Creating a strong online presence is key to keeping up with current patients and connecting with new ones, but it requires maintaining a reliable reputation. If visitors believe you cannot be trusted online, they may begin to question your practice as a whole. Maintaining and strengthening your digital reputation should a key part of your dental PR plan.
Tips to create and grow a great reputation
Every dental marketing strategy should include ways to hang onto patients once you have developed a relationship. It only takes one simple mistake or misunderstanding to lose a client. Because your reputation relates directly to how you are perceived online, you need to focus not only on the services you provide but how you interact with patients and other members of the internet community. Always keep these five tips in mind when you go online for your practice.
1. Establish trust
This might seem like a simple concept, but it can be incredibly easy to erode the trust of online visitors through small — but impactful — actions or nonactions. Before you make a promise to patients, be sure you can follow through with it. Something as simple as posting regularly, such as twice a week on the same two days, can establish a sense of familiarity and consistency your patients can come to rely on. Be transparent with patients, even if it means admitting a fault.
2. Encourage comments and reviews
Feedback is crucial for any business, online and offline. What your patients think of you matters, as these opinions can determine if a patient returns to use your services in the future. Take the time to listen carefully to patient needs and criticisms. Actively make changes based on feedback to show patients you care about their views, strengthening that relationship of trust. Encourage patients to leave positive reviews or to reach out by providing message boards or chat boxes directly on your website.
3. Be prepared for negative feedback
Any business will eventually face scrutiny or criticism from somewhere in the online community. This could come from a single negative review or from a competitor wishing to discredit you. When you discover it, never respond out of impulsive emotion. Take the time to consider the criticism and react in a professional manner.
4. Sign up for Google Alerts
Google Alerts is a tool you can use to discover what is being said about your practice on the internet. Simply type in terms that relate to your business to receive notifications from Google when similar results pop up. This can help you catch and address any negative comments about your practice before they go viral.
5. Admit to wrongdoing immediately
If you do fail to follow through with a promise or let a patient down, admit your mistake right away. Instead of simply offering an apology, discuss ways you plan to fix and prevent the same thing from happening in the future. Owning your mistakes establishes a professionalism and maturity about your practice that can develop trust in its own manner.
Develop a long-lasting reputation
Through organic marketing, you can create a positive link between your practice and trust. Doctor Genius can help you maintain your reputation and stay on top of essential online marketing content. Reach out to learn about our services.
Doctor Genius, located at 16800 Aston Street, Suite 270, Irvine, CA 92606, provides a range of services for practice success. We seek to meet our clients’ needs by providing a variety of marketing, SEO, practice optimization tools, and coaching to transform the healthcare experience. Though we work to provide the most accurate information, the content found on this website is solely intended for entertainment purposes. Therefore, we cannot guarantee that the information provided is entirely correct. You may not use the information on this site to cure, prevent, or diagnose a perceived medical issue. If you have healthcare-related needs, please speak directly to a healthcare professional. Never self-perform medical treatments discussed on this website. All images displayed are also for entertainment purposes only, and personal experiences may differ. Please note that the business tactics mentioned on this site might not be applicable to your industry or practice.
