How Should Dentists Respond to Online Reviews

How Should You Respond to Online Reviews?

What was discussed?

Quote of the day: “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Wishing is not enough we must do.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Be sure to check out our previous episode on review management and our corresponding blog post on it.

Having a presence on Google, Yelp, and Facebook is important, but can also be stressful if you receive negative reviews. Some people give great reviews and some people require you to go the extra mile just to get an okay review. We know from studies that people are trusting online reviews as much as the recommendation of a friend. It’s important to get out there and proactively manage your reviews. Make sure you’re also on some of the lesser-known sites such as Healthgrades, RateMDs, Vitals, and RealSelf.

The first step to managing your reviews is knowing where they’re posted. It’s important to know where your reviews live and what sites you’re being reviewed on so that you can manage them. You can also monitor your reviews through Google Alerts. Set these up and they’ll alert you whenever your business name is mentioned online.

How to Respond to Positive Reviews

Follow these steps to respond to positive reviews in a professional and effective manner:

1.    Thank the patient
2.    Keep your response brief and professional
3.    Don’t discuss any personal information
4.    Don’t offer a free service as a thank you
5.    Don’t ask anything of the reviewer
6.    Don’t defend yourself from a minor criticism (this will make you look petty)

Keep these steps in mind when responding to reviews and you can be confident that you’re handling them correctly. People care about their body and absolutely care who will be taking care of them, which is why they read reviews in the first place. Responding to positive reviews using the above steps will help others understand the level of professionalism that your business brings to the table.

How to Respond to Negative Reviews

Follow these steps to respond to negative reviews in a professional and effective manner:

1.    Never respond when you’re angry
2.    Don’t discuss anything specific
3.    Don’t respond at length or post multiple replies (this draws attention to the post)
4.    Don’t respond at all to troll or spam comments

Be sure to report any spam or troll comments to the website administrator. These will generally be reviewed and will be removed if they’re found to be false or spam.

When setting up your business on different review sites, follow these steps:

1.    Use a real photo of yourself (it humanizes you)
2.    Use the criticism that you get as ways that you can improve your practice
3.    Try to get patients who leave negative feedback back into your office so that you can resolve the issue. Take ownership and take care of them.
4.    Let your patients know how they can review you online
5.    Personally thank patients offline for leaving positive reviews
6.    Share positive reviews on your website and social media
7.    Follow the guidelines for responding or requesting reviews. Yelp has really strict guidelines where Google does not. Be sure you’re on top of these guidelines.

Managing your online reputation is incredibly important given how much people tend to trust online reviews.

If you’re interested in getting more reviews, learning about mistakes you can’t afford to be making when it comes to your reviews, and learning more about the most effective strategy in getting positive reviews; be sure to pick up our free report on review management.

If you need assistance with managing your online reputation, be sure to contact us today so we can see if we're a good fit for each other.

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Check out the show notes at:

titanwebagency.com/podcast/121

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