How To Implement a Healthcare Online Reputation Management System?
Every doctor wants to be the best in their field. So how do you prove that you are the best in your field?
The answer is simple: by Patient reviews.
Potential patients trust the opinions of family members, friends, and strangers who leave reviews online about their experiences at a healthcare facility. So a 4.8-star dentist with hundreds of positive reviews is more appealing than a one-star office down the street.
It can seem like patient reviews are beyond your control. However, online reputation management is an essential area of healthcare marketing. Reviews can be left on many platforms, including social media and search engines. Therefore, knowing where your patients are leaving reviews is essential to help manage your reputation. On the other hand, if reviews are made available in multiple languages, they can cater to a wider audience. But one may need assistance from certified clinical trial translation services to ensure that technical information is accurately translated.
Where Should Reviewers Leave Reviews?
Google, Facebook, and Yelp are the most potent reviewing platforms.
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Google
Google is the leading review platform in terms of monthly U.S. traffic. This helps consumers make informed decisions and improve local SEO. Google considers reviews when ranking your local search results. Increased positive reviews and a higher overall rating can boost your prominence business. This can help you rank higher when people search for your services on Google. Moreover, if your site is multilingual it can also boost a higher ranking. But ensure to take help from professional clinical trial translation services
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Facebook
Facebook has more than 2 million monthly users. This means that reviews on the site have an extensive reach and influence on potential patients. Therefore, Facebook recommends leaving reviews on your business page so users can see them.
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Yelp
Yelp is designed to encourage reviews of businesses in your area. Having a Yelp account is a great way to build trust with patients. In addition, researchers found that Yelp reviews are a great way to share information about the quality and experience of healthcare patients.
There are also review platforms for healthcare professionals like Vitals and Healthgrades. These databases allow you to increase awareness and notoriety for your practice to patients looking for doctors in their local area. Once you have analyzed where patients leave reviews about your healthcare practice, you can work on managing your online reputation.
How To Manage Your Online Reputation
Patients are the ones who will share their experiences. However, you can manage the reputation of your healthcare practice by asking for reviews and responding to reviews.
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Looking for Reviews
It matters how many reviews you have. This generates Social Proof. People will believe that you offer high-quality healthcare if they have seen it from others. In addition, a higher number of reviews can help you get a better picture of your patients' opinions about your practice since they are drawn from a broader range of data sources.
While you cannot control your patients' opinions about your healthcare practice's services, you can manage whether or not they leave reviews. A recent survey found that 12% had always left a review whenever a business asked them within the last 12 months. In addition, 35% stated they had left reviews at least half the time they were asked.
Organizations can use BrightLocal and Birdeye reputation management tools to send reviews to recently treated patients. Review requests should be integrated into current patient communication efforts, such as text messages or email newsletters, to get the best completion rate. But ensure that your reviews are readily available to people around the world. Such endeavors are often hampered by language barriers. In that scenario, aid from LSPs, such as Psychology translation services can help you.
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Responding to Reviews
Review responses can help you show your character, build trust, and resolve conflicts when needed. All reviews, both positive and negative, should be responded to. Your response to negative patient comments can make or break the experience and turn it into something positive.
Review responses should feel personal and be from the healthcare provider. For example, Harvard Business Review found that people who see managers respond to reviews often may be more inclined not to leave negative reviews--even though they planned to--to avoid unpleasant interactions.
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Turning Reviews Into Testimonials
Reviews should be posted on sites like Yelp or Google, not only on your own site. It would be best to leverage positive thoughts in your marketing materials and platforms. You could do this by
- Posting patient quotes on social media.
- Add a review section to your website homepage.
- Filming long-form video testimonials.
You can build trust with your customers by using video testimonials. For example, ask patients to share their entire story in a video if they leave a Google review describing their experience with your healthcare provider. This allows you to control your reputation and makes loyal brand ambassadors for the healthcare practice.
Other patients may also benefit from sharing their experiences. This can lead to more client stories and reviews.
Wrapping Up
Review generation and management can be a crucial part of your reputation. It will help you to make an excellent first impression on potential patients and establish your status as a leader in your field.