Frequently Asked Questions About Online Reviews
Our team at McCauley Marketing Services may be full of experienced professionals, but we’ll be the first to admit that some aspects of our work are trickier than others. One task which is particularly challenging (and which our clients are happy to pass on to us) is responding to online reviews. Every customer service interaction requires finesse, but it’s especially crucial when that interaction takes place on a worldwide stage: the internet. Today we’re tackling some of the most common questions businesses have about responding to online reviews.
How Do I Know if I Need to Respond to a Review?
If you browse through many companies’ pages on review sites like Google, Yelp, or certain social media platforms, you’ll probably see that they respond to some reviews but not others. This leads other businesses to ask how they should decide which reviews to respond to. The answer is simpler than you expect: respond to all of them. At the absolute minimum, you should respond to all negative reviews, but it’s ideal to respond to positive ones as well when time allows. When possible, you should even respond in situations when a reviewer leaves a rating for your business but doesn’t provide a written review. Keep in mind, however, that some review sites, particularly in the healthcare industry, do not give you that option.
While the words you say are important, simply the fact that you’re responding to a review shows that you care. It shows the reviewer as well as potential future customers or patients that you’re truly concerned with making sure they have a positive experience. It’s an opportunity for free public relations, in a way, to boost your public image.
What Do I Do if a Review is Untruthful?
This happens from time to time. Sometimes a customer is angry about an issue so they exaggerate in their review to make themselves look better or make you look worse. They may even misremember the event. In other situations, an unhappy former employee or a competitor could post an entirely false review to try to hurt your business. When things like this happen, take the high road. You can be vague in your response, such as, “We do not have a record of you as a customer,” or “please contact us to clear up the facts surrounding your visit,” unless your business is a healthcare provider and you need to abide by HIPAA laws. In the case of a review that is entirely false, you can also contact the review website to inform them of the fraud and ask that they remove the review. Be warned, however, that it is rare for sites to remove reviews without legal assistance.
How Do Healthcare Businesses Maintain Patient Privacy While Replying to Reviews?
This is a crucial question about online patient reviews. The key is to not attempt to handle these situations on your own. You need to speak with a customer relationship management professional who specializes in working with healthcare companies and is well-versed in HIPAA. Remember that even if a patient violates their own privacy by posting HIPAA-protected information, it doesn’t give you the right to do the same. There is a distinct art to finding the wording that says what you’re trying to say without so much as confirming or denying that the reviewer is a patient.
Does Anyone Even Read Our Response to Their Review?
This is a common misunderstanding. Will the reviewer come back to read your response? Maybe, maybe not. You aren’t only writing for that reviewer’s benefit, though. In truth, the most important reason to respond to reviews is because, according to a BrightLocal survey, 90% of consumers regularly read reviews before they make a purchase. They’re especially likely to read reviews when they’re making a more important decision like choosing a healthcare provider. Responding to reviews shows those prospective patients or customers that you care, whether or not the original reviewer reads your response.
Our business name may be McCauley Marketing Services, but the reality is that we provide far more than marketing services. We also help our clients with many aspects of communication and customer service in the form of responding to online reviews, in addition to public relations, practice management consulting, and more. The questions and answers above give you a peek into why it’s so important to respond to online reviews and why you need to be so cautious about what you say. For more help improving your online reputation and bringing in more new and repeat business, schedule a meeting with McCauley Marketing Services.