If you’ve ever been on sites like eBay, Etsy or Amazon, you are probably very familiar with the meaning of “feedback”. Sellers on these sites know the value of positive feedback. This value translates into sales and a savvy business owner will use the positive feedback in their marketing.
Buyers also use the feedback system when deciding between two businesses offering the same products or services. When facing this type of decision, positive reviews are a huge factor in bringing the sales to a business.
Positive feedback and reviews will drive new patients into your office especially when you use those reviews in your chiropractic marketing.
However, people typically do not seek out places to post a positive review, but they will go to great measures to post their unhappiness all over the internet.
Don’t read this the wrong way, people love to share their good experiences in a tweet or on their facebook page, but those who have a bad experiences are more likely to share their dislike about a business in a lengthy review on a business’s Google places page or another site with similar review options.
I myself read reviews of products or services that I research to buy. Do I take all of the negative reviews seriously? Absolutely not, because after reading a ton of reviews on a certain product, you can usually tell which reviews are legit and which ones are bitter grapes.
In the end, it’s a judgment call. But is that what you want those reading your reviews to do? Make a judgment call on whether you are the chiropractor they want to begin treatment with?
Negative reviews and critiques are part of owning a business. There will never be a day when you will please all of the people all of the time, but there are a few things that you can do to turn a negative into a positive.
If you do receive a negative review, first of all, don’t freak out. Grow some thick skin and chew on the review for a day or two. Sometimes you will see a small hint of truth in the review. In that case, take what was said and use it to make some changes in the way you do things.
If the review or feedback is unsubstantiated or grossly incorrect, try these suggestions;
Reply if you have that option – there are places where you can reply to your reviews. If you do choose to share your side of the story, remember to be kind and leave your feelings in another room, a reply will be there for the world to see so your rebuttal should be done in a professional way. However, if you feel this can’t be done there are some other options.
Disputing reviews – You need to have a few things in place before you put this plan into action. Documentation is a must. If it’s a review about an offer in your chiropractic advertising, you will need to have the documentation to support your dispute. Of course in the case of disputing a service or treatment in your office this could get a bit sticky due to patient privacy issues. Therefore, you might not be able to dispute all claims, but you can write a personal letter to the person who left the review. Ask them why they left the review and ask if they are willing to settle the issue amicably. You can also ask if they would be willing to remove or edit there review.
If that doesn’t work, there is another option…
Submit a request to have a review removed – Yahoo provides an option to request removal of a negative review. Again, I would suggest you have documentation to support your request. A friend of mine owns a small business; and member of his staff frequently monitors reviews and feedback on several sites where his business information is located. After reading a negative review regarding service, the business owner wrote a letter to Yahoo explaining his side of the story along with support documents.
Yahoo removed the review, no questions asked.