One of the most important things your dental practice can do is to cultivate a steady flow of positive online reviews. The more you have, the more people will trust your practice and book appointments. But while most dentists know that they need reviews, many don’t have a solid strategy for how to ask patients to review their experience. This article will discuss some effective techniques for getting reviews from your patients.
Make review requests a part of the patient experience
The easiest way to get more online reviews is to make it easy for your patients to do so. For example, if you use Google for your practice, you can send your patients a link directly to their Google review page after they leave your office, which will automatically sign them in and enable them to write a quick review. You can also include a link to your reviews on your website, email signature, and business cards.
How to ask for a review for a dental practice – It’s important to remember that most people who write reviews are not your best customers. These people may be disgruntled with a past experience, or they may have a high-deductible health insurance plan and are trying to decide whether or not your services are affordable. In either case, it’s important to treat them with respect and try to find a solution.
A good place to start is by identifying the patient and finding out how they came into contact with your practice. Then, figure out who within your team has the most personal relationship with that person. Ideally, that team member will be the one to reach out and ask them for a review. Alternatively, you can also consider using a review management system that allows you to set up alerts when a negative review has been written so that you can respond immediately and address the issue.
The key to getting positive reviews is to be consistent and persistent with your request. Try to incorporate it into your routine so that it becomes second-nature to you and your staff to ask every patient for a review. However, you also need to find a balance between being too pushy and asking for reviews at inappropriate times. For example, asking for a review as soon as the patient walks out the door can make them feel uncomfortable and may deter them from giving you a review.
Be sure to provide clear instructions for writing a review, and make the process as easy as possible. For example, you can provide a link to your review page through your Google Business Profile that your patients can click on and touch the stars to rate their experience. You can also put this link in your email signature and on your website, so that patients can easily access it.
Although nobody likes to receive a bad review, most businesses have to deal with them at some point. The way you respond to a negative review can make or break your reputation, so it’s important that you know how to handle it in a timely manner.
