Time to Review by Leigh McLintock

In a world dominated by the internet, customers are seeking out information online to ensure well thought-out purchase decisions. In this case, the customer is a patient and the purchase decision is choosing your practice over your competitors.

Having testimonials on your practice website is great, but unless a patient visits your website, testimonials don’t serve their purpose. That is why there is undeniable strength in reviews whether they be on social media sites, Google, Yelp or industry specific websites such as DefactoDentists.com.

Nowadays, reviews are arguably more powerful than any promotional advertising campaign. People buy from people, and people trust opinions more than they trust paid promotions.

Never underestimate the power of word of mouth. Think about it - how many times have you bought something or gone somewhere based on a recommendation from a family member, colleague, friend or someone on the internet? The same applies to patients looking for dental practices.

Reviews give credibility to your business. If they are positive, they are likely to guarantee you some new patients as well as repeat patients.

People want to be certain about what they are buying into. They want the best of the best and they won’t take risks.

Reviews won’t always sing your praises - you simply can’t please everyone. You should use less positive reviews to your advantage. Note down potential areas for improvement based on the comments and suggestions left from your patients.

Discuss the issues with your practice team and implement solutions to any of the problems.

Understanding your patient’s experience from their perspective and enhancing it wherever possible is vital if you want to retain them.

You could even publicly respond to a complaint so that others see that you don’t hide away from issues and that you offer to resolve. Without customers, there is no business. Without patients, there is no practice.

Reviews are not only beneficial for practices. They can be particularly useful for patients with specific needs, for example phobic patients, parents who are looking to register their child with a dentist or for patients looking for a specific treatment.

If you have a specific field of dentistry that you focus on, reviews endorsing your skills in these areas could see a surge in patients wanting to visit you.

Google offer the most widely read reviews, closely followed by Facebook and other social media channels. Ensure that you are represented on all of them with at least one review. It helps massively with your website’s SEO. Some websites offer a sharing of reviews, such as DefactoDentists.com who share each Defacto review on to the clinic’s Google account.

So ask your patients for reviews, not only to boost your credibility, but to help prospective patients. A few positive reviews every month could make all the difference.

Leigh McLintock Defacto’s Social Media Manager, covering multiple channels for DefactoDentists.com, DentaltownUK and most recently BlueGloveJobs.com. Her degree in International Fashion Marketing brings with it a very fresh approach to managing social media in dentistry.