Yelp is becoming an increasingly popular way for people to seek out local businesses such as physical therapy clinics. This means that it is becoming an aspect of online marketing. However, there are some important factors that should be taken into consideration when making use of this particular resource. Let's check out some of those dos and don'ts for working with Yelp and similar review sites.
One thing that you need to accept is that from time to time people are going to leave you bad reviews. Nobody wants to hear that a patient feels like they didn't get the best service from their physical therapist, but if you do get a negative response on Yelp, or any other review site then you need to look at the positive side of the situation. You should never just ignore a bad review. Instead, you need to respond to it and show the disgruntled patient and anyone else reading the review that you are open to listening to feedback and improving your services.
Your response needs to start of with a sincere apology which lets the individual know that you are acting on their feedback. It is important that you make this sound as personal as possible – the end goal is to try to establish some kind of connection. You may also want to offer some kind of gift such as a discount the next time they use your service. This acknowledgement may well be enough to placate the individual and it will also publicly show that you are keen to make amends when things go wrong. It is also an opportunity to correct any inaccuracies in the review. Yelp even offer some tips for responding to your reviews to guide you in the right direction.
It is not just negative reviews that require your attention. It is also a great idea to spend a few minutes thanking people who leave a positive review for your clinic as well. Letting people know that you appreciate them is a great way to foster loyalty in your patients.
Having a great Yelp page full of positive reviews is going to be a good thing for your physical therapy practice, but you need to be willing to work for it! Never be tempted to try and cheat Yelp because paying for reviews or offering any kind of incentive to persuade people to leave a review is against the site's terms of use and will result in very public naming and shaming by way of an alert blocking your listing and informing others that you have been obtaining reviews using underhanded tactics. Yelp are known for their highly effective filters designed to root out fake reviews.
Some PT clinics make the mistake of just creating a listing and then leaving it as it is other than to respond to reviews. What you should be doing is updating the page regularly by adding new photographs, making sure that your opening hours and contact details are up to date and adding other relevant information as it arises. Think of Yelp as another way to interact with your audience.
If you are receiving negative reviews that are clearly just trolling then it can be tempting to fight back. However, having a public throwdown is only going to damage your reputation. Respond to all reviews in a polite manner and do not get drawn into arguments. The majority of people who use Yelp are going to be able to tell the difference between genuine reviews and those just looking to cause trouble, so trust in their smarts and save your energy. Bickering on a review site is not professional and will put people off choosing your physical therapy clinic.
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