As a physical therapist, you had the best productive day by serving your patients. You feel proud that you are a physical therapist since it takes away the pain of many. You think of relaxing after a long day of work and open social media. And that’s the end of your brief happiness.
A rating of 1.0 with the saying “The service is not good. Better visit another clinic.”
It’s a bad reputation for your physical therapy service. As a human beings, it is natural that we all look for positive comments that motivate us to do our works or service. But not everyone in the world is perfect and not everything we do ends perfectly.
Sometimes a simple misunderstanding between your clinic’s staff and your patient might cause him to leave a bad review on your Google My Business Page. Nonetheless, how you handle such negative reviews plays a vital role in determining your online credibility.
Why Reviews are Important?
Reviews can be an important tool for getting new patients to your physical therapy centre. People always depend on and believe in word of mouth suggestion for health-related services. And in the 21st century, people believe in online reviews to make a purchase or visit a clinic.
According to the study, 59% of patients said that reviews are very important and helpful to select the physician and 37% said that they would avoid a physician with a negative review.
This study says that out of those who view health information online, 42% like to look at health-related reviews.
And you can’t remove or let go of the negative reviews. Internet’s top influencer and marketer Neil Patel says that negative reviews are good for your business. Too many positive reviews can seem fake and questions your credibility for new patients which in time may cause your existing and potential patients to judge you.
Negative reviews affect your SEO too. Hence it is important to handle them correctly and here are some ways to handle negative reviews.
1) Respond Immediately
Don’t ignore negative reviews as research shows that 45% of customers are more likely to visit your business if you respond to negative reviews.
And it is more important to reply as quickly as possible.
Response delayed is response denied, at least with the patients who suffer already.
This is the expectation of people who hang online.
88% of customers want a response within 60 minutes while 30% want a reply within 15 minutes or less.
You should also take time to craft the perfect response to convince your patients but don’t delay it.
Do not reply privately or mail them. If the complaint was public then the response also must be public.
You can settle their problem and discuss it with them later in the private message.
2) Apologize If It Is Needed
Your patient is upset with your service and he/she is in an urge to be heard. Even if it is reasonless or you disagree with their point, you should still apologize.
Asking an apology is a sign that you care for your patients whether it is in the clinic or online.
When you take time to respond to their complaint and apologize or show empathy they feel satisfied.
This shows your priority for your patients than anything else.
3) Be Calm and Polite
The review might have hateful comments and insulted your service, but your responsibility is to stay calm in such a situation.
The truth is that it is not that easy to stay calm but you must stay calm and reply gently.
Correct them polite if you feel their comment is reasonless. If the mistake is from your side, promise them that it won’t happen again.
4) Thank and Appreciate
Thanking someone who underrated your service might sound different.
Whether it is a positive or negative review, it plays an important role in developing your business by learning from your mistakes if you had done any.
Appreciate him/her for leaving a review on your service because many of them will never do that.
5) Take it Offline
Discussing the conflict over a phone call or addressing the problem with the patient directly in the clinic will be more helpful sometimes when the patient still feels the problem has not been resolved. This is the best way to deal with a negative review and solve the problem. It shows that you are serious about the issue and are willing to solve it.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to online reviews, both positive and negative reviews are important for the growth of your service. You should never ignore it and provide a quick response. Taking extra actions to solve the issue and showing that you care for your patients and their satisfaction is important more than anything else.