Why Value of Having Lots Of Google Reviews
At one time I would have suggested that having the highest rating and
enough Google reviews to protect your rating from falling when you get
that one bad review would be enough Google reviews, but I don't feel
that way anymore. To start, you have competitors who are getting reviews
every day. If you stop they will surpass you. But there are more
important reasons to continue to get Google reviews that you and many
dentists have probably not considered.
1) When you verbally ask a patient if they will do you a favor and write
a review for you and they do it, they are demonstrating that they are a
fan of your practice. If you or the staff member that asked them to
write the review contacts them immediately and thanks them for writing
the review, you will convert them into a Raving Fan.
2) Unlike a restaurant where you can reward the staff with a tip for
outstanding service, the only way a patient can reward you and your
staff for the same outstanding service is with a great Google review.
They want to do something for you to "tip" you and giving them an
opportunity to write a review is the best way to do that. It only takes a
few minutes and they know the reward they're providing to you is
extremely valuable and less expensive than a 20% tip.
If you've never asked a patient to write a review before you will be
surprised and delighted at their response ... as long as you and your
staff have provided outstanding service. Patients want to write reviews
for people when they feel special in your presence.
3) What do you think is more valuable: reading reviews on Google from patients about a dental
practice or a recommendation from a friend about your dental practice?
Personally, I'm more likely to pay attention to what my friend has to
tell me about his or her experience at the office. The more Google
reviews you have, the more likely it will be that when a prospect is
reading your reviews, they will see a review written by one of their
friends. That review just turned into a way more valuable personal
recommendation. The more reviews you have, the greater the likelihood of
a reader seeing a recommendation from a friend.
4) Patients write reviews for people, not practices. When you or your
staff verbally asks a patient if they will write a review for you
(without being pushy, leading or needy) they are way more likely to
write a review because they've made a personal commitment to do so. If
you have a dental office in your community with 500 reviews or more or
if you see dental offices getting 5-star Google reviews every day, you
can bet that the dentist and the staff in those offices are proud of the
service they provide and they are personally asking a patient to
honestly write a review about their experience.
If your staff is not willing to ask a patient to write a review, you
must ask yourself why. Is your office busier than the offices that are
getting one or more Google reviews every day? I doubt it. Is your
patient demographic different from other dentists in your community?
Probably not. Is your staff giving you a million and one reasons why
they are not going to ask for a review or why the can't do it ... even
though you know this is the single most valuable and least expensive
marketing tool at your disposal? If so, I can promise you that it has
very little to do with the excuses they're giving you and a lot more
with what they are not telling you.
Let me leave you with this. When a staff member is proud of the service
they provide, they are proud to ask for a review because they know that
your office is worthy of it. If they are not comfortable asking for a
review, there are deeper issues that must be addressed first.
There are so many great benefits that accompany a patient review on
Google and the most important ones have nothing to do with you moving up
in the search results, or you being seen as the best dentist in your
community, or you getting more business based on your reviews etc. The
real benefit of having lots of Google reviews has to do with how many
raving fans you have working for you.
If your staff is proud of the service they provide and willing to ask
for a review but uncomfortable on how to ask, PM me and I'll send you
the script our subscribers who are getting 300+ Google reviews a year
are using to get those reviews. If you don't hear from me via the PM
link (which does not always work) , please contact me through the link
to our website below in my signature file.