Reputation Management: A Key To Business and Practice Growth

Do you know what others are saying about you online? If not, you certainly should. How others view you and your business online matters!

In today’s world of information sharing, what you say and what you do online can and does affect your real reputation. Your reputation is your Digital FootPrint in the world!

In the medical community where a fee for service practice lives or dies. It is critical to have a good reputation online in order to attract and keep new patients. What patients say about your practice or business sways the decision of others without you even knowing it.

All business owners should be proactive in managing their online reputation.

There are many tools for reputation management, but the tools that cost the least amount of money of which business owners and doctors have the most control over is to provide the best customer service and patient care from start to finish.

It starts with that initial conversation on the phone or email response. How does your staff answer the phone, are they courteous using words like Please and Thank You?

In business, you only get one chance to make a first impression. So the key to your business and practice success is to make sure that you hire a top-shelf Front Desk or Customer Service person, as they are the first impression that the customer gets about you and will make or break your business!

Our belief at Social Media Solutions for Doctors is that the least paid person has the biggest impact on your practice.

As for you the doctor and business owner, how long do your patients or customers typically have to wait before you actually start their appointment? On-time patient appointments leave a lasting impression. No one wants to wait for twenty minutes or longer to be seen. Their time is just as valuable as your time, and to make someone one wait an extended period of time shows a lack of respect and professional courtesy.

Additionally, keeping a positive and happy workplace environment creates the right energy for new patients to talk about your practice in a positive way online.

Lastly, dealing with a patient or customer complaint after initial service, treatment, or procedure has been completed is often a challenge, as some customers have unrealistic expectations.

In our Practice Development program, we often find that doctors or business owners tend to take the customer complaint as a personal affront to their professional skill or service. However, patient or customer complaints are often the gateway to developing better processes and procedures within your specialty or service offering.

Do you the doctor or business owner promptly address the concern or issues of a complaining customer. If so, you’re one of the very few who will typically have the best online ratings, reviews, and testimonials throughout the internet.

And for those who do not proactively deal with patient or customer complaints. They are the ones whose online reputation is soiled and will have empty seats in their office or will be down in revenue. This is especially true if you are a fee for service practice. No one pays out of pocket and expects to be disregarded or treated poorly. Remember, that patients or customers could have chosen someone else, somewhere else.

It really comes down to treating patients and people how you want to be treated.

There is no cost to being kind or polite but the benefits for your practice reputation is immeasurable.

At Social Media Solutions For Doctors, we use a priority system to check your reputation and then develop a plan of action to help you raise and improve your online reputation. This, in turn, can and does help grow your business and patient volumes and practice or business income.

Let us help you get your reputation back on track. Contact Us Today!