The Power Of Patient Reviews In Marketing Your Dental Practice

Patient reviews have become one of the most, if not THE MOST, essential tool used in every dental marketing strategy. With most patients on the lookout for quality healthcare providers online, reviews have come to be a bedrock to build trust, enhance credibility, and attract new patients. Reviews also create authenticity and credibility – a requirement in today’s world to generate new clients.

This blog discusses how powerful patient reviews can change the course of your dental practice’s marketing game. Learn what VitalUp can do for your practice using a simple tool like reviews to create a holistic dental marketing strategy. 

Why Care About Patient Reviews?

Learn why patient reviews are important in building your patient base. 

Trust And Credibility Building

• Among the top things that a potential patient is looking for when he is on his quest for a dental practice are reviews. 
• Over 90 percent of consumers read online reviews before choosing a healthcare provider. 
• Positive reviews are testimonies that endorse your degree of professionalism, quality of care and expertise.
• Patients are more likely to trust a dentist with a high rating and multiple positive reviews than one with little to no online presence. 
• A positive review can reinforce the credibility of your practice and make it more likely that new patients will choose your practice over competitors.
• Reviews don’t always need to be 5 stars, mixing in a few 4 stars helps with the credibility; so long as the reason for the missing star is understandable. For example, “the parking is a little challenging, I wasn’t able to find the location easily…” These types of comments make the review more authentic. 

Influencing Decision-Making

• Patient reviews play a significant role in influencing decisions. People believe in reviews from other people who have experienced your services. We all do it now, we read the reviews and usually make an instant decision – whether it’s for a restaurant, store or brand. Just remember how important reviews are when you purchase something off of Amazon! That’s exactly how important reviews are for your business. 
• A good collection of positive reviews can often be the difference-maker that convinces someone to book an appointment.

Online Visibility

• Practices with higher ratings and a significant number of reviews are more likely to appear in the coveted top spots on search engine results pages (SERPs). In simple English – google adds more weight to websites and pages that have higher and more client reviews. This means that when clients are searching for a new dental practice, those with more positive reviews will be published by google at the top of their search results compared to dental practices with few or negative reviews. 

• Google and other search engines factor reviews into their ranking algorithms. Therefore, increased visibility drives more traffic to your website, amplifying your chances of attracting new patients.

Harness The Power Of Patient Reviews

Encourage Patients To Leave Reviews To Boost Your Business

Encourage Reviews From Happy Patients

• Many patients will happily write a review if you ask them, especially when they have had a good experience. Remember to: 
• Ask At The Right Time: Ask for reviews when patients are most satisfied, such as immediately after a successful procedure or when they are expressing gratitude.
• Make It Easy: Share direct links to your Google, Yelp, or Facebook review pages via email, text, or social media.
• Educate Patients: Some patients may not know how to leave a review. A quick guide can help them navigate the process.
• MOST IMPORTANT is to ask! Don’t be embarrassed, don’t be ashamed, you’ve proved a great service now ask your client to tell the world. More often than not, they will be happy to. 

Respond to Reviews: Positive Or Negative

• Engaging with patient reviews shows that you value feedback and care about your patients’ experiences. 
• Respond to positive reviews with gratitude, reinforcing the patient’s decision to share their experience. 
• For negative reviews, respond professionally and empathetically to address concerns and demonstrate your commitment to resolving issues. This is super important. Don’t let negative reviews go without a response. 

Highlight Reviews In Your Dental Marketing

• Make the most of your reviews by showcasing them across various marketing channels. 
• Website: Display testimonials on the main page, service pages, or even a specific review page.
• Social Media: Share outstanding reviews as posts or stories to connect with your audience.
• Email Campaigns: Add pieces of excellent reviews in newsletters or marketing emails to build credibility.

• And if you can get positive reviews on video, then make sure you use them everywhere!

Use Patient Reviews Platforms Effectively

• Popular platforms for dental practice include Google My Business, Yelp, and Healthgrades. A solid presence on these platforms can really drive visibility and reputation for your practice.
• Make sure that your profiles are comprehensive and up-to-date, containing accurate information, pictures, and easy ways to leave reviews. 

Make Patient Reviews Part Of Your SEO Plan

• Optimizing for local SEO is important for dental practices. Reviews contribute to local search rankings, so encourage patients to mention specific services and your location in their feedback. 

Impact Of Patient Reviews On Your Practice

• While reviews are great for gaining new patients, they can also be used to maintain existing ones. 

• Positive reviews remind the patient of great care and reinforce loyalty in your practice. Further, when you are active in engaging in reviews, it creates community and trust with your patients.

Managing Negative Patient Reviews

Let VitalUp Handle Your Dental Marketing While You Focus On Your Expertise

No business can avoid negative reviews, but what you do makes a world of difference in this. Follow these steps to effectively manage negative reviews. 

• Stay Calm: Try not to get defensive or react emotionally.
• Acknowledge The Problem: Thank the reviewer for their feedback and let them know that you value their feelings.

• Offer A Resolution: Provide a solution either via direct conversation or addressing their concern publicly.

• Learn From Feedback: Such negative reviews should be learned from in order to work on practice and avoid issues in the future.

Conclusion 

Partnering with VitalUp can help ensure that patient reviews are used effectively, leading to an increase in trust and credibility and promoting patient acquisition and retention. Improve your practice’s reputation and outshine the competition in the market using VitalUp and dental marketing strategies. 

Let us invest the time and effort into managing your patient reviews. Drive feedback into improvement and long-term success with VitalUp so your practice can shine! Reach out today.