How To Respond To A Negative Dental Review

It’s only a matter of time before your dental practice receives a bad review, as it’s impossible to make everyone happy. It is essential, however, that these negative reviews are handled appropriately in order to keep your brand reputation intact.

Keep reading to learn more about why a response is necessary in the wake of a bad review, as well as the proper steps to take to mitigate the situation.

Why It’s Necessary To Respond To Bad Reviews

When researching a dental office, more and more people are turning to online reviews to find out pertinent information about the practice before becoming an official patient.

In fact, according to a study conducted by the Consumer Guide to Dentistry, 68 percent of respondents said online dental reviews are extremely important when choosing a practice and 30 percent considered them to be somewhat important. That’s why it’s crucial for dental practices to respond to reviews – even if they are negative, as your reputation is at stake.

In addition to protecting your brand, replying to reviews can help your practice in a myriad of ways, including boosting search engine rankings. It can also help retain current patients – and even garner future ones – because it shows that you are engaged with your patients and truly care about their experiences at your dental office.

Plus, it’s what’s expected of you. The worst thing you can do in the situation of a negative review is to ignore it completely.

So, take a deep breath and read on about the best ways to respond to those bad reviews.

What To Do When Crafting A Response

When responding to a negative dental review, it’s best to wait about 24-48 hours before posting a carefully thought-out response. It’s also a good idea to familiarize yourself with review sites and study successful responses before typing out your own.

In the response itself, it’s essential that you focus on proving that you care about your patients and you want to do all you can to resolve any issues. This can most easily be achieved by owning up to any mistakes and identifying ways to rectify them in a sincere voice.

You should also thank them for taking the time to leave a review in the first place, and reiterate the fact that you are committed to providing top-notch dental service – even if that means some improvement on your end.

Finally, in order to protect your patients’ identities and personal information, it is of the utmost importance that you are in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). You should also be cognizant of patient consent if you choose to move forward with the conversation over email.

Protecting Patients’ Personal Information

Now that you know the basics of what to keep in mind when responding to negative dental reviews, let’s take a look at what not to do when writing out your response.

First and foremost, do not make any rash ultimatums or threaten to take down the bad review. People are entitled to their opinions, and the internet is the go-to platform for patients to have their voices heard in the modern world. By threatening those opinions, you will only hurt your reputation further.

It’s also important to not restrict negative reviews altogether. As a dentist, you should want to please your patients, and part of that is learning from constructive criticism and using it as motivation for improvement. The public will be suspicious if there are only positive reviews, and a few bad ones that have been rectified will actually increase your credibility.

The bottom line is that negative reviews are not the worst thing that could happen to your dental practice. In fact, they could actually be very helpful if handled properly. However, if you’re still unsure of how to move forward after a bad dental review or need some additional pointers on how to craft the perfect response, then consult The Dental SEO Experts today. Our skilled professionals would be happy to assist you in turning those bad reviews into countless more positive ones in the future.