Tips for Soliciting Reviews

Address Existing Reviews
Resolve any negative issues if you can taking care to not insult or be emotionally defense in your reply.

Personal Thanks
Don't neglect to personally thank a patient for posting an online review. Just as you would take the time to address a negative review, you need to insure you focus as intensely on the positive
reviews. Send a thank you note from the physician. This build good rapport and lets your patients know you care what is being said about you online.

Respond Quickly to Bad Reviews
Examine and investigate the problem and resolve it. If the negative review is warranted, thank the patient for the review and apologize for the bad experience. Customer often will return to their review to see if others, including you, have responded. Many times they will update their review once you have resolved the issue.

Ask For Reviews
At the checkout counter, and not to be pushy, ask for a review of the practice and/or procedure.
Any review. Let them know you take their opinions seriously and that you check feedback daily.

The More Reviews, The Better
No one is perfect and those businesses who post or display all positive reviews seem somewhat suspicious. Statistic prove that no matter how hard you try to please someone, eventually someone will have a complaint. Your goal then is to obtain as many good reviews as possible to overshadow the bad ones.

List Review Sites
Print on your appointment cards some of the popular review sites such as Yahoo! Local, Google Places or Yelp.

Participate on Review Websites
Look for review sites that have automatic features to reduce the chance of bogus reviews. Such sites will offer the merchant/business owner tools for responding to reviews and the ability to read and approve the review before posting. This enables you to be notified as soon as a review has been submitted, give you a chance to research it, and time to respond appropriately.

Use Facebook & Twitter
Creating a Facebook group and Twitter account for your business and post/ask for reviews.
Clients under the age of 30 are more apt to review on these forums.

Make Review Easy to Do
Post a feedback button or form or URL that your patients can utilize on your website, Facebook, Blog, Emails, Newsletters, Thank you cards, etc.
You can use a URL to direct your patients to a form on the web, or imbed a form in your website, Facebook application or blog.
For print materials, you can use a QR code to direct a smartphone to an online blog;

Here are some examples of ours:
Direct URL to form on our website: http://www.youngmedicalspa.com/Online_Review_Form.html
Direct URL to web-based form: http://fs23.formsite.com/rnpaula/form1/index.html
Direct URL to print form: http://fs23.formsite.com/rnpaula/form1/print

QR code to place on print materials to direct patients to form:

Provide Incentives at Checkout
Hand your patient a comment card upon checkout. The card should have easy to read questions  
and quick to check boxes to answer the questions. Tell your patients they will be entered into a weekly drawing for products or a gift of your choice (gift card to a restaurant, etc.) if they complete and submit before they leave.

Follow Up Request
Seven to fourteen days after your patient’s first appointment, send them an email to ask them how 
their experience was and whether or not they’d tell their friends about you. If the information they provide is valuable, ask them for permission to use it on your site.

Have a VIP Event
Have a testimonial party! Invite your best patients for a VIP event with free services such as 
shoulder massages, mini facials, make up applications and offer goodie bags with products. Have great food and music!
Invite your whole staff for a meet and greet! Have them fill out a testimonial card and drop it in a basket.  You can even give them an opportunity to make a quick video testimonial to put on your website (sign a release form first!)  Ask if they want to pose for a photo with your physician!  These make great marketing pieces and build and displays a loyal client base.
People will want to be invited to the next one!

Have a Review Analyst
Assign a web-savvy employee to patrol the popular review sites looking for reviews posted not 
only about your business, but also the business of your competitors. Have a process in place for immediate handling, processing and responding to reviews.

Paula Di Marco Young, B.S., R.N.

Owner, Social Marketing Strategy 101, LLC
 
Co-Owner, Young Medical Spa®