4 Simple Strategies for Boosting Your Practice’s Online Reputation

A practice’s online reputation really just means reviews and new reviews have the power to attract more new patients. 

A great reputation = new patients. New patients are a chance at more reviews and a gleaming reputation. It’s a powerful cycle. 

But if your practice doesn’t have a strategy for boosting your reputation, where do you begin? How do you become more visible to the 88% of consumers who trust online reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations? 

Here are 4 ultra-easy principals any practice can use today. 

Respond to Reviews (Especially Bad Ones)

Reviews you receive are an opportunity to engage, whether they’re good or bad. 

‍Responding to Positive Reviews‍

• Prospects will see you as warm and friendly when you respond to positive reviews 
• Each response is a chance to boost your visibility in searches (e.g. mentioning chiropractic services in Salt Lake City in your response can help boost your ranking)
• It’s a nice thing to do and helps spread positivity 

‍Responding to Negative Reviews 

• Responding is a chance to set the record straight with the patient, and show to prospects that you’re there to make things right
• Being understanding, empathetic, and trying to provide solutions
• Always provide some opportunity for the reviewer to act and contact you directly

Encourage Patients to Leave Reviews

Most practices already do this. But if you’re still asking in person or handing out QR-code leave-behinds, you’re missing an opportunity.

To really boost your review numbers, you may want to use a review generation tool for healthcare. 

Tools like Swell plug right into your PMS system, so that you can send out review invites automatically as soon as a patient leaves after a visit. Since it’s text-message based, tools like these can boost your total number of reviews by 200-300% (yes, we counted).

Keep a Pulse on Your Reputation 

Sure, you can set up automated reviews and let them come in, but your reputation is crucial, and it requires a more proactive approach. 

Be sure to keep tabs on how many invites are going out, how many reviews you’re getting, and how your different practice locations are performing (tools like Swell make it easy).

Some practices are even generating reviews specific to their care providers. 

This is all data that gives you a broader view of how your practice as a brand is performing. If you notice dips in reviews or ratings, that’s a sign that you need to address something. 

Analyze Reviews, Share, and Adapt 

Reviews can be a treasure trove of information you can use to improve the quality of the patient experience. 

Take the time to regularly comb through them. Positive feedback can be a morale boost for staff members, and negative feedback can show you areas you can improve. 

Don’t just gather feedback, share it with your team and learn from it.

Final Thoughts

It’s not tough. Start paying more attention to what folks are saying about you online, and work to make sure more people are taking part in the conversation. In time, you’ll start to stand out above local competitors and carve out a bigger niche as a healthcare provider. 

Curious how Swell can boost your reputation and presence? Book a demo. 

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