Patient reviews are a critical component of online reputation management, but many providers feel awkward asking directly. Learn how to ask patients for reviews.
Consistently acquiring positive patient reviews is one of most critical components to attracting new patients online. According to a study by Software Advice, which surveyed 1000 patients in the US, 71% of respondents use online reviews as a first step to finding a new doctor.
Positive reviews on Google are not only good for your online reputation, but they will also help with your SEO. Pages with more positive reviews, and especially more recent positive reviews tend to outperform their competitors in the search engine results.
Despite the importance of reputation management, many doctors, physicians, and medical practice owners feel uncomfortable asking for a patient review. Positive online reviews are so crucial you cannot afford to be shy about asking for a review.
Here are some simple ways you can broach the subject with patients, and feel less awkward doing it.
Realize writing and asking for reviews is commonplace
We as consumers are conditioned to leave feedback, whether we are commenting on a great restaurant experience in town, leaving a product review on Amazon, or providing a recommendation to a friend. People are more than happy to share about their experiences and to help guide others when they are searching for a similar product or service.
Your patients are leaving reviews and providing their opinion on other businesses, so why would they be resistant or uncomfortable leaving you a review?
Ask when you receive a positive comment
Patients are typically happy to give you or your associates a compliment. When you hear a patient providing praise you can say something like “thank you for the compliment. It means a lot to us to hear that. Would you be open to leaving us a review online to share your experience with others?”
Patients will be happy to share their positive experiences with others and it will help your practice convert more browsers to visitors. According to SideCar, positive patients boost conversion by 270%.
If you are asking in person it is helpful to have a card handy with a QR code that the patient can scan and with a link to your Google My Business review page. This will help to serve as a reminder and guide them to the right place to leave a review.
You can have a tablet in the waiting room with a pop-up display to give patients in the waiting room an option to leave a review while they wait. Here is an example of a 5 x 7 display from Shop Pop Displays.
Personalize your message
Make your patient feel special! You’re unlikely to get a response to a generic email asking to “review us please.” No one wants to feel like they are just another number. If you are sending automated communications make sure they are personalized with the patient’s name and try to strike a casual tone. If you sound desperate or needy, you will only push a person to not follow through.
Patient Review Email Example Template
Try to keep it short, simple, and casual. Here is an example template that you can use when asking for a review over email.
Hi <PatientName>,
I hope you don’t mind me getting in touch, but we’d really value your feedback on your experience so far with <Practice Name>.
We completely appreciate that medical visits can be of a sensitive nature, so you don’t need to be explicit about the reason for your visit. Just a few details about how you felt you were treated and what you thought of the overall experience.
You can click the link below to leave your feedback; it’ll only take a minute or so of your time.
<insert link to Google MyBusiness Review>
You don’t know what messaging will work until you try it. Test out different messages to different patients to find one that works the best.
How to ask for patient reviews in Person
At the end of a patient’s visit you can ask questions like ‘were you able to easily schedule your appointment?” or “have I addressed all of your concerns?” If the feedback they are providing is positive you have the opportunity to ask them if they are open to sharing their experience with others.
Conclusion
The best and most effective way to increase positive reviews on Google is simply to ask. Be proud of the care you provide and help guide your patients in a way that makes it easy for them to share their positive experience with others. You can also read our guide on 5 steps to increasing positive patient reviews on Google for more tips and tricks to managing your reputation online.