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How to Ask Dental Patients For Online Reviews?

by | Jul 7, 2022 | Dental Office Reviews, How to Ask

If you’re reading this blog, you likely already know that getting dental patients to leave reviews is vital to your practice’s reputation management and can strengthen patient acquisition and retention. The problem for most dental practices—from start-ups to established businesses—is knowing how to ask dental patients for reviews.

The review request process needs to work for your already busy front-office team. Too many manual processes or steps and it’s likely your well-intended system updates won’t last. And of course, you don’t want to seem pushy or sales-y when asking patients, potentially resulting in negative reviews.

While these are all logical concerns, asking dental patients for reviews does not need to be a labor-intensive and time-consuming process. There are several different approaches your team can pursue to ask dental patients for reviews, ranging from automation to incentive-based. In this post, we’ll walk you through some of these options and show you how to get your whole dental team onboard!

Tap into your loyal patient base

If you’re nervous about negative reviews or want to capitalize on the proverbial “low-hanging fruit,” ask your existing base of loyal and raving fans to leave you a review. During your morning huddles, pull up your huddle report for the day and identify your happiest patients who are most likely to happily leave a review.

As these patients are checking out, ask them to leave you a review, directing them to your preferred review platform via your website or directly to the review page. You can even sweeten the deal by offering complimentary items such as toothpaste and toothbrushes or a $5 or $10 gift card to a local coffee shop. Don’t forget to motivate your staff to ask for reviews as well!

By going after your happy patients first, you can build up a roster of positive reviews and your team’s courage at the same time.

Harness the power of QR codes

The pandemic gave quick response (QR) codes a comeback thanks to their versatility and ease of use. These digital tools are used everywhere from restaurants for digital menus to hotels for room service or customer feedback surveys.

So why not use this handy tool to help your dental practice get more reviews? Here are some ideas:

 

  • Print QR codes on a table-top display to put in your practice’s reception area. When patients are checking out, have your team members ask them to scan the QR code to leave a review. The QR code can link to your Yelp!, Healthgrades, or Google My Business page.
  • If you send postcards to patients to thank them for coming in, consider adding a QR code with a link to your review platform. Be sure to mail the card the same day as the appointment to ensure not too much time goes by after their visit.

However you decide to use your QR code, ensure your call to action is direct and clear, such as “Scan me to leave a review.” If patients have to think too hard about what to do next, they will ignore the request.

 

Send automated review requests

Automation should always be in your practice’s toolbox. Features such as YAPI’s InstaReview allow your team to instantly send review requests to customers via text with a link to your online review platform. Patients can easily leave their reviews while they are in the office or when they get home.

You can also use automated email review requests if that is a patient’s preferred communication method.

Leverage social media

If you have a decent social media following, consider asking your patients for reviews on Instagram or Facebook. Use a photo of your team members or your warm and welcoming reception area to evoke an emotional connection. In the body of the post, keep your message breif. Ask patients to leave you a review and tell them why it’s important to your business.

Because people are bombarded with messages on social, it’s a good idea to offer patients incentives for participating—such as a discount on their next cleaning or a special goodie bag—making it harder to ignore your request.

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Once you’ve built up a collection of glowing dental patient reviews, keep the momentum going! Check out some of our other posts on how to respond to online reviews (and get more) and how to use reviews to market your practice at little to no cost. Happy marketing!