In the age of Internet, everybody checks online reviews before buying product or service. After all, why risk paying for something you don’t know anything about when you can see what others had to say about it?
Same goes for a dental practice.
Online reviews are essential and can be called a form of dental marketing, as they help to establish a bond of trust with potential patients. Basically, they do the same job as the good ol’ word-of-mouth recommendations, except that they reach a broader audience, meaning that they a very powerful tool in attracting new leads. But let’s just call them patients.
Unfortunately, there are moments in which you end up getting negative reviews, because, let’s be honest, you just can’t please everybody.
Below you will find a few ideas which you can use to deal with negative reviews on your own. You can also hire a dental marketing company, but that’s something we will talk about a bit later.
Never ignore a negative review
Most people believe that ignoring a negative review is the best thing to do when they receive one. Wrong, it’s actually the worst thing!
By answering politely you show that you care about what ALL patients think, but also that you are willing to resolve any problem. Besides, you can stand out from competitors who tend to ignore these not-so-friendly opinions.
Keep calm and carry on
There will be cases when you will receive a…very unfavorable review. But the secret is that you need to keep your calm when answering, even if the patient is not 100% right.
It’s highly recommended to have a set of standard responses to fall back on when dealing with a patient complaining about a bad experience and personalize your reply according to the specific concerns of the reviewer. And one more time: remain calm even though the accusations are false.
Try fixing any problems
Sure, it is very important to respond to any negative reviews you get as a dentist, but in order to show that you really care about your reputation, it’s essential to address any specific issue a former patient complains about.
Whether it’s inviting the patient to call you or come back to your office to discuss the reported problem in detail, you’re demonstrating future clients that you’re willing to resolve any problem that occurs.
Some patients won’t take up your offer, but you did your job and showed other potential clients, who saw the discussion, that you did your best.
Ask happy patients for reviews
A great way of minimizing the effect of bad reviews is to keep getting good ones. According to research, almost 70% of consumers will leave a review if they are asked to do so, so why not ask your happy patients to do it?
As a side note, potential patients tend to put more trust in recent reviews, so make sure the good ones keep coming.
Don’t let them take you down
Last but not least, you should always remember that negative reviews are something common for a dentist, so you shouldn’t let them take you down. Some people have different expectations and they tend to exaggerate some things, but this doesn’t mean that you are a bad dentist.
On the other hand, if you don’t have time, patience or, why not, technical knowledge to deal with negative reviews, you can always use a dental marketing company!
Affordable Dental SEO provides effective marketing for dental practices, as well as dental SEO services for businesses in the Tampa Bay Area and the state of Florida. Whether you need help with managing your reviews or just want to reach more potential patients, give them a call and they will know exactly what’s right for you.
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