How To Get Google Reviews For Your Dental Practice: 4 Foolproof Steps
Struggling to get Google reviews for your dental practices? Never fear.
I’ll show you how to easily get Google reviews for your practice in just four simple steps. Before I dive into these steps, let’s quickly go over why getting Google reviews is so crucial.
Did you know that 88 percent of people trust online reviewsThis link opens a new tab to the Reputation Changer website as much as personal recommendations from friends?
That’s a staggering, mind-blowing number, emphasizing how crucial online reviews are for any business’s online presence, especially for dental practices.
A solid online reputation can make all the difference in attracting new patients and growing your practice. And that’s where Google reviews come in.
A strong presence of positive reviews on Google can increase your practice’s credibility, improve your local search rankings, and even drive more conversions.
So, what’s holding dental practices back from getting more Google reviews? Well, we’ve partnered with thousands of dental practices across the nation, and we help them increase their Google reviews.
In our experience, two common challenges arise repeatedly: time constraints and a lack of motivation.
Overcoming Challenges to Getting More Google Reviews
- Time Constraints: First, your team is already overwhelmed with tasks. They need more time to take on additional responsibilities.
- Lack of Motivation: Second, there has to be a compelling reason for them to prioritize this task over something else.
By addressing these two challenges, you can effectively enhance your online review profile.
From my 10+ years of working with the best dental practices in the country, I’ve seen the methods that top dental practices use to get more Google reviews.
And I’ll share these four easy steps with you in the next five minutes.
Step 1: Identify Patients Who Will Give Five-Star Reviews
A common mistake that dental practices make is overwhelming their team by repeatedly saying, “Alright everyone, we have to ask for lots of reviews today.”
While this might work temporarily, there are more effective long-term strategies for gaining dental reviews.
To set your team up for success during your morning huddle:
- Review the day’s schedule
- Go through the patient list
- Identify which patients are coming in
You don’t have to ask every patient for a review.
Instead, focus on asking satisfied patients.
Once you’ve identified these patients, find out if any team member has a special relationship with them.
The team member with the strongest connection should be the one to request the review.
By consistently obtaining just two new patient reviews a day, your dental practice will quickly become known as the most reviewed in your area.
Step 2: Use a Review Link to Help Patients Give Reviews Quickly
You don’t want to miss out on a five-star Google review because your patient isn’t sure where to write it.
Many patients have never written a Google review before, so having clear, simple instructions is essential.
Your Google Business Profile provides a link that you can simply text to your patient.
The patient clicks the link, selects the star rating, writes their review, and voila, it’s done.
As the owner or manager of your Google Business Profile, you can easily obtain this link while logged in.
Step 3: Create an Incentive for Your Dental Team to Get More Reviews
To achieve your desired review count, you want to establish a clear team goal.
If you’re unsure where to start, consider these options:
Aim for a minimum of 40 reviews or ensure that your average rating stays above 4.5 stars while simultaneously getting more five-star reviews.
Strive to have more reviews than any other practice in your community
Or…
Set a goal to double your reviews in 90 days.
Maybe it’s obtaining just one new review per day.
Once you’ve set a goal, create incentives—make it fun for your team.
Don’t incentivize your patients, but do incentivize your team.
Most of your dental patients, especially those who love your practice, will be more than happy to leave an online review if you ask them.
They’re not going to do it on their own.
So, your team’s role is crucial in reaching your goal.
Consider rewarding your team with incentives like a team lunch, manicures, or pedicures for everyone—yeah, even the guys, because they like them too.
Maybe it’s a $5 Starbucks card or a raffle for something unique.
Don’t skimp on incentives.
The value of a strong review profile is immense, and practices with excellent review profiles tend to be the most valuable marketing assets.
Step 4: Use Dental Review Software
In step two, we mentioned texting a link to your Google Business Profile, and that works great.
But if you send a text from your phone without a HIPAA-compliant texting system, your dental member’s phone number will be recorded on the patient’s phone, which can start to raise potential HIPAA compliance issues.
This is primarily because your team members will now have patient phone numbers on their personal phones, which is not good.
Additionally, if you’re using that method, your patient must have a personal Google account to leave a review for your practice.
The solution is to use a HIPAA-compliant texting service.
These services allow your team to send texts from their phones without sharing personal phone numbers, having all communication encrypted from end to end.
Using a HIPAA-compliant texting service also provides the patient with different review options.
If the patient doesn’t have a Google account, then they can review your practice on platforms like Facebook, Healthgrades, or another online review site.
Another advantage of a HIPAA-compliant review service is the ability to automate the process.
Your team can easily become overwhelmed with other responsibilities. Maybe they just forget to ask for those reviews.
These software services will integrate with your patient management system, they’ll automatically send out a review request after the patient checks in at the front desk.
Ask us how we can help your practice get more dental reviews using our technology, our training, and our support.
Optimize your Google Business Profile
Now, of course, having an optimized Google Business Profile to complement your amazing reviews is super important.
