Patient reviews are the single most effective bit of marketing you can do for your practice…only YOU can’t do anything. Your patients have to spread the good word about your practice for you.
You can be the greatest clinician in the country but if a new prospective patient goes online and sees that you only have a 3-star rating, it could shatter your credibility and the likelihood of that patient walking through your doors.
Online reviews have developed that type of power. The influence of online reviews is at an all-time high and the rates of these reviews helping to shape a decision are continuing to grow. High review scores and a large volume of reviews are now the price of admission. Patients are becoming dismissive of healthcare services with bad reviews or no reviews at all.
These reviews are so important to patients for many reasons:
- Validates the quality of care in your practice
- Social sharing – they are getting this information from their most trusted resources - peers, family, and friends
- It gives them control over their healthcare “shopping” experience when looking for new doctors
Managing online reviews across all of the available online platforms available can be a challenge. The ultimate goal is to grow the volume of positive reviews, manage the negative reviews, and ensure that all reviews are AUTHENTIC and GENUINE. They need to come from real patients with real experiences.
Whether you know about it or not, your patients are talking about you online…shouldn’t you be a part of that conversation?
Source: 4MJ Social offers a variety of marketing services, including reputation management, website development and management, social media marketing and more. As part of TPA's Affiliate Partners program, 4MJ Social offers exclusive benefits to TPA members.
