Online reviews-we've all used them, and they make or break a product or business. But how do online reviews affect healthcare marketing? Creating a smart online review management strategy is a good idea for a number of reasons.
Contrary to popular belief – and the lingering fear of healthcare providers – it’s not vengeful or angry reviewers that skew online physician ratings. It's also not related to the assumption that people are more likely to post negative reviews. Instead, skewed results are actually due to low numbers: ratings and rankings typically lack enough data to be statistically meaningful.
As consumers consider both affordability and quality of care, providers that package data so that it’s accessible and usable will be positioned to challenge not only third-party rating sources but also direct competitors in the marketplace.
Trustworthy (or not) and accurate (or not), consumers are using online reviews at least in part to select their healthcare providers. And as more “shopping” behaviors are adopted in healthcare, these reviews can be perceived as measurements. But what is being measured? Outcomes? Costs? Bedside manners? Patient satisfaction does not necessarily equal quality care.
As a marketer, there are pros and cons to the online review. Because there are so many platforms designed to host them, customer reviews are tough to monitor and even more difficult to manage, since most of those apps and sites are not client-owned. Even the most positive of reviews are difficult to legitimize with the increasingly widespread practice of false-positive reports by invested stakeholders and, even, businesses paying customers to post about shining experiences… that may not have actually happened. So, what’s a retailer, restaurant or service provider to do? Lie sitting duck or spend countless hours scouring the internet for reviews – positive or negative – that may forever sit on a third party platform? Neither. Take control.
As a consumer, I often rely on reviews from other consumers when making my purchasing (or dining or vacationing) decisions. And as a social media marketer and content provider, I also rely on reviews, feedback and public opinion found online to help my clients better understand where they stand with their customers (and potential customers), and how they can build positive relationships with these audiences. Because of this, I know a lot about the various review sites and forums out there, and I know which ones I can trust more than others.
As a modern marketer, I have been aware of and following QR codes for a couple of years – I was interested when Esquire did an entire issue earlier this year featuring QR codes – one feature with 30 “must have” items for every man included QR codes that would take you to styling tips for that item and where to buy them. Interesting, but not particularly compelling to me – a woman who has given up on styling her husband. QR codes popped up occasionally on movie posters, in hipster magazines and in handful of other pubs. I read articles about their functionality and their failures and occasionally pondered for which of my clients QR codes might work. But that was as far as it went. Until pennant fever overwhelmed me.