If you’re a doctor or dentist you may have wondered whether patient testimonials and online reviews are important to your practice.
A recent poll showed that 92% of potential patients read online reviews of their healthcare provider prior to making an appointment and 67% state that they are influenced by these reviews.
Clearly there are significant benefits from encouraging your patients to write unbiased reviews and testimonials for your healthcare practice. There are many reasons for you and your staff to start making a habit of asking patients to write online reviews on Yelp, Google, and other channels.
- You can gain more visibility for your practice on Google: Online reviews and testimonials provide greater insight about your practice to potential patients. They also show Google that your practice is relevant and deserves to be shown in local search results. By posting reviews on multiple review sites, you can help your practice stand out.
- You can share customer testimonials to promote your practice: You can post your patient testimonials and reviews on your website. This is a great way to build trust with potential patients. You can also share your patient experiences through video. Patients are more likely to visit a healthcare practice after watching a video and are more likely to stay longer on a website with a video. By using a marketing service that allows you to review the testimonials prior to sending them to the major review sites, you can screen the less than superior ones and help protect your online reputation.
- You can increase the trust that your patients have in you: If you post patient testimonials and reviews online, you significantly enhance the trust that your patients and potential patients have in you. Prospective patients are more likely to not just visit a healthcare practice after reading testimonials and reviews, but patients are also more likely to recommend the practice to friends and family.
- You can increase brand awareness: : The more your brand appears online, the more potential patients recognize your name and reputation. This brand awareness translates directly into more patients, more patient visits, more patient recommendations and positive word-of-mouth marketing.
- You can develop your reputation: If you encourage your patients to post unbiased testimonials and reviews on sites such as Yelp, Google Places and RateMDs, this will reach a wider audience than simply word-of-mouth testimonials. This will result in your reputation growing positively, when potential patients realize that you have a track record of satisfying patients.
- You can gain insight into what patients think of you: By understanding and using the information that patients give you through testimonials and online reviews, you can understand how your practice is performing. Listening to your patients and responding accordingly, can help you improve your overall customer service.
These are just some ways in which patient testimonials and online reviews can help your healthcare practice. Begin encouraging your satisfied patients to post testimonials and reviews about your practice. Let them help you showcase their great healthcare experience!
For more information on how you can use patient testimonials and online reviews for expanding your healthcare practice, contact Kristine Grace DDS, MS, MBA at kristineg@intellahealth.net.
by Kristine Grace, Oct-17-2016