Dr. Gina Dorfman
Dr. Gina Dorfman is from Santa Clarita, California and graduated from USC’s dental school in 2000. She is the cofounder of YAPI, a true paperless solution for your dental office. They work with inter-office communications as well as patient communications. They can also help stimulate your online reviews which is important for SEO.
Why is it important for SEO and marketing to have reviews from patients on your pages?
Having Google reviews will bump you higher when you have the business three pack. This also helps with patient trust. A study done by Bright Local found that 88% of patients reported that they looked at online reviews before deciding on a health care provider, whether it’s a dentist or a physician or a chiropractor. And 79% of those people said that they trust online reviews as much as a personal referral. It’s very important to have an online presence to gain patient trust. Having no reviews is worse than having some bad ones. This not only makes your practice harder to find, but patients will be reluctant to trust that you exist.
Which company pages are relevant today for us to be on as dentists?
Google obviously is the main one. Make sure you’ve claimed your profile and include pictures, videos, and updated hours. Note that it takes 15 five-star reviews to offset one bad review. The next main one is Yelp. Make sure to claim your Yelp profile. Don’t forget Facebook because it can be viral. This platform makes it easier for a reviewer to share it with their friends and thus gain more exposure. One that’s a little less obvious is HealthGrades. While not many people check it specifically, it’s great for SEO.
Should you ask for reviews?
In short, yes. Asking personally increases conversion, especially after having a notably positive experience. You should say, “Thank you so much for sharing this feedback with me. I can’t wait to share with my team. Would you mind taking a few minutes and leave your feedback online? It would really help other patients who are looking for a dentist.” Then let them know that you’re looking forward to reading their review.
Keep in mind that Facebook and Google encourage you to ask patients for reviews, however, they don’t want you to solicit positive reviews only. Yelp does not want you to solicit reviews at all as it’s against their policy. Elite Yelpers’ reviews will be featured on your Yelp page since they are trusted reviews. To get trusted reviews and get away with not soliciting reviews is by having a giveaway in your practice for check-in’s on Yelp. If they check in, they get entered to win a prize. Host, Dr. Jarod Johnson gives out Coco Floss samples to people who post photos of their children having a good time at his office. If they check in, they’re more likely to leave a review.
Automation
Automation is great because if you get busy or don’t feel comfortable asking for reviews, it will ask them virtually. Another great feature of automation with YAPI is that you can disable it for patients that did not have a favorable experience. However, for the most part, send it out to everyone. Only 1% of patients will actually leave reviews. By sending it out to everyone you capture the reviews of people who hadn’t thought to leave one.
Should you Respond to a Review?
What is the best protocol to respond to a review? Are there HIPAA concerns?
It’s a good idea to respond in most cases. However, keep HIPAA in mind. You cannot acknowledge that the person has been a patient in the office. The response should be neutral. For a more personal response, send them a hand-written thank you card for leaving a positive review.
For negative reviews, take 24 hours before responding so you’re not giving an emotional response. Be objective and consider if the person who left the negative review is embellishing it. Think of it as a learning experience rather than a critique. Before you say anything online, reach out to the patient and see if you can resolve the issue. If the review is coming from someone you think is crazy, do not engage with them online. You’ll only be adding fuel to the fire. If the review seems reasonable make sure to address it. Remember you’re not there to counter the story. You’re there to respond for the next new patient who reads your reviews. Your response could read something like, “Thank you for sharing your feedback. While I can nor confirm nor deny that you’ve been treated in this practice, if you’d like to talk to me, I’d like to hear more about what happened. Give me a call personally.” By doing that you’re showing a perspective patient that you’re open to solving a problem.
How do I get YAPI?
The best way to contact YAPI is by going to their website, Yapiapp.com, and chat with the chat bot which will direct you to the correct resource. From their website you can schedule a live demonstration. You can also give them a call 949-535-1059 or email them at sales@yapicentral.com for more information.
To read the ebook that host Jarod Johnson mentions in the podcast, visit :https://yapiapp.com/gain-online-reviews/