IT ADVISER

How to salve the sting of bad online reviews

The do’s and don’ts that will help put a positive spin on a problematic patient encounter.

By Joe Dysart, Contributing Editor

While negative online reviews can be completely unsubstantiated, ophthalmologists must face a hard truth: the Internet never forgets. Without a strategy in place for dealing with negative reviews, a thumbs-down from a patient — or a series of patients — can stay on the Web forever, and thus erode confidence in your practice forever. Here’s what you can do to prevent that from happening to you.

Businesses must actively monitor review websites like Yelp to ensure their reputations are not being bad-mouthed.

THE POWER OF THE ‘NET

“The important thing to go for is let’s say four or 4.5 out of five stars, which you can achieve by nicely asking your happier, more extroverted, younger patients to ‘rate’ you,” says Emil Chynn, MD, MBA, owner of Park Avenue SafeSight in New York.

Indeed, according to a Harvard study released in 2011, a simple one-star ratings increase of Seattle restaurants on popular business rating website Yelp (www.yelp.com) spiked a 5% - 9% increase in revenues, according to the study’s author, Dr. Michael Luca, a professor at Harvard Business School.

Another study by Cone (www.conecomm.com), a public relations and marketing agency, found that 80% of people will change their decision to purchase an item or service based on a bad online review.

NIP IT IN THE BUD

Of course, the easiest way to head off a bad rating from patients is to solve the problem before it happens. Consumers often contact a business with a grievance before resorting to a flaming rant online.

One of the easiest ways to put out feelers for this kind of patient is to send an auto-generated e-mail after each office visit or service, asking the patient how the practice did and volunteering to solve any misunderstandings or mishaps.

Solve the problem at this juncture, experts say, and you’ll be dealing with someone who does not yet feel they are beyond the point of resolution, and is not eyeing their keyboard with thoughts of vengeance.

THE D-I-Y REPAIR

Of course, even with this tactic, some bad reviews will still slip through — threatening to permanently damage your ophthalmology practice’s online reputation. At this point, experts recommend the following best practices:

• Visit review services and claim a free account to manage your reputation. Most of the major online review services, including Yelp, offer free accounts to businesses, which they can use to monitor positive and negative reviews that appear, and respond to them accordingly.

• Keep cool. While it’s tempting to lambast a negative reviewer — especially if the review is unsubstantiated — resist the temptation. Instead, work to restore your reputation only after your emotions are in check.
“Give yourself a cooling off period,” says Luther Lowe, director of public policy at Yelp. “When someone is using a public forum like Yelp to attack something you’re pouring your heart and soul into, a very natural response is to get emotional. Don’t. The last thing you want to do is overreact to someone online.”

• Stay completely positive, if possible. Generally, the best solution is a private, offline response to a patient that offers a concrete solution to their complaint and essentially turns a negative patient into a positive one. And if your business is in the wrong, own it and make authentic amends.

THE PRIVATE OVERTURE

“On Yelp, a business owner can respond privately or publicly,” Mr. Lowe says. “We recommend starting with a private, diplomatic response.”

Specifically, Mr. Lowe recommends using this script:

• Introduce yourself. (“Hi, It’s Bruce, the owner of ...”)

• Thank them for the review. (“Thank you for sharing your feedback ...”)

• Apologize. (“I’m deeply sorry you didn’t have a five-star experience with us ...”)

• Acknowledge the complaint and explain what you’ve done to fix the problem.

• Don’t be too defensive. As tempting as it is to try to convince reviewers to see things from your vantage point, it’s easy to come off as dismissive of their accounts.

• Invite them to return. (“We hope you’ll consider joining us again. Here’s my direct contact information if you do ...”)

“Remember, it is vital to be professional and ingratiating,” adds David Tucker, co-founder, RightNow Communications (www.netrafic.com), a search engine optimization marketing firm.

Or put another way: Embrace the time-tested mantra, ‘The customer is always right.’

GO PUBLIC IF YOU MUST

Inevitably, some complaints are irresolvable via back channels, and you’ll have to go public with a response. Take care in these instances to come off as a consummate professional who is looking to satisfy patients.

“The office should respond to the review in a professional manner, acknowledging the issue and stating what they are doing to correct the situation,” says Kathleen Fealy, president, KF Multimedia & Web (www.kfmultimedia.com), a Web design firm that does work for ophthalmologists.

Adds Yelp’s Lowe, “Don’t view the public comment feature as an opportunity to nitpick at slight inaccuracies within a review. Instead, it’s a chance to demonstrate to would-be customers that you’re on top of your customer service.”

Let me repeat: Do not be defensive. “Getting your side of the story out isn’t as important as demonstrating you can keep your cool when problems arise and that you care about customer feedback,” Mr. Lowe says.

“Don’t engage in a back and forth,” adds Ms. Fealy. You may never win that patient over, but by taking the high road, you can come out ahead in the public perception battle.

Joe Dysart is an Internet speaker and business consultant in Manhattan. His e-mail is joe@joedysart.com, and website www.joedysart.com.