A patient just had a great experience at the dentist. The procedure was performed as planned; your staff were all great; and the patient left with a smile on their face. The next thing that happens is that they go to Google.
That will likely be followed by lots of new comments about their visit to your office – to hundreds, if not thousands, of other potential patients.
Here’s the reality.
They’re not just rating your dental office. They’re providing feedback about how they felt about their experience.
They are judging their experience based on whether they had to wait at the office, and how welcoming your receptionist was, as well as whether your website provided helpful information and how easy or difficult it was to schedule their appointment. Most dental offices concentrate on every aspect of the patient’s experience while they are in the office. However, today’s consumers are making decisions on the basis of activities happening online.
Digital Marketing for Dentists isn’t solely about bringing more traffic to your website. It also focuses on understanding what potential patients are saying, thinking and searching for prior to contacting your practice. If you’re not monitoring these discussions, you’re missing out on some of the best feedback your practice has ever had.
Why Patient Reviews Matter More Than Ever
Before scheduling an appointment at a dental office, patients tend to perform some research – sometimes a great deal of it. They evaluate different clinics, read reviews, check websites and view social media accounts. They are seeking reassurance. Not necessarily about root canals or dental implants, but rather for some indication to establish the doctor’s credibility.
Patients Are Evaluating More Than Clinical Skills
The factors in reviews that people frequently mention are:
- Friendly staff
- Ability to get an appointment
- Waiting time
- Communication skills
- Cleanliness of clinic
- Treatment explanations
These elements of patient experience influence patients as significantly as professional skills.
In the example of a review “The dentist was great, but I waited 45 minutes”, this is providing important information – it is really patient feedback and a review in terms of how they were treated at the practice.
For practices that are focused on Dental Practice Marketing, this provides valuable insight into where patients are having an opportunity for improvement in their experiences.
How Online Reviews Reveal What Your Patients Really Think
Many people may not provide a full feedback report after visiting you. They probably didn’t call to tell you they chose another practice; however, they did leave some hints on the internet. With time, these hints can add up.
Look For Trends And Patterns, Not Just A Single Comment
A negative review could be just that, a single comment. However, if you have received 5 negative reviews with the same complaint, it’s likely that you have an issue. So, you need to look for other common themes and issues.
These common themes might include:
- Long Wait Times
- Hard To Get In Touch With The Office
- Confusing Explanation Of Treatment
- Positive Experience With Staff Members
- Patient Education
If you see these types of patterns, you will be able to identify areas that can be improved operationally and therefore have a direct impact on overall patient satisfaction. The American Dental Association (ADA) has indicated that the trust of the patient and their communication is very important to have a long-term relationship with the providers.
When you actively monitor the patient’s feedback, you will begin to learn many things that a typical patient survey would miss.
How Website Data Helps You Understand Patient Behavior
Researchers tend to ignore a huge aspect of gathering data from patients; they don’t need to leave you a review in order for you to know what they want. They have already shown interest in you through their online activity and you just need to look for the clues. Each time someone clicks on something gives you an indication as to the type of information that they want; they have told you their story.
Take some of these examples:
- Your website’s page for Invisalign generates a lot of traffic
- Visitors are spending a great deal of time reading about dental implants
- A number of patients abandon the booking process right before submitting
All of these types of behaviors tell you something about your patients; specifically:
- Which types of treatment generate the greatest amount of interest
- What type of information your patients are looking for
- The places there are issues or “friction” in the patient’s journey
This is where Dental Digital Marketing is about more than creating more volume. It is about research. The practices that have shown the greatest growth are the ones that are taking patient behavioral data into account when they are creating their communication, website experience and service offerings.
Quick Reference Guide
| Patient Signal | Possible Implication | Recommended Action |
| High cosmetic dentistry page visits | Increased interest in treatment | Create education |
| Frequent insurance questions | Information gap | Build insurance FAQ |
| Low appointment form completion | Barriers to booking | Simplify form |
| Positive staff mentions in reviews | Strong trust factor | Highlight team stories |
| Multiple wait-time complaints | Experience issue | Improve scheduling communication |
Why Responding to Reviews Builds Patient Trust
Only a small portion of practices take the time to read reviews about their practice. However, an even smaller number actually take the time to respond to reviews on a regular basis (this is an opportunity lost!). When a patient provides feedback, they are not the only ones reading that review. Future patients are looking at your responses to your current patients’ reviews too. Each response to a review contributes to your reputation.
By responding thoughtfully to a review, you demonstrate:
- Professionalism
- Accountability
- Empathy
- Commitment to patient care
Regardless of whether the feedback is positive or negative, how you respond to your patients’ reviews will have an impact on the potential patients’ decisions far more than the review by itself.
Practices that provide dental clinical services and use digital marketing strategies must view managing their reputation as a natural extension of providing patient care. Patients will take notice if they feel they are being listened to by their provider, and they will also take notice if they do not feel that they are being listened to by their provider.
What Most Dental Marketing Blogs Don’t Tell You About Patient Feedback
An unpleasant reality for many practices specializing in dentistry is all the businesses competing against you likely engage in seeking reviews for their practices; however, this does not yield as much valuable growth as their use of those reviews post-acquisition yields them.
The best example of this practice can be seen within the successful practices, in most cases, those practices do not have the most reviews, they have the best practices when it comes to reviewing all of the output generated from those reviews/studies.
H3 – More than just Marketing
The feedback from patients provides valuable information that can be used to improve business operations beyond just marketing. Patient feedback can expose:
- Communication gaps
- Scheduling challenges
- Staff training opportunities
- Website usability issues
- Patient education needs
Patient complaints about treatment costs may lead to better communication on the financial side of treatment. Questions regarding treatments may lead to creating education for patients. Concerns regarding patients and anxiety may lead to developing comfort-related messages.
This process is more than just marketing. It’s about listening to your patients. Listening to your patients creates a better patient experience.
Preventative Care Strategies That Strengthen Patient Loyalty
The majority of dental blogs focus on bringing in new patients, and not enough talk about keeping existing patients engaged. The reality is that patient retention is often what ultimately leads to sustainable growth for a practice.
Small Actions Build Long-Term Relationships
Consider using these patient retention techniques:
- Automate your hygiene reminders
- Follow up after procedures
- Send educational newsletters
- Send preventive care emails
- Send personalized appointment reminders
These techniques will allow your patients to stay proactive about their oral health and will build their trust in you and your practice.
The CDC continues to emphasize the importance of preventative oral care and patient education as critical factors in a person’s dental health over time.
From a marketing perspective, loyal patients tend to be your best sources of referrals. They refer their families to you, leave you positive reviews, and recommend you to others in the community because they trust you.
How Social Media Helps Patients Feel Comfortable Before They Visit
Not only do your potential patients evaluate the quality of your services, they also evaluate the quality of the people delivering those services.
Whenever potential patients consider an appointment with you, they will likely first check your social media accounts in order to get a feel for the culture of your practice.
Patients Wish to Meet YOU & YOUR TEAM.
Things that tend to get a good response from patients usually include:
- Team Member Introductions
- Behind-the-Scenes
- Patient Success Stories
- Oral Health Awareness/Education
- Community Participation
All of these activities create a sense of familiarity and reduce anxiety for patients when they arrive at your practice.
One of the reasons why Healthcare Digital Marketing will continue to have such a big impact in helping you acquire and retain patients is because people tend to trust people, not logos.
Key Takeaways for Dental Practices
Here are the most important points from this article:
- Many patients are talking about their experiences online each day.
- Reviews can be useful for operational and service improvement.
- Analytics from websites can indicate how well your patients will be received and what will concern them.
- Receiving reviews from your patients allows you to develop trust with your future patients.
- In addition, creating open lines of communication with your current patients helps reinforce loyalty to your practice.
- Using social media provides an opportunity for a potential patient to build a connection with your office before they ever come to see you.
Finally, marketing isn’t only about being seen anymore; it’s about finding out who you’re marketing to.
Conclusion
At this moment in time, patients are online–including your prospective patients–looking at reviews of dental practices.
They are searching for peace of mind and for a sense of trust.
They are noticing every signal that may be able to assure them they are making a good decision.
Although it may seem that the loudest and/or most popular dental practices will be the most successful in the years to come, the truth is that those that are successful during this time will be those that pay close attention to what their patients are already saying, then using those insights to improve both their in-office and online patient experiences.
If your practice is not currently listening to its current and potential new patients, now is the time to begin.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why are online reviews important for dental practices?
Patients often reference patient reviews prior to looking into dental practices. They rely on the trust-building attributes of reviewed patients and notice any deficient areas that have been pointed out by reviewers. Tracking and replying to reviews builds your reputation with the patient and shows that you care about the patient experience.
2. How does digital marketing help attract more dental patients?
Digital marketing helps increase your practice’s visibility through search engines, social media channels, and local online directories. This enables potential patients to find your practice and learn about your areas of expertise, ultimately enhancing the likelihood of them booking an appointment through informative content and great experiences online.
3. What can patient feedback teach dental practices?
Patient reviews provide great insight on how well the practice is communicating, how well the practice manages appointments, how well the practice provides services, and how the overall patient experience overall. By looking for common themes throughout reviews and surveys, practices can make substantial improvements that will yield higher satisfaction rates and create loyal patients which lead to long-term retention of patients.
