Preserve, Protect and Defend: Healthcare Reputation Management Tactics
Doctors aren’t the only people concerned about their online reputation. It is every brand, business and service provider with an Internet presence. But there are higher standards of quality with healthcare reputation management.
Health care delivery in America is more intimate than an Amazon shopping experience. Consequently, patient experience has become a significant driver of success. Among the dozens of influential review sites are the larger and well known names. These include Healthgrades, RateMDs, Vitals, Wellness.com, Yelp and ZocDoc.
Online ratings and testimonials influence new business. This includes hospital and provider selection, and the opinion of professional peers. Better than 70 percent of patients use reviews to find a new doctor. What’s more, online reviews are influential. Furthermore, over 90 percent of users visiting a doctor review site consider the reviews to be useful.
Protecting your online reputation…
Patient reviews, blogs and other online forums are highly influential. Here are some of the top tips for managing your professional reputation.
Encourage positive reviews, comments and patient input. Everyone wants to create the best patient experience. More than that, invite patients to use review sites. A stream of fresh, new comments brings balance to the review site.
Pay attention. For most medical practices and providers, reviews are vitally important. It’s worth an ongoing investment of time to track patient comments.
Understand how review sites work. Each platform has its own evaluation criteria. What’s more, each has its own rules for dealing with dishonest or inappropriate comments.
Acknowledge the issue and show a willingness to take action. A simple response might avoid a comment becoming a firestorm. Be willing to look into the matter.
Create new online content often. Create fresh pages and articles in your Internet presence. Use your blog and social media—LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc.—to improve your digital presence.
Keep all your listing details current and correct. Does the site have a good quality photo of you? Is the Name, Address, and Phone (NAP) info up to date, and consistent with your other listings?
Respond, reply or act quickly. Negative comments are best dealt with promptly. A quick response demonstrates concern and a willingness “to set things right.”
Proactively monitor and adjust...
In part, professional reputation is what people find about you online. Tracking the many times that this information appears on the Internet is daunting and time consuming.
We can help with that. The Healthcare Success reputation management solution integrates with over 45 online review sites. Give us a call today. We’ll let you know how our proactive process monitors and protects your online professional reputation.
What’s more, this system improves your relationship with your patients, ignites great word of mouth, and helps your business market itself. For more information, reach out to us today at 800-656-0907.
