A medical practice should embrace online reviews because they offer a trove of important service feedback. Ryan Miller from Etna Interactive offered this advice at the recent Vegas multispecialty conference, with specific reference to cases where doctors were able to deliver a better experience once they accepted that online review comments are helpful, rather than a hostile environment catering solely to “crazy patients.”
For instance, in Seattle I ran across a dermatologist who has developed a terrible Yelp rating and, hence, online reputation. But what patients are complaining about have little to do with the doctor’s skill or expertise. Instead, they center on the fact her billing is messed up, and she doesn’t accept credit cards. An easy fix…
Personally, I found reading anonymous online posts about myself or our company as a tough pill to swallow. I’ve gotten to accept that what matters most are the patterns that emerge from this feedback, not just a one-off commentary. I can use these patterns to improve our product, service, or my personal style and professional decisions. So, in line with this, here’s feedback I received from speaking Society of Plastic Surgical Skin Care Specialists (spsscs.org) on the topic “SEO is Dead-Social is Alive: Shifting Your Marketing to Social Media”:
I have room to improve…as does your practice.
