• 1
• Dental Marketing ,
• 23 May

Nowadays, with the rise of the internet, web reviews do matter.

No matter what kind of business you’re running, you have to get lots of positive feedback from your users. Feedback is especially important for dental offices, as you wouldn’t allow just about anyone to manage your teeth.

Dentistry is a business based on word of mouth marketing.

However, there are still a lot of people who have to rely on dental reviews and other forms of advertisement. Positive reviews are an excellent way to build trust and give the company a chance.

Benefits of dental reviews

Here are the main five advantages of having positive dental reviews:

• Building authority within the industry
• Building trust with the potential clients and at the same time, reducing the fear factor
• Can help with your online visibility if you manage to get among the top 3 dental offices
• Creates a sense of exclusivity for your business giving you more operational freedom
• Assists with other marketing efforts

While dental reviews are a great thing by themselves, they also have a profound impact on your overall dental marketing.

Companies that have low reviews use to get much fewer inquiries. This often forces them to reduce their prices at one point, and with it, your overall profitability.

How to start?

Before you start asking patients to give you positive reviews, you have to start by claiming your listings.

Basically, you have to confirm the company’s information on web review sites such as Google My Business and Yelp.

With this, you’re confirming the authenticity of the company making sure that these sites don’t confuse you with another practice. You’re also providing a sound basis helping search engines recognize your business and present it to end-users.

You will have to add info such as:

• URL of the website
• Your actual address
• Work hours
• Phone numbers
• Emails
• Other data

The process varies for different dental review sites.

But still, it is rather intuitive, and anyone can add information without too much hassle.

Here are some tips that will help you out!

• Google My Business – Like with any Google-related service, first, you have to log into your account. After that, you can locate your practice and start adding basic info. Meanwhile, Google will send an automated message of confirmation. Once you confirm, you can add all other data regarding the business.
• Bing – The process for Bing is very similar to that for Google. It involves the verification process, after which you can all the necessary information.
• Yelp – Yelp is a bit different. Once you enter the site, you need to find your practice and then click on the button, “Claim My Business.” Upon adding your phone number, you will get a verification phone call. After that, you can click on a link leading you to a page where you can edit the company’s data.

Although this procedure is rather straightforward, there are some things that you can mess up.

Here are our main four tips when it comes to leaving your data.

• Make sure to do it as soon as possible. There is no point in waiting. Even if you have limited information (for example, a lack of address or phone), you need to leave your basic data so you can begin.
• Double-check all your data. Mistakes can easily happen. If a change occurs, don’t forget to edit data as soon as possible; it’s something you have to be mindful of.
• Information should be presented in the same way on all websites. For example, always use the same primary phone or email. Even if there is a small inconsistency (for example, you added a phone area code on one site), it will dilute your online presence.
• Make sure to add professional photos as well as links to the website and social media.

Asking for dental reviews? Learn the do’s and don’ts…

At this point, you’re probably enthusiastic about the future of your dental practice and are prepared to ask everyone for a positive review.

Don’t do that!

The most important thing when it comes to reviews measures when you can and when you cannot ask for them. Here are some tips that will help you along the way:

• Make sure that the patient had a good experience. The last thing you want to do is ask a disgruntled client for a review, as it will lead to negative feedback.
• Is this patient’s first time visiting your office? Reoccurring patients are more likely to provide a positive review.
• How do you feel about your work? Do you think you did a good job? If the answer is yes, then you better ask for a review right now.
• Sometimes, even if you did great, it is much better to ask for a review several days after the procedure. A patient may need several days to relax and see if everything is functioning properly
• Read the patient’s body language. Is he or she in a good mood?
• Younger generations are usually more tech-savvy and, thus, more likely to provide feedback.
• Consider your behavior during the treatment. If you disagreed with a patient seriously, even if you did a good job, you should avoid asking for an online review. Lots of people are susceptible and may give you negative feedback just because they had a wrong perception of you as a person.
• Explain why you’re asking for a review. Make it intimate. We are always more likely to connect to people on a personal level and help them out if they’re asking politely for a favor.

As you can see, there are lots of situations where you shouldn’t ask for a review.

Online reviews for dentists are a bit different than the rest. Unlike other types of companies, our main preoccupation is to remain healthy when we step into a dental office.

For some individuals, this is a scary experience which they want to forget as soon as possible.

That is why giving a web review (whether it’s a positive or a negative one) is the last thing on their minds.

So, be careful when picking your battles!

How to ask for an online review?

The way you need to ask a person for a review depends on the situation.

Several methods can be used, and we will discuss all of them here. Read on!

• Face to face – The first and the most natural way to ask for a review is through direct communication. The great thing about face to face method is that it’s harder for people to refuse you. It also allows for better communication; face to face will always be more personal than anything else. However, this also implies that you will have to ask a person directly after a procedure. If a patient is new, it is hard to tell how a person will react. You might even lose a client. Still, this approach is ideal for reoccurring clients as it adds a personal note.
• Via phone – Nowadays, it is typical for doctors and dentists to call their patients and ask them how they are feeling. You can ring them at any time, but ideally, you should do it before a regular checkup or after a procedure. Most patients are touched by this and will be more inclined to assist you if you ask them for a favor. Needless to say, you shouldn’t ask for a review if a patient has experienced some complications post-treatment.
• Via email – While emails are often impersonal, they do get the job done. That is especially true if you want to save some time and rack up your reviews quickly. The email method is a good solution for clinics that have lots of occasional patients. It can also be great for high-end practices that deal with wealthy clientele as it may seem a more formal and elegant approach.
• Via social media – Social media approach is especially useful for younger generations, but that’s also slowly changing as everyone is on Facebook and Twitter. Asking for a review via social media is a cool way to do things. But you shouldn’t try to be too forceful. If you just added someone as a friend and you immediately ask for a review, some may see it as a bit spammy. In fact, it can be interpreted as opposite to “cool,” which is what you’re trying to accomplish.

As you can see, the required approach will vary depending on the situation. You should use the method which gives you the most chance of succeeding.

There isn’t anything special that you need to know when it comes to the message itself; just make sure to sound natural and relaxed while remaining professional.

Last thoughts

You cannot allow yourself to be without reviews.

They are the main parameter of quality and potential patients to keep them in high regard. A small thing, such as asking for dental reviews, can go a long way in making your dental company successful.

Even if you’re not the best practitioner in a city, these reviews can definitely help you look like one.