupon, promotion, or whichever promotion you decided.

Print It Out!

Even in our digital age, print marketing is still relevant. When a patient is at your practice, hand out a printed card with their receipt. This card should list links to your social media and review platforms with a message to review your practice.

Your patients don’t have to physically be at your practice in order to receive this promotional card. Does your practice send out promotional mailers? Include this card in your regular mailers.

Want to avoid printing so much paper? If your practice is as eco-friendly as possible, you can leave that same message on an invoice or a receipt.

Make It a Part of the Customer Service Process

You train your physician’s assistant, your nurses, and all other staff to uphold customer service standards and may include a dialogue to abide by.

Include reviews in that dialogue. Ask your staff to promote your review platforms and to tell customers they’re welcome to leave an honest review.

Review at Your Practice

Who said your patients have to review your practice at their house after your appointment? Make the review process easier by reviewing your practice while they’re still there.

Do your patients check out on iPads at the front desk? After they check out, display a screen where they can rate their experience and add a comment.

This way, they’re already there and maybe have a few recommendations or advice fresh in their mind, so they can type what’s on their mind with an honest rating.

Are You Still Struggling With Reviews?

Your practice will experience many benefits when you get more positive reviews. Are you still struggling to get honest feedback?

If you tried all of these suggestions, maybe there’s more to your bad luck. Do you have a UX-friendly and responsive website? Do you utilize traditional and local SEO?

If you said no to these questions, you’re probably not receiving reviews because your marketing is below standards.

We can help your marketing efforts. Our local SEO agency is based in Prescott, Arizona, but we work with clients across the US. Contact us today.