There is no need to stress the importance of positive online reviews. At the very least, a solid number of positive reviews minimizes unpleasant effect of an unexpected negative review. There are many patient engagement platforms on the market that promise you seamless collection of online reviews. They do work. If you ever googled dentists in your area and saw some with incredibly high review number, no doubt, they are using such a software. But it comes with a high price tag ($200+ a month). If you are not willing or not ready yet to pay it, here is a very simple way to boost your positive Google reviews.
Here is what we have done in our office. A month ago we had 4 positive Google reviews. And those were after 4 years of being in business. Actually, it wasn't very bad for our location. Most dentists in 15 mile radius have 1-2 reviews, many none at all. And only one has 58. He definitely uses the software I mentioned before, no doubt.
I ran a report selecting patients who have gmail accounts because Google requires sign-in in order to leave a review. Then I manually selected those who demonstrated really good attitude towards our office. Then I sent each of them an email asking for a positive review.
Honestly, I expected more. I sent 71 emails and got 11 reviews. 15% response rate. On the other hand, 15 positive Google reviews do make us stand out in the crowd. Moreover, this was just the first step. Next, we will go over the list with other member of the team. I'm sure they will identify more patients to contact. In some time, I will do another round of mailings.
You can easily do this in your practice. It does not require big investment on your part.
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