Suppose you are a Mental therapist with a Google My Business profile. In that case, you know that your patients can leave you reviews, whether positive or negative, regarding the service you have provided. However, it is difficult to decide how and what to reply as most customers look for online reviews on a business’s profile before hiring a business.
Thus, Google reviews are crucial in increasing awareness about clinics, healthcare centers, hospitals, and more. Many healthcare clinics often buy Google 5 star reviews to attract more patients to your clinic and respond to their customers to show their gratitude.
These Google reviews will make it easy for your potential customers to turn into loyal customers and interact with your patients more. But how will you respond to them, and how much will your business grow?
Some of the best ways to respond to Google Reviews in a morally decent and professional manner that doesn’t offend your customers. Continue reading to learn more.
Why Is Responding To A Patient’s Review Important?
One of the first things potential customers see while searching your business on Google is reviews from other patients and their experience with your clinic.
If your practice has positive ratings, customers are more inclined to use and trust your services rather than your competitors.
- If your profile only has negative reviews, customers will be less likely to employ your services.
- Responding to clients’ reviews in a timely manner shows that you really care about what they think about your services and are willing to pay attention to your company’s most essential asset: the clients.
Tips To Responding To Google Reviews For Therapists
Responding efficiently to Google reviews is important to demonstrate your expertise and dedication to client pleasure. Here are tips on how to respond ethically to clients.
1. Try To Answer All Reviews As Soon As Possible
Responding to client reviews can boost your SEO because Google wants to see that you are receptive to reviews.
You can make it a practice to send and receive an email each time a new review is received on your profile, allowing you to respond to reviews instantly. As mental health practitioners, you are at a loss for words when responding to these reviews.
Also, it is commonly recognized that offering exceptional services to your patients extends beyond receiving a review in return from them. But always respond whenever you receive such a review.
3. Responding To A Negative Review
Responding to a patient’s negative review might be a challenging task, but never skip this process, as it may affect your online reputation. By properly responding to their negative review, you legitimize your patients’ worries and can also turn their bad experience into a good one.
- You restore the patient’s trust by demonstrating your willingness to respond to them to resolve their problem in a more constructive way.
- Responding to internet therapy reviews, on the other hand, is far more difficult because the patient’s right to confidentiality is jeopardized.
- The best way forward is to contact the patient via email or phone to have a personal conversation rather than publicly fighting over it..
- Every circumstance must be treated in the following manner-
Assess The Situation
Before responding to your patient’s therapy review, spend some time assessing the circumstance and its cause.
Careful examination is essential to achieving a better response and enhancing the patient experience.
Empathize Your Patients
It’s easy to get carried away when replying to Google reviews on your profile, but letting your emotions take over simply makes the situation worse.
A negative review is usually the result of a patient’s bad experience and feeling powerless or not at all satisfied. Therefore examine the situation from their perspective and determine what your practice may have done differently.
Don’t give excuses
If a mistake is done from your side, focus on putting things right and taking the appropriate steps to prevent future lapses, rather than debating and trying to prove yourself right.
Example of Therapist Response To Negative Review
We’re sorry to hear about your not so good experience. We’d love to speak with you more about what happened and how we can improve. Could you please contact us at this email address?
Responding To A Positive Review
Thanking your patients for taking your time after you receive a review from them will maintain a positive relationship.
You can also add something special in your response that you loved about working with that client, as well as underline what they liked about their experience with you.
Remember that your comment is intended for all possible clients who will read it in the future rather than just the reviewer. So, focus on creating engaging content.
Tips For Responding To Positive Review
- Mention some specifics about your primary service and repeat a service the reviewer noted in their comments.
- Your response is an excellent chance to include a teaser for upcoming sessions that may benefit the reviewer or potential clients.
- Type your response in a separate document, so you may add line breaks and double-check grammar.
Example of Therapist Response To Positive Review
Thank you for reviewing. I am honored to have been able to assist you in your path.
Responding To Neutral Or Confusing Review
As unpleasant as negative reviews can be, at least they are honest. Sometimes you’ll receive a weird review that makes no sense. However, as with any review, it deserves a reaction. You can also respond to a neutral review in the same manner you would to a favorable one, assuming the star rating is 5 stars and the comments are merely subpar.
- If the star rating is less than three or four stars, consider why this client chose not to give a five-star review.
- Was there something about their experience that was disappointing?
- If you can identify the problem, you don’t have to explain it in your response, but you can take the discussion offline.
- I am grateful for taking the time to write a review.
- Reviews are the lifeblood of our business and we are looking into this.
Conclusion
Proactive review management is still possible for mental health therapists, notwithstanding significant constraints with regard to review solicitation and responses.
When replying to an online review, particularly one from Google, the best approach is to:
- Acknowledge the reviewer’s input
- Put the discussion on hold
- Acquire additional reviews
Adhering to these procedures can help you effectively manage your online reputation and ensure that prospective customers see the best possible representation of your company.
You can also buy Trustpilot reviews, in order to manage the positive reviews on your profile and build trust among your clients.