Blog

Dental Reputation Management Tips to Win Patients Over Online

August 2, 2024
4
min read

Key Takeaways

  • Online reviews significantly impact patient acquisition and search rankings. 
  • Positive reviews boost your practice’s visibility on search engines and attract new patients, with 90% of patients using reviews to evaluate providers.
  • Positive reviews build patient trust and loyalty. Credibility and trust gained from positive reviews encourage patient referrals and repeat visits.
  • Automating review requests saves staff time and improves operational efficiency. 
  • Timely and professional responses to reviews, both positive and negative, demonstrate your dedication to patient care.
  • Using patient feedback in marketing enhances your online presence.

Did you know that 84% of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations? Your online reputation matters, with 91% of consumers saying online reviews impact their impression of the businesses they choose. That’s why dental reputation management isn’t something you can ignore.

Let’s explore some effective dental reputation management tips using digital tools, including a detailed look at how Doctible can help streamline this process.

Leaving an online star rating using a phone.

Why Online Reputation Matters for Dentists

Online reviews significantly impact patient acquisition. Studies show that 90% of patients use online reviews to evaluate healthcare providers. Nearly half of patients will also go out of network if it means choosing a provider with good reviews.

But patients aren’t the only ones paying attention to your online reputation — Google cares, too. Positive reviews enhance your practice’s visibility on search engines. They make you appear more credible and competent, which may help you rank higher in search.

Local SEO is crucial for attracting patients searching for services “near me.” These patients are actively searching for a dentist, and many of them will call you the same day they find you in search results.

Benefits of Effective Reputation Management

Managing your online presence is a powerful marketing strategy that pays off immediately and over time. Reviews don’t disappear, so they can continue working for you long after patients have left their feedback.

When done correctly, dental reputation management can offer the following benefits:

  • Enhance patient trust and loyalty: Positive reviews build credibility and trust with potential patients, and loyal patients are more likely to refer your practice to others.
  • Increase new patient acquisition: A strong online reputation attracts more new patients.
  • Rank higher in search results: Online reviews are one of the most powerful SEO strategies, as reviews help you gain visibility and ensure your practice stands out in local searches.
  • Improve your operational efficiency: Automating review requests and responses saves your staff time, allowing them to focus more on patient care and less on administrative tasks.
  • Learn from your patients to improve your practice: Reputation monitoring alerts you of potential problems before they become costlier problems, which can help you make positive changes within your practice.
  • Gain user-generated content to use in your marketing: Don’t overlook the opportunity to reuse feedback and reviews in your marketing, such as posting screenshots of reviews on your custom website or social media feeds.

The benefits of effective dental reputation management are truly infinite. Your reputation is everything, and trust that your patients are checking you out online long before booking an appointment.

Patient handing over documents to a receptionist.

Key Strategies for Managing Your Online Reputation

Your online reputation is something you can control if you make it a priority. Let’s look at some trusted strategies to improve your digital presence.

Request Patient Reviews

Online reviews can help or harm your reputation. However, the more positive reviews you collect, the less a negative review will matter. 

The key is to choose the right time to ask your patients to leave a review. You can automate review requests using tools like Doctible. Time review requests immediately after appointments for higher response rates.

Respond to Feedback

Think of online reviews as an opportunity to learn from and use patient feedback. Respond promptly and professionally to both positive and negative reviews. 

Take care to address negative feedback constructively to show your commitment to patient satisfaction. Sometimes, a negative review won’t harm your reputation if you respond to feedback in an appropriate and timely manner. 

Leverage Social Media

Social media can be a great way to learn about the patient experience, even if they don’t leave you a review. Social media platforms are essentially content creation sites, and you can use mentions of your dental practice to boost your image.

Engage with your audience on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, and share positive reviews and patient testimonials. They prove that people know and trust you and that future patients should, too!

Tools to Simplify Reputation Management

Dental reputation management requires ongoing action. Here are a few ways to stay on top of your online presence without investing tons of time and money.

Automate Review Requests

Use Doctible to send automated review requests to patients via text or email. This removes the burden from your office staff and ensures you ask every patient to leave feedback.

Customizable templates ensure consistent and professional communication.

Monitor Your Online Presence

Doctible sends you real-time alerts for new reviews to help you stay on top of patient feedback. Use the dashboard analytics to gain insights into patient satisfaction and review trends.

Integrate with Practice Management Software

Doctible seamlessly integrates with EHR/PMS systems to streamline your review workflow. Manage patient communication and feedback from one place and track your progress over time.

Manage Your Dental Practice’s Reputation with Doctible 

Good dental reputation management can become a powerful form of marketing that works for you around the clock. With Doctible, you can put your reputation on autopilot until it’s time for action. 

Doctible offers comprehensive reputation management solutions for dental practices, including:

  • Automatically sending review requests to patients via text and email
  • Online reputation monitoring and alerts
  • Patient satisfaction metrics
  • Google Review auto-responder
  • Website content generation widget to display reviews directly on your website
  • Secure patient feedback collection
  • Integration with EHR and practice management systems
  • Tools to monitor online review trends
  • Ability to direct negative reviews to the practice for quick resolution
  • Additional tools to improve the volume, quality, and frequency of reviews

Because reputation monitoring is ongoing, dental practices can benefit from having the right tools. Doctible is the place to find everything you need to put reputation monitoring on auto-pilot.

Ready to boost your online reputation? Schedule a demo with Doctible today and see the difference it can make for your practice.

References

American Dental Association. (n.d.). Protect your practice’s reputation: Get tips for managing and responding to reviews on social media or other websites. Retrieved from https://www.ada.org/en/resources/practice/legal-and-regulatory/managing-dental-practice-online-reviews

Paget, S. (2024). Local consumer review survey 2024: Trends, behaviors, and platforms explored. BrightLocal. Retrieved from https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/

Morris, L. (2020). How patients use online reviews. SoftwareAdvice. Retrieved from https://www.softwareadvice.com/resources/how-patients-use-online-reviews/

August 2, 2024

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