Veterinary Online Brand Reputation Management | How to Automate Increasing Online Reviews

Being proactive about your online brand reputation will help you grow your practice… but how? Part One – Online Review Sites

As a veterinarian, I have received many handwritten cards, letters, and thank you notes from clients over the years; I cherish and keep every single one. They warm my heart and remind me of why I am in the veterinary profession.  Thanks are manifested in many ways but usually, in the form of cookies, brownies, homemade candy, pies, cakes, etc…our lunch rooms overfloweth with endless calories that most of us really don’t need.  You can hang the cards in your exam room, but you can’t really post a double chocolate cake on your wall for all to see.  Ask yourself, when is the last time you were given an online thank you in the form of a positive online review (that you know of)?

It’s no secret that angry people are far more likely to go the trouble of ranting online with negative reviews than satisfied customers.  It is no different in the veterinary world.  You should have a look at where you stand at the most popular rating sites because potential clients will choose the practice with the best ratings.

Once you have a look at your ratings and see where you stand, there really is no way to get negative reviews taken down.  The solution to the problem is diluting out bad reviews with five-star reviews.  Big brands employ Radian6’s Social Enterprise Solution at a cost of $10,000/month but believe it or not, you will be able to piece together some free services to help protect your brand but let’s first talk about a low-cost system that I have employed at my practices.

Driving your clients to dilute out low star ratings:

STEP 1

Identify the review sites that contain negative reviews about your practice.  If it is possible, print out the bad ones, read them, and then expect to seethe for a while.  You may see horrible reviews from a client you cut a break or even extended credit; this can be infuriating but know you are not alone.  Be sure to revisit them the next day when you have accepted that they exist – if it is possible to leave a comment in response to a negative review, never do so when you are emotional.

STEP 2

Once you have responded to any negative reviews (if possible), you are going to want to rank the review sites from lowest average star rating to highest average star rating.   For example, if on Yelp your practice has an average star rating of 2.5 and on Google maps your average star rating is 4.5, Yelp would rank number one and Google maps would rank number two.  This will give you an ordered list that will help you prioritize which sites you will first focus on in step five.

STEP 3

Your goal is to drive clients to the review sites with the lowest practice star ratings and to make it easy for your clients to leave a review.  Identify the URL for each rating site (i.e. www yelp com/your-vet-hospital) where a client would go to write a review then head over to Kayawa and create a mobile-friendly QR code.

STEP 4

Go to an online printing store such as Uprinting and create business cards for each review site that ask the client to leave a positive review.  Be sure to include the URL and the QR code so that the client has less of a barrier to leaving a review.

STEP 5

Armed with these cards, start handing them out to your most satisfied clients and start with the cards that link to the sites with the lowest star rating.  Over time, you will dilute your negative ratings and build a better online reputation.  Remember, if a client says they are going to bake you cookies, give them an out and hand them a card.  This is an excellent way to increase your rankings and lose some weight!

In the next issue, I will discuss how to monitor Twitter, Facebook, and the blogosphere for negative reviews and how to respond to those reviews.  With a little effort and some active monitoring of your brand online, you will find that the tables will turn in your favor and that your star ratings will improve significantly.

Did you know that VMF can automate the increase you need in your online brand reputation ratings?  The VMF team can export and sort your client email list and systematically target users by email type to provide them with the best link to leave an online review. Drop us a line if you are interested.