Knowing how to respond to positive dental reviews is one thing, but do you know the why?
A good or bad reputation can mean the difference between a dental office thriving and expanding, or closing their doors for good. In the digital age, a dental office’s reputation is controlled by patients using online review platforms like Yelp, Google and Facebook to announce the quality experience publicly. The good news is that this lets practices easily monitor and manage their online reputation, a power they can put to good use by responding in a timely manner to the reviews they receive.
While negative reviews often get this most attention, positive reviews are as or more important! It’s important to respond to positive reviews to thank patients for taking the time to review your office and to encourage others to do the same.
With 98% of consumers reading reviews online, dental practices can’t afford to sit on the sidelines. An effective response will help ensure that a happy first time patient becomes a regular, and 70% of complaining patients will come back if you resolve the complaint in their favor. The first step is engaging with them.
How to respond to positive dental reviews
It’s simple. Thank the patient, name drop, promote and tell the patients what to do!
1. Say thank you and be specific
No one would let a compliment pass them by in real life. Apply that same principle to a review response! And make sure to reiterate your patient’s compliment. This let’s the patient know that a real person took time out of their day to acknowledge them, and that feels good.
“Thanks for the great review, [Patient Name]! A lot of love and hard work goes into our practice, so we’re glad you had a positive experience at your dental appointment.”
2. Use the practice name and keywords
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to drive your practice up in search results—positive reviews work wonders in search. Referring to your office name and location helps index that review online.
“Thanks, [Patient Name]! Here at [Practice Name], we care about making your visit comfortable, and strive to be the best family dentistry practice in [City Name].”
3. Market, market, market
Does your practice have a specialty? Are you adding a new dental service? A review response is a great place to get the good word out. A lot of eyes will be on this response, and now’s your chance to get the patient to come back for more services, and coax other readers into wanting to visit your office as well.
“Thanks for your visit, [Patient Name]! We pride ourselves as the leader in dental cosmetics in [City Name]. If you are pleased with your recent results, make an appointment to have other cosmetics services implemented such as veneers?”
4. Give your patient a task
Not as scary as it sounds. Invite the patient to consider a new dental service, refer a friend or schedule an appointment for a family member!
“Next time, schedule appointments for your children as [Practice Name] also specializes in pediatric dentistry!”
As you can see, there’s a ton of potential hidden in a positive review response. Instead of one advertisement to rule them all, each review is an opportunity to sell your dental practice!