Reputation management is a growing industry that seeks to influence people’s attitudes and thoughts towards a person or other entity. With the advent of the Internet, an increasingly large number of people research a doctor online prior to making an appointment.
Given that comments and reviews tend to hang around on the Web for years, anything negative about you as a person and as a doctor is likely to pop up every time someone looks you up. An embarrassing incident or a malpractice suit, even if they happened a long time ago, are inescapable these days.
Critical to the success of your medical practice
A good reputation is irreplaceable. Few people would be foolish enough to book an appointment with a doctor they don’t know who happens to have a poor reputation online. Research has shown that most people will avoid a person or product if they read a negative comment about them online.
That’s why a positive online reputation is critical to attracting new patients and retaining existing ones. But here’s the bad news. There’s a limited amount you can do to influence your reputation online, given that artificial intelligence systems are governing what we get to see about anyone.
What you can do about your reputation
Although there are limits to what can be done to correct or counteract a poor reputation online, online reputation management for doctors can go some way to restoring a more balanced Internet reputation.
It forms part of marketing for the health professional, seeking to deal with negative things like poor health reviews and bad press, both of which might well constitute a serious threat to the future success of your practice. Having a plan for negative publicity is far better than flying into a panic in the event of a PR disaster.
Reputation management for doctors
Firstly, it’s important to realize how important your online reputation is. In the event of negative coverage, respond quickly, but don’t resort to being aggressive. Instead, flood the Internet with positive content about your practice.
Get social media platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn buzzing about positive things related to you and your practice. Make sure your practice has a professional website with a substantial bio section about you and any colleagues you may have.
Create a blog with unique content to keep your positive content rate up, and allow user comments to which you or your representative respond timeously.
Always respond quickly
The bottom line about reputation and your practice is that you’re unlikely to please everyone, in spite of your best efforts. Whatever commentary you attract, respond to every single comment, whether negative or positive.
Always do so politely and respectfully, and avoid responding yourself if you’re feeling emotional about a negative comment. Make sure your response is factual, and avoid the temptation to get into an argument.
If necessary, delegate responding to another member of your team, or even a professional. If the criticism is valid, respond to it and explain how you will do better next time.
Train your staff
But it’s not just you who influence your practice’s (and your own) reputation. Your staff is key to the type of experience every person who visits you has. Research shows that people find friendless of staff and how easy it is to schedule appointments more important than other information they read in online reviews.
It follows, then, that your staff need to behave in ways that enhance the reputation of you and your practice. This will probably require training your staff either yourself, or bringing in professionals. Either way, effective reputation management is critical for doctors.