While it has always been important to remain flexible and adapt to the countless variables, both in and out of your control, it’s safe to say not many businesses imagined the ability to adapt would become a matter of survival. After all the economy swings up and down, cities grow, and demographics change, so adapting is nothing new. However, adapting to the new digital paradigm as a result of the pandemic is something most have never experienced before. At the onset of the pandemic, it was apparent that being able to adapt would become fundamentally vital in surviving.
Online listings like Google My Business, Yelp and other online directories are one of the best ways for practices to gain online visibility which is essential in these times. During the pandemic, people are looking for information like updated COVID-19 procedures as well as adjusted hours. This change in behavior makes optimizing online listings and regularly monitoring online reviews critical. Here are some ways to make sure you’re optimizing your online presence and reputation.
Make sure your business information is current
This is the first step you can take to make sure that patients are aware of the most up-to-date information about your practice. By providing current information on the listing sites, you’re easily letting patients know if there are any temporary changes including: change of operating hours, COVID-19 safety procedures, or other important updates. Since there are dozens of public listing sites, by far the best way to accomplish this is using a listing management software that ensures listings are updated simultaneously across all sites. Whether your business is currently on a few listing sites or you need to quickly update your information is across numerous listing sites, an automated listing software can save hours of manual work and allow you to focus on other important aspects of your practice.
Monitor and respond to reviews
Your patients’ opinion matters! This is especially true for patients who take the time to leave a review on one of your business listings. Everyone has needed to adapt to this pandemic in numerous ways but the one thing that hasn’t changed is people leaving online reviews to express what they think of you. Patients are sure to express if they felt safe coming back to your office and if you are taking proper precautions to ensure their health and wellbeing. Now is the time to pay extra special attention to online reviews. Remember to respond to all reviews in a timely manner, even the negative reviews. Actively maintaining your online reputation shows existing and potential patients that you care about them receiving the best service possible. Additionally, keep in mind that Google takes into consideration a combination of both review activity and responses from businesses when propagating search engine results. By responding to reviews you ensure that you are getting more online visibility compared to your competitors.
Consider professional review management
By far the best strategy to optimize your online reputation in order to attract patients is with an automated solution that will help you navigate successfully through the pandemic and beyond. Your online reputation management tool should make it easy to collect and manage online reviews all in one place. It should also have features like new review alerts help you stay on top of your new reviews by sending an email notification to you as soon as you receive an online review on sites like Google, Yelp, Facebook and more.
If your current reputation management software does not do these things, or you don’t have one, it’s time for you to make a change. Visit Demandforce or call 833.429.1132 for a demo.
