Nowadays, people crave convenience, especially when seeking services. Consumers often look to reviews for simple guidance to help them make better decisions. 85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as recommendations from friends and family, while 73% trust local businesses with positive reviews. Almost 94% of customers say that an online review convinced them to steer clear of a business when they read a negative review.

The same is true for patient reviews. According to DentistryIQ, roughly half of current patients would leave their network for a doctor with favorable online reviews. When clients leave positive reviews online, it helps attract new clients looking for a dentist. The following are four ways to get 5-star reviews from your dental patients:

1. Ensure quality dental care.

It is impossible to have positive reviews without providing excellent service. It’s your responsibility to make sure patients have a superior experience at your practice, from the initial consultation to customer service to the quality of care. The key to providing the highest quality care to your patients is to continuously assess your in-house operations and customer service protocols.

2. Feel free to ask your satisfied patients.

It’s difficult to beat a patient who is happy and satisfied with your service and ready to rave about it. These are the patients you want to ask to leave a positive review of your practice. It’s a win-win situation: They will feel valued for their opinion and empowered to spread the word about your practice.

3. Encourage positive reviews.

Include positive reviews in your social media, digital ads, radio ads, and other marketing channels. You can also use these reviews to attract new patients by motivating other patients to share them. It is critical to promote positive reviews as a form of online word-of-mouth marketing.

4. Maintain a positive online reputation.

There are pros and cons to having an online presence. Despite your best efforts, there will be times when a patient is not satisfied with your services. It’s most likely that they’ll leave negative reviews, which can hurt your business.

That’s why online reputation management is so important. You should respond to any negative reviews of your dental practice as soon as possible, as 53% of customers expect businesses to reply within a week. Ensure that you claim your Yelp, Google My Business, and Healthgrades accounts so you can respond to any negative reviews.

Positive patient reviews are essential to the success of your dental practice. Having a strategy in place to encourage positive reviews from your patients should be a top priority in your marketing strategy. By doing this, you can increase your chances of gathering 5-star reviews. Positive reviews are critical to acquiring new patients while retaining current ones. For more information, please contact our dental consulting office to schedule a consultation.