Roma’s mother was suffering from shoulder pain. Roma spoke to three of her friends and got suggestions about three renowned orthopaedic doctors from them. Later, she searched online for orthopedic doctors to treat her mother’s condition. Now, instead of three, she came to know about multiple doctors in and around her locality. As her mother couldn’t travel far due to health issues, Roma narrowed down her search and looked for ‘orthopedic surgeons near me’.
Viola! She quickly shortlisted Dr. Krishna who had over 100 reviews and more than thousands of ratings on Google. She scrolled through the reviews. Most of them were positive ones. Without wasting time, she picked up the phone, contacted the clinic, and scheduled an appointment for her mother at the earliest.
Somewhere, we all have a Roma inside us. From searching for the ‘best washing machine’ to recipes that help in managing diabetes, the Internet has transformed the entire perspective of the digital domain in our minds. We now rely more on Google results than taking advice from friends, neighbors, or family members. Also, in this fast-paced world, we find it easy to search for everything, including a doctor’s profile, read reviews, and make decisions based on the information available on the internet with Healthcare Digital Marketing Consultancy in Bangalore.
Influence of Numbers on a doctor’s profile
Suppose, you have been tormented over the past few years due to the frequent growth of acne. Even after visiting many doctors when recommended by your near and dear ones, nothing changed. You visited a dermatologist around your locality. The growth of acne considerably lessened. Now, your neighbour asked you, “From where did you find the details of the dermatologist?”
Your answer might have sounded somewhat like this- “I found the dermatologist when I was searching on Google. I read reviews and made an appointment.”
So, the search engine, Google, has immense importance in our lives. It cannot be denied that most of us make decisions about visiting a doctor based on reviews on Google. The 10 websites that Google gives us on its first page, have become the main source of information for the majority of us.
Positive review influences us more. Also, I’m pretty sure that you do not decide on a doctor or a restaurant, only by reading one or two reviews. You read multiple reviews to make your perceptions clear. Also, whenever you see multiple ratings, higher than four, you are automatically attracted to a service or product. Hence, numbers matter!
So, as a doctor, it is important to understand how digital marketing has the power to take the professional career to new heights. Along with skills and expertise as a healthcare professional, understanding the power of Google and the reviews on one’s profession is crucial for achieving professional goals.
How a doctor can achieve more online reviews?
Healthcare is a tricky domain, where a change in perspective takes place in a jiffy. The satisfaction also differs based on the patient’s expectations. Hence, there are high chance that reviews given for a particular doctor might differ based on the personal experience of the patients.
Negative reviews are not unusual in the healthcare sector. Since any issue related to health is a sensitive one, it is of utmost importance to be aware of reviews that are left online. A dissatisfied and angry patient may leave a negative review that may have a significant impact on a doctor’s online profile.
However, it is important that healthcare specialists pursue their happy and satisfied patients to leave positive reviews online. Increasing the volume of positive reviews is crucial for building a doctor’s trust and credibility among the commoners. Making use of technologies to increase reviews is a good idea. Send your patients a message after their visit. Just by clicking on the link in the message make sure your customers can share their experiences without any hindrance.
Also, a proper Google management system will help you stay updated and make you aware of the ratings your patients are giving after their visit. In this way, you can develop your target audiences and at the same time, improve the services of your clinic that might have led to negative reviews from your patients. Information backed with relevant statistics is essential to align with a doctor’s professional goals.
How do online reviews make or break a doctor’s image?
From understanding customer satisfaction to knowing your competitor’s activities, the internet plays a crucial role. Here are some of the ways, how online reviews affect a doctor’s professional image.
· Gathering trust
The entire foundation of a healthcare domain lies upon trust. If a person reads positive reviews about services provided by a doctor online, in all likelihood, it will create a positive effect on their mind.
Satisfied experiences shared on online platforms help prospective patients choose a particular doctor for their healthcare needs. In present times, patients’ trust has increased based on written testimonies rather than feedback circulated through word-of-mouth.
· Assessing services
Online reviews help others to understand the services and other essential perspectives before a person finalizes their visit to a doctor’s clinic. Some reviews contain detailed information like the instruments that are used by a doctor for health checkups, the behavior of the staff, the way the doctor communicates, the cleanliness of the clinic, etc.
People have specific choices and such detailed information can help them make informed choices saving their time, money, and dissatisfaction, all at the same time. Also, based on the feedback, the doctors can take necessary steps to improve their services.
· Online rankings
An effective way of increasing popularity is by making your website or page rank higher in the search engine. With more reviews and ratings from patients, a doctor’s popularity can soar sky-high. Also, the search engines will rank that particular doctor’s profile higher in the list, thus increasing his trust, credibility, and online presence amongst the targeted audience.
Another important way is interaction. Doctors must communicate with their patients online. Creating a social media base by responding through messages, comments or posts is vital. In this way, more new patients will be attracted and a doctor’s occupation will prosper.
· Trolling
It is years of dedicated services that establish a doctor’s reputation in the healthcare domain. The nuances created by online trollers are not unknown to us. Trolling damages the reputation of the doctors.
The troller takes various online platforms like social media to demean the reputation of the doctors. The reason may arise from bad experiences at the doctor’s clinic, personal grudges, or the harmful mentality of the competitors leading to a massive threat to a doctor’s professional image.
· Unethical practices
A new trend has emerged in recent times, that is the act of paying money to write positive reviews on a doctor’s profile. Indeed, this trend can fool a group of people and increase ratings, but all the patients will not be fooled. And most importantly, for how long will money save a doctor’s image?
A person will be able to differentiate between a real experience documented as a review and a paid review. The paid reviews are bound to miss the emotional touch and experiences that can only be penned down with real-life experiences.
Hence, it’s time for doctors to understand the importance of online reviews and rise to the occasion. It is you who can successfully build your image by using the digital platform in a constructive way with a Healthcare SEO agency in Bangalore.
Here’s a small yet extremely crucial tip before I end today’s blog. When you see a negative review based on your service, do not ignore it. Your positive reply to a negative review can erase mental blockages and help you develop trust and credibility in the minds of your prospective audience effectively. So, address the review, participate in the conversation, and make the move. That’s all that matters!
Contact us for website promotion, website designing and development services by visiting our website.
