Managing Your Reputation Online – Tip #3

Posted by on February 11, 2012 · 1 Comment 

The last time you did a search on your name or practice you most likely saw a listing with a star next to your name?  Maybe three out of five stars?  Or, an excerpt of somebody describing an experience at your office?

Online consumer rating sites are popping up every day and your practice is not included in their service (see our article, Physician Rating Sites – Friend or Foe?) . These sites provide an outlet for patients to share their experience with others. Users post reviews, ratings and comments – and they all have an impact on whether a potential client will choose your office over a neighboring competitor.

Different sites use different jargon to determine rankings, but what you need to be concerned with is what patients are saying about their experience at your office. The more ratings you have, the higher ranked you become. The better the rankings, the more patients will call for an appointment, at least that’s how it works in theory. Conversely, negative reviews will help to keep your waiting room empty.  And, all ratings and user comments (good or bad) will show up in your online profile and subsequently become part of your efforts to manage your online reputation.  See this report by Katie Couric on CBS Nightly News about this very thing.

There has been some question as to whether the sites matter as much for physicians as they do to a restaurant, let’s say. A recent study released by Tara Lagu, a physician at the Tufts University School of Medicine, says that patients aren’t too interested in rating their doctors, especially if the experience was sub-par. The study examined 33 physician rating sites and they found that 88 percent of the reviews were positive, 6 percent were negative and 6 percent were neutral.

That’s great news right? It could be. The data may prove to be inconclusive however, as only 190 reviews were used for the study. Either way, you’ll want to make sure of two things:

1.       Your office is listed. You’ll want to be listed and reviewed by, at least, several patients. The sites even give you an opportunity to claim “ownership” of the page if it is your business. Claiming ownership and spending ten minutes to update your profile is incredibly useful, not only for search engine optimization, but it also serves as a free listing for you to put your brand, phone number, location and even photos on the site. Take advantage of the opportunity.

2.       You aren’t one of the negatively reviewed doctors. You want every review to be as positive as possible. Stars, thumbs up, numerals – whatever the system the site uses, you want to be at the top.

One of the most common questions physicians are asking right now include: “What are these sites?” and “How can I change my ratings?” See our video, Physician Rating Sites and BoostingYour Reviews.

Ask your patients for help.  One easy thing we’ve done for our clients is to create a small card (size of a business card – but it could be a postcard, a sign in your office or even a tablet computer handed to your patient while they wait) that our doctors can put in the pocket of their scrubs.  When you come across a patient who you believe has had a positive experience with you and your practice, hand them the card and ask them to ‘rate their experience’.

We have a client made up of 18 physicians and countless front-line employees and support staff.  Part of our program with this client is to provide regular monitoring of physician rating sites.  We were in our monthly marketing committee meeting this week providing a review of the month’s activities and found that the one doc who sees the oldest patients (i.e., the patients we would not expect to be going online) actually had the most reviews.  His patients are so loyal to him that they want to share with the world. He’s also the one physician we would have thought would have had the least positive reviews but it became glaringly obvious that his bedside manner with patients is completely different than his business manner.

Ultimately, you will not make everybody happy but whatever you can do to create a positive experience for your patients will help in maintaining good reviews and managing the reputation you have worked so hard to establish.

 

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