Managing Your Reputation One Review at a Time
As patients grow more tech-savvy, dental practices are evolving their marketing efforts to cater to patient needs. Now more than ever, patients often turn to online reviews to evaluate a dentist before making an appointment. This means a dental practice’s online reputation is vital for attracting new patients and growing their business. That’s why actively managing your online reviews through review management should be a top priority.
The digital marketing team at Now Media Group, a full-service digital marketing agency based in San Diego, CA, uses professional, data-driven tactics to grow your reputation and business locally and in the dental industry. Call us at (858) 333-8950 to schedule your consultation with a representative today.
What Is Review Management?
Review management refers to the monitoring, responding to, and improving of online reviews for a business. For a local dental practice, review management typically involves three key steps:
- Monitoring reviews on sites like Google, Yelp, and Facebook
- Responding professionally to both positive and negative reviews
- Soliciting new positive reviews to improve your overall ratings
The goal is to showcase the quality of your dental services, highlight satisfied patients, and address any potential issues mentioned in reviews. Effective review management makes your practice appear more transparent, responsive, and trustworthy.
Why Is Review Management Important?
In the dental industry, review sites give prospective patients insight into your services, staff, and patient experience—and if the reviews are subpar, you may see fewer new patients filtering in. According to a recent survey, around 75 percent of consumers read online reviews before choosing a dentist. That’s why proactively managing your online reputation is crucial for acquiring new patients and growing your dental practice.
Key benefits of improving your online reputation through review management include:
- Increased Visibility: More positive reviews improve your rating on review sites, giving your dental practice higher visibility in local search results.
- Provides Social Proof: Reviews from patients help convince potential patients that you provide quality dental care.
- Drives Referrals: Satisfied patients are more likely to recommend your practice to friends and family after posting a positive review.
- Allows Response to Issues: Addressing a negative review publicly demonstrates that you care about patient concerns.
- Builds Patient Trust: Actively managing your reputation makes you appear more professional and caring as a dentist.
- Helps Stand Out: With an excellent online presence, your dental practice can stand out from competitors in your area.
Review Sites to Manage
At Now Media Group, our local SEO services include review management. We’ll make sure your dental practice maintains its great reputation. All you have to do is encourage those happy patients to leave stellar reviews!
Google My Business
Google My Business is a platform that allows customers to leave reviews for businesses directly on Google Search and Maps. Given that it’s powered by the world’s largest search engine, Google reviews are very influential in digital marketing. Having many five-star Google reviews can be a huge asset, especially in boosting your website to the top of those search results.
Yelp
With over 33 million monthly users, Yelp is the most popular site for finding local businesses, like dentists. Yelp reviews are often the first places prospective patients look when choosing a dentist. Responding professionally to Yelp reviews and encouraging happy patients to post builds your reputation.
While not primarily a review site, many patients will leave feedback on your Facebook business page. Having many positive Facebook reviews helps build social proof when people visit your page. If you don’t have a Facebook page for your dental practice, we encourage you to create one, as social media exposure is also essential in this day and age for a successful business.
Monitoring Your Reviews
When it comes to business review management, the first step is to regularly monitor new reviews left on sites like Google, Yelp, and Facebook. Here are some tips for staying on top of new reviews:
Check each site daily or weekly for new reviews. Set calendar reminders if needed.- Use the available review management platforms on each site, like Google Posts or Yelp Business Owner’s Dashboard, to get notified of new reviews.
- Set up email alerts to get notified when you receive a new review.
- Track your review volume and ratings to spot trends or changes.
- Compare your ratings to those of competitors to see how you stack up in your local market.
Responding to Reviews
The most crucial part of managing your online reputation is professionally responding to customer reviews—both positive and negative. Follow these best practices:
- Thank every patient for taking the time to post a review. Even a negative review presents an opportunity to demonstrate your care.
- Respond promptly, within a few days, to show customers you actively engage with their feedback.
- Keep responses concise yet personable. Avoid generic responses.
- Apologize for negative experiences and offer solutions like scheduling a follow-up appointment.
- Reply privately if necessary for privacy reasons, but acknowledge the review publicly.
- Always maintain a polite tone, never arguing back. The goal is to resolve issues and reassure future patients.
Soliciting New Reviews
While monitoring and responding to reviews is essential, you should actively solicit new positive reviews from satisfied patients. This boosts your overall ratings and improves visibility. Some tips for getting more five-star reviews:
- Place review requests on your website, emails, or other marketing materials. This should drive reviews from new visitors.
- Ask happy patients in person or via email/text to post reviews after appointments. Strike while their satisfaction is fresh.
- Run occasional review generation campaigns by offering promotions for posting reviews. However, avoid rewards for only positive reviews.
- Share positive reviews on social media to show patients you value their feedback and encourage more reviewers.
- Ensure that responding to reviews and asking for feedback is a team effort.
Invest in Review Management Tools
Managing reviews across multiple sites takes time and effort. That’s why many dental practices turn to review management software platforms designed specifically for the task. Here are some top options:
- Podium: An all-in-one suite for review monitoring, surveys, interaction, and more, with Google integration.
- Birdeye: Specialized dental review platform for request generation, feedback surveys, reputation insights, and monitoring.
- Reputology: Focuses solely on review management with features like invite campaigns, reply assistance, and competitor benchmarking.
- ReviewTrackers: Affordable monthly plans for monitoring reviews across sites, analyzing sentiment, and automating responses.
Creating a Reputation Management Strategy
To get the most value from review management, create a documented strategy and process for your dental practice. This should outline details like:
- Which team members are responsible for monitoring reviews, responding, and soliciting
- How often will you check review sites
- Goals for review volume and response rate
- When and how review requests will be sent to patients
- How reviews will be integrated into other marketing initiatives
Having a plan makes review management a consistent focus rather than just reacting to reviews as they come. Adjust your strategy over time based on results. Ongoing reputation management is crucial for digital marketing success.
Your Reputation is Your Best Asset, Call Now Media Group!
Online reviews are make-or-break for today’s dental practices. With an effective review management process, you can showcase your office’s strengths, address constructive feedback, and attract more patients through an excellent online reputation. By monitoring key sites, professionally engaging with reviews, and proactively requesting new feedback, your practice can stand out from the competition.
Focus on review management to grow your dental business in 2024 and beyond. Call (858) 333-8950 today to schedule your consultation with Now Media Group’s digital marketing representatives. We’re here to boost your practice and reputation.