How to Generate Positive Website Reviews and Testimonials

There’s a lot that happens in the customer’s journey. Many patients do research on the company and the doctor before setting an appointment. Reviews are a big part of any business because many customers read reviews before making any decisions. There are many ways to encourage your audience to write reviews, and often, different methods work for different types of businesses.

Ideas to Help Generate Positive Reviews and Testimonials

• Include a link in your email signature to your Google My Business profile.

  Ever get an email from someone and they have an interesting signature? Some professionals use social media icons, perhaps include their website address, or even a slogan. You can also include a link to your company's GMB with a quick phrase such as "Share Your Experience With Us" when responding to certain individuals that you know may take interest. 

• Tell your audience where to leave reviews.

  Aim for Google or Facebook first. These are the top places that patients will look for directions, information, and reputation. Afterwards, they may visit Vitals, Healthgrades, or elsewhere seeking the experience of others. Create interesting posts, perhaps with appealing related graphics or video, and share on social media where your audience can go to leave a review.

• Send follow up emails.

  Follow up emails are great in many different situations. For getting more reviews, you can send a follow-up email asking how your patients are enjoyed a visit to your clinic or perhaps an event, and if they’d be willing to leave a review on the platform that you choose. Include the unique link that we talked about earlier so the process for them is much simpler.

• Maintain good customer service practices by always checking your email and phones.

  Make sure that you’re always checking the email that is listed as your main point of contact on your website, and be sure you’re watching the phones. If someone is trying to reach you to ask a question, be available to help fix the issue.

• More information on the site means fewer emails and phone calls with questions - making the experience much simpler.

  Have enough information on your website so you can limit the number of messages, emails, comments, etc. of people asking the same or similar questions over and over. Include extra details that you may receive a lot of questions on. This helps your patients (while also helping ease the load in your inbox) but even these small changes could lead to a more positive experience and positive reviews online.

• Share positive testimonials on your website.

  Sharing positive reviews on your website can help to get others to leave a review of their own. If someone sees a review that’s similar to their experience with your brand, they may be more inclined to leave another review. It also shows your potential patients, who may not actively be checking for reviews, that previous patient had great experiences. This helps build some trust in the brand, especially if it’s a smaller locally-owned company that consumers may not have heard of previously.

• Respond to every review, even the negative ones.

  Responding to the positive reviews gives you the opportunity to say thank you. That can often lead to repeat business and brand loyalty as well. You should also be responding to the negative feedback, no matter what it may be. It’s good practice to respond to negative reviews and say thank you for the feedback and then see how you can fix or resolve the situation or just improve going forward. Many people writing negative reviews don’t expect the brand to respond to their review, so stand out and show them that their opinions and their experiences matter.

• Listen to the feedback.

  If a patient leaves a review stating that a bad experience, it’s important to respond in a genuine way that addresses the concern and a way to resolve it. Don't use the same responses to every good and bad review. Value the time that each person who left a review took to share their experience. 

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