3 Reasons Why You Should Choose a Reputation Management Service

October 29, 2020

3 Reasons Why You Should Choose a Reputation Management Service

Have you ever received a negative review from a patient? You are not alone.

Negative or unfavorable reviews are sometimes inevitable. They are part of our online world, but the impact they have on your practice depends on how you respond to them.

In a recent Software Advice survey¹, 66% of patients who responded feel it’s “very” or “moderately important” for providers to respond publicly to online reviews. For a small practice, that may sound like a daunting task considering how many healthcare-specific rating sites there are for physicians.

Although responding may be time consuming, it is an important task that cannot be overlooked. 90% of patients use online reviews to evaluate physicians. If a negative review is left, 36% of those patients would overlook it if the provider responded to them thoughtfully.

So, what is an independent practice to do?

Your practice could manage reviews on its own, but the additional responsibility of monitoring your online presence all day could burden you and your staff. It could take away from more important ones at hand – mainly, your patients.

If you are struggling to keep up with your online reputation management, get help quickly. A solution is having a 3rd party manage your reputation and online presence for you.

There are a multitude of benefits for having an outside firm manage your reputation management.

Here are 3 Benefits:

Impartial: It can be hurtful when a negative review is posted. A reputation management service can respond on your behalf; removing the emotional component that could possibly make a particular situation worse.
Knowledgeable: There is a gold mine of information that can be derived from both positive and negative reviews. An RM service can help you learn from your patients and outline improvements that can be made to your practice.
Dedicated: Responding to a negative patient review in a timely manner is critical. A RM service is there to consistently monitor and address situations as they arise; allowing you and your staff to focus on patient care.

It goes without saying, your online presence is something you cannot ignore. It is the first impression you make with most potential new patients. Of the patients surveyed, 71% use online reviews as a steppingstone to finding a new doctor. Hesitating today to respond to reviews may hinder the growth of your practice tomorrow.

¹Source: https://www.softwareadvice.com/resources/how-patients-use-online-reviews/#1