How to get more 5-Star Reviews

by | Sep 24, 2019 | Dental Office, Practice Advice | 0 comments

In a research study that was published this summer, 1500 people were surveyed to find that 43.3% select their dentist based on online reviews.

This was followed by: Closest to me at 19.4% and top-ranked in the search result at 18.4%.

What does this mean?  That more people are choosing their new dental practice based on reviews than any other factor.

So if you don’t have a plan to receive more online reviews you better make one!

In this post, we give you 4 ways you can increase your reviews.

1. Give patients a fantastic dental experience.

It feels good to write reviews.  Especially if the experience is 5-star worthy!  Make sure every patient that walks through your doors is given the best experience, and they won’t be able to leave you a review fast enough.

2. Simply ask.

 If you have patients that are always raving about how great you are, reply with:

“Hey, we love the feedback.  It lets us know we are doing something right.  Would you mind telling others how great we are doing by leaving a review on Yelp, Facebook or Google?” 

They might not have even thought to write a review, but will be more than happy to do so!

Also, a cute framed sign by the checkout counter can also be effective.

Something like this!

 3.  Send out reminders to write a review.

This has gotten me to write many reviews for my Dentist, Eye Doctor, Chiropractor, basically anyone that has my contact info and can send a text or email with a link to where I can leave a review.

Many of the patient tracking systems that integrate with your dental software offer the ability to text and email reminders for appointments and request reviews.

If you don’t have one of these programs, I highly suggest you get one.

If you do have one, input an automated text that will go out within 24 hours of the patient leaving their appointment with you that says:

“We loved seeing you!  We would love to hear how your appointment went.  Please leave a review here.”

And include a link to wherever you would like them to leave a review.

Most patients are happy to take a pause from their workday to leave a review.

WARNING: If you had an unhappy patient, make sure you turn off this review request right away, to avoid a bad review.

4. Turn writing a review into a fun contest.

Whenever my practice was in a review rut, I would do an email or text blast with a fun contest.

Something like this:

“We love our patients and we hope you feel the same way!

If you do!  This is a contest for you!

We have a gift card for a massage at (local massage/spa) and we would love to give it to one of our patients. 

Here is what you have to do to win!  

Head to any review site:

Yelp
Facebook
Google
Healthgrades
Vitals
ZocDoc 

And leave a review.  All reviews submitted between now and October 20th will be put into a drawing.  The drawing will be held October 21st and the winner will be announced then!” 

Make sure to take a video of the drawing to post to your social media accounts.  And if the person comes in to collect their winnings, make sure to get a picture with them and the doctor!

You can hold these contest quarterly to quickly build up your review sites.

And there you have it.

These 4 little steps are simple, easy and extremely effective when it comes to gaining the reviews you need to bring in new patients.

Tip: Many of the Office Managers and Front Office Personnel on DirectDental have experience in marketing dental practices.  If you feel this is something you need help with, DirectDental makes finding those candidates easy!  Simply check the Marketing box under skills to pull up the candidates that have that skill set!