If you feel that the growth of your dental practice has slowed down or worse, you have lost a few of your patients to your competitors then, it is time for you to analyze the public perception of your business.
Many dentists find it surprising when they discover negative reviews or no reviews online for their dental clinic. The internet is a huge marketplace with untapped potential and it has the ability to attract, convert and retain new patients.
Managing your reputation online is very important and this requires careful nurturing and maintenance. In the next section, we have discussed what online reputation management for your dental practice entails.
What is Online Reputation Management for Dentists?
For most dentists, their reputation is the most important asset in marketing. The online reputation management for dentists is the process of controlling the conversations of your dental practice and keeping them in a positive light so that potential patients will choose your clinic over competitors.
It also involves encouraging positive dental reviews online, regularly monitoring the reviews for problems, quickly responding to the problems, and mitigating the risks.
Why does your dental practice need online reputation management?
Most potential patients Google a dental practice, and go through the reviews and the testimonials before booking an appointment. Having negative reviews or feedback can play a detrimental role.
Allowing negative feedback to go unanswered can be disastrous and will turn away potential patients from your practice. This leads to a decrease in appointments, more lead generation effort, and wasted productivity, which in turn impacts your revenue directly.
Online mismanagement of your reputation hampers your rankings on Google Search page and bringing them back up again is a herculean task. So you need to actively manage your online reviews as much as possible on review sites like Google Business Profile, Yelp, Facebook, etc.
Now that we have discussed the negative impact bad feedback can have on your online reputation, let’s look at the many benefits you can reap by having a robust plan in place to manage your reputation online.
What are the benefits of managing the online reputation of your dental clinic?
Online reputation of your dental practice can have a huge influence on your clinic and we have listed the many benefits you reap by proactively managing your online reputation.
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Great online reputation attracts many leads
More than 86% of dental patients rely on online reviews and testimonials in guiding them to a good dental practice. That is an astounding percentage and it far exceeds the impact of word of mouth recommendations. Hence a sterling online reputation is your ticket to good growth, good revenue a,nd higher SERP rankings.
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Your dental website will receive more online traffic
You can harness your website to become the first point of contact for your patients and build up your reputation at the same time. Instead of treating it like a business listing y,ou can treat it as a conversion engine. Generating organic traffic with this approach is the fastest way to get better marketing results.
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It is a great way to enhance the competitive edge of your dental practice
By proactively managing your online reputation you gain a competitive edge over other dental practices in the area as many dentists would not have prioritized managing the feedback they receive. This makes your dental practice stand out from the competition.
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Robust online dental reputation scales your rankings for the better
Positive feedback boosts your ranking and when Google or Yelp crawl your website they rank it according to “EAT”: Expertise, Authority and trustworthiness. The more positive feedback or reviews your dental clinic receives, the higher your ranking will be. If you don’t have new feedback for over a month or two then your dental office can scale down in the search rankings.
In the next section, we have discussed some tips that will help you manage your online reputation better.
How to manage your online reputation?
You can follow these tips to maximize the benefits of online feedback:
- Don’t Procrastinate: Manage your online reputation daily and acknowledge both the positive and the negative feedback left by your patients. This shows that you care about your patients.
- Encourage Feedback: Ask your patients to give their valuable feedback when they are leaving your dental clinic. If you realize a particular patient isn’t happy with the service you can remedy the situation then and there itself before it makes it to your business profile.
- Proactively handle negative feedback: When you receive a negative feedback don’t be dismayed, and flag it for removal. Instead, acknowledge the negative feedback and offer a plan to rectify the issue your patient faced. This demonstrates your willingness to serve your patients above and beyond what is expected.
Conclusion
Managing your online reputation can be a game changer that allows you to attract new patients and stand out from the competition. If your current system doesn’t allow you to manage your online reputation effectively then consider Helenzys Dent.
We provide effective digital marketing solutions that directly get you new patients allowing your dental practice to grow. We allow you to take better control of your online reputation. So if you want your dental practice to grow exponentially then contact us today.