The sad reality is that we live in a world where people depend on the opinions of others before trying out a new restaurant or a dentist. Your target audience would first like to know if they can trust your brand. To figure that out, they will visit your dental websites and look for positive reviews from people like them. So the problem is, how can you convince your very first customer to try you out? How can you convince this patient to leave a review for your site, which will, later on, become the central point of your marketing strategy?
Nobody is going to choose a dentist with no review over someone with a dozen or more. Actually, no one’s going to choose a dentist with no review over someone who has at least one positive review. People are going to want to listen to your past patients. Reviews are the number one factor people consider when making a purchase or visiting a doctor or dentist. This is going to matter not only today but forever. This is a permanent factor that needs to be considered every time you create a new marketing strategy.
If you have landed some new patients because of a referral from a friend or a family member, ask them to write a review about your dental practice. Make sure that they agree to post these reviews on your dental websites. Aside from your website, the reviews should also appear on Yelp and Google Reviews. These are two of the biggest platforms that give focus on local businesses. Patients and customers are going to check out these two platforms before trying to contact you.
When someone searches for your name on Google or Google Maps, they will easily see the reviews about your dental practice. The reviews will appear along with your clinic’s address.
How can you persuade patients to leave reviews on your dental websites? You should not pay them. That is against Google’s terms and conditions. However, you are allowed to reach out to them after a procedure. A simple nudge can be in the form of an email to remind them that they can leave a review about their experience on your site.
If there are negative reviews, don’t ignore them. Deal with them quickly. Respond to the reviews and apologize if they felt they didn’t receive the right service. Clarify your position. Most of the time, an explanation from the business is enough to convince potential customers and patients that such an incident will never happen again.