MARKETING

REVIEW

Sticks and stones will still break your bones ….

Words will hurt, too — if you can’t handle negative online reviews.

By Ryan Miller

In early 2015, our group studied the online reputations of 100 refractive surgeons, and the results were eye-opening. While the patient ratings were generally positive — more so on average than other medical specialties— 80% of the doctors had five or fewer total reviews (as did the other specialties, such as dermatology). This makes a frail foundation for an online reputation, which could take a serious hit from a single bad review.

In his 2011 novel, “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” psychologist Daniel Kahneman, winner of the Nobel Prize in economics, wrote about people’s general willingness to draw big conclusions from tiny sample sizes of data. As a December 2011 Vanity Fair article put it, Dr. Kahneman and his (now deceased) research partner Amos Tversky “demonstrated how essentially irrational human beings can be.”

This article will demonstrate why cultivating more reviews helps prospective patients get a balanced view of your practice.

Consider that:

• The number of patients relying on online reviews jumped 68% from 2013 to 2014 and continues to climb, according to Software Advice.

• A recent Software Advice study found that nearly half of the patients surveyed would go out-of-network to be seen by a doctor with favorable reviews.

• A BrightLocal study found that more than 75% won’t consider businesses with low ratings.

• Although many practices have been built on word of mouth, the overwhelming majority of today’s Internet users trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, according to Search Engine Land.

Whether you are motivated by attracting more patients or by the fear of losing them, it’s up to you to execute a proactive strategy to strengthen your practice’s reputation online.

3/4 of patients will
avoid services with
LOW RATINGS

INFOGRAPHICS COURTESY TONI DOUGLASS

When they aren’t looking

Just because patients don’t look for online reviews doesn’t mean they don’t see them. They may encounter your ratings during general online searches. Search Google for “Ophthalmologist San Francisco” and Yelp should come up first. When this article was written, 13 of the 17 organic and local listings on the first page of results featured review content.

Want to see what others are writing about you? Search for your practice name, the names of your surgeons, and your most popular procedures in combination with the name of your city (i.e. “LASIK San Francisco”). This exercise also will show you the online review sites that are most visible in your market. Private physician-finders for the insurance plans you accept also feature ratings, which could influence patients looking for in-network providers.

Negative review, common themes

Our ophthalmic study included quantitative and qualitative analyses of online reviews for 100 randomly selected U.S. board-certified ophthalmologists specializing in refractive and cataract surgery. The qualitative analysis categorized the most common themes expressed in negative reviews. Negative reviews related to poor communication (perceived rudeness, incomplete communication or failure to accurately set expectations) and bad time management (extended wait times and rushed interactions with caregivers) dominated the results, appearing five times more often than complaints about either financial matters or clinical outcomes.

Without checking their validity, we think the lesson is clear: Protecting the reputation of your doctors and practice requires you to deliver exceptional customer service and to respect patients’ time.

Proactive strategies

So how do you mitigate risk and achieve a representative portrayal of your practice online? You create a plan to impact the number and quality of the reviews that patients find about you and yours.

As you formulate your own reputation management strategy consider the 6 R’s:

• Focus on top rankings. Many patients will relate your prominence in search results to eminence in your field. Work to ensure that your own website ranks well for your name, your practice name, your specialty and proffered services in your market. (See SEO vs. SEM)

• Extend your reach. When you search your name or practice address, you will find that many “directory” websites outside of your direct control feature your business. Claim and enhance the existing listings, and create new ones on popular directory sites that don’t mention you.

• Earn high ratings. Only four in 100 Americans have created online ratings and reviews. The practices with the most ratings ask for them and do so day after day. Also, create tools to remind patients to share their experiences when they leave your office, such as printed cards requesting that patients review the practice on their own time, email reminders, and Web pages that help patients with the process (http://www.yumaeyedoctor.com/reviews).

• Cultivate rich text reviews. Long format reviews could do much more than engage and educate potential patients; they could help increase your search visibility. Keywords present in review content can influence local search engine rankings. Encourage patients to include lots of details when you ask them for their reviews.

• Prime your résumé. Most practices spend little or no time asserting the qualities and in-depth experience of their physicians. But think about it: It is the perfect spot for you to communicate your philosophy and background to the prospective patient. Take the time to present a compelling case as to why you deserve the patient’s consultation.

• Mind your response. As social media continues to permeate our culture and dominate our time online, your following and interactions here become more important to the average patient. Be mindful of how you respond, to detractors and to supporters. It’s not called “viral” for nothing.

Committing time to developing and maintaining a good online reputation can help diminish the impact of the inevitable negative review and attract more patients.

Case studies in reputation management

Your reputation management plan should be tailored to your unique circumstances. Consider the following two common scenarios, and notice how using the 6 Rs (and more) can help.

Case 1: Vulnerable in the Northeast

A practice in the Northeast hired us because it was poorly ranked, had just a few positive reviews and it had not secured reviews using “turnkey” reputation software. In 18 months, we used a layered approach to build a strong and defensible reputation. We helped the practice employ a few of these strategies:

1. Stop what isn’t working. Our specialists deactivated ineffective review automation software.

2. Take feedback. The practice paid closer attention to its existing feedback system and became quicker to respond to patient concerns.

3. Credential yourself. We better highlighted the surgeon’s unique training and experience.

4. Cultivate coverage. With each new positive story, we circulated it in blogs, industry publications and local media.

5. Take the top position. We implemented an effective search engine optimization (SEO) campaign to increase practice visibility.

6. Dominate local search. The practice claimed (then enhanced) its business listings on search engines, review websites and local directories.

7. Get early warnings. We implemented Google Alerts to notify us of new review posts.

8. Mind your replies. We coached the practice on how to respond to positive and negative reviews.

9. Help your patients help you. We created a Web page for patients who wanted help writing online reviews and finding the practice’s listings.

10. Ask for the review. The practice requested reviews at the conclusion of each patient interaction.

While the practice was hesitant to ask for reviews in the first six months, in the following year their appeals garnered more than 140 reviews with an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 across the most popular search engines and physician rating sites. Many of the tactics listed above also support SEO, leading to dramatic improvements in rankings and patient inquiries.

Case 2: Attacked in the Midwest

A surgeon in the Midwest cultivated a good online reputation using the steps listed above. But a surgical complication motivated one patient to attack his reputation. The patient posted multiple derogatory reviews to popular review sites; the practice identified her based on the content.

A response under such circumstances is challenging; who wants to dare a patient, already on the offensive, with a possible malpractice suit? Then there are HIPAA regulations to consider.

We worked with the doctor to develop a cautious course of action.

1. Get legal advice. The surgeon spoke with the attorneys of his medical malpractice carrier.

2. Talk it out. The practice told the patient it wanted to resolve her concern.

3. Make your case. We updated the surgeon’s training and experience on the related procedure page and included the real risks and potential complications of the surgery.

4. Play by the rules. We successfully petitioned one review site to remove a review on which the content was in clear violation of its terms of service.

5. Respond carefully. Together with counsel, the practice formulated a response to post to one review site.

6. Boost positive portrayals. We pushed the sites with the negative reviews farther down the first page of Google by applying the same search engine optimization tactics on those 3rd-party pages that represented the practice more fairly.

One bad review wasn’t going to sink the practice, but the experience was distressing nonetheless. It shows that even the best doctors are vulnerable to negative reviews.

By committing to a carefully planned strategy, you stand to gain new patients; grow your practice; and be better prepared to withstand any reputation challenges that could come your way. OM

About the Author
	Ryan Miller is the founder and president of Etna Interactive (www.etnainteractive.com) one of the medical industry’s most respected online marketing firms. With years of experience serving more than 300 practices worldwide, Ryan is a popular speaker recognized for his expertise in many areas, from SEO to social media, reputation management to mobile marketing.