A 2018 survey by PatientPop, a leader in practice growth technology, reveals that many medical and dental professionals don’t know how to influence their online reputations. They realize that getting positive feedback from patients in the form of online reviews and testimonials is important, but most receive few reviews.
The survey found:
- 80.3% of healthcare providers feel maintaining a strong online reputation is extremely or very important.
- 71.3% get reviews from 5% or less of their patients
- 88% of respondents have some level of concern about negative reviews, and 62.4% say they’ve received a negative review from a patient. But only 18.4% said they have a process in place to follow up with the patients who post negative reviews.
The survey also found that most healthcare providers use outdated or incomplete methods of reputation management. Others used multiple vendors, which made management confusing and incomplete. A holistic approach to reputation management is largely unrealized in these verticals.
More than 44% of practices reported that internal staff was responsible for reputation management, and noted that this exacerbated problems with burnout and turnover.
Luke Kervin, PatientPop Co-Founder and Co-CEO stated:
“A well-managed online reputation has a significant influence on patients choosing a provider. It also optimizes a provider’s prominence in search results. Providers with great reviews, a well-rounded online presence, and exceptional service stand out, and will see patients gravitate to their practice. The survey results confirm healthcare providers currently aren’t doing enough to manage their online reputations.”
Use a Proven Reputation Management Service
The statistics from this survey shows the dire risk healthcare services take when they don’t proactively manage their online reputations. Today, all businesses are subject to the influence reviews have on their marketing efforts. Many consumers won’t buy a pair of shoes without consulting reviews.
Imagine, then, someone looking for a doctor, dentist, or optometrist. Their physical health is at stake. A healthcare provider with either too many negative reviews or no reviews is likely to get passed over by prospective patients.
The problems reported in this survey don’t have to plague your practice. Services like Top Rated Local® can fortify your online review profiles with strategies that garner more positive reviews. They can also serve as your advocate to help deal with negative reviews. For healthcare services, reputation management services promise exceptional ROI.
What you can’t do, as this report makes clear, is nothing. A skimpy review profile with a smattering of detrimental comments is a business development ball and chain. It’s not much better to have inexperienced internal staff taking doing haphazard management as an extra duty.
Reputation management is an important part of your marketing strategy. You need to plan how to use reviews to your advantage so the reputation you earn – and deserve – is accurately represented with online reviews.
