North Texas Dentistry Volume 6 Issue 2 | Page 18

practice marketing 3 Steps to More Reviews from SATISFIED PATIENTS by Marc Fowler Today’s consumer is conditioned to seek out “social proof” prior to making a purchase or selecting a service provider. The most important social proof for a dental practice is reviews posted online by patients. So, it’s not surprising that nearly every practice that contacts us wants to know how to get more reviews from satisfied patients. According to a recent BrightLocal survey, 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. In other words, nine out of 10 people trust reviews left on the internet by anonymous strangers as much as recommendations from their friends, neighbors or family members. 18 NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY | www.northtexasdentistry.com A lack of positive patient reviews poses several problems for a dental practice. Here are a few: If you only have a handful of positive reviews, a single negative review can have a big impact on your average rating score. n If the practice down the street has a lot of positive reviews, you are at a competitive disadvantage when it comes to attracting new patients. n Your star rating for your Google My Business listing isn’t visible in Google search results until you receive at least five reviews. n Without reviews, prospective patients aren’t able to receive that reassurance of social proof that they seek. n n The number of reviews has been shown to be a factor in Google’s ranking formula. Unless you ask, many of your satisfied patients will not even think to give you a positive review. And, you have to ask multiple