Digital Marketing

How to Manage Your Practice’s Reputation Post COVID-19

By Amber Turner On Sep 18, 2020 . 0 Comments

There’s no denying that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted medical practices, both small and large, across the globe.

97% of practices have experienced a negative financial impact directly or indirectly related to COVID-19. 

It’s important to recognize the global pandemic and continue protecting your practice’s reputation. The good news is that patients have a good level of trust and reliance on their providers.

Today, primary care practices across the country are consistently seeing reductions in patient volume of more than 50%, even after replacing in-person visits with telehealth visits. 

Do you have a reputation management plan set in place for when the threat of the coronavirus declines? Your practice may be ready to return to normal operations. However, your approach to marketing post-COVID-19 may not be as “normal”.

Here are helpful tips to manage your reputation and make your medical practice stand out from the competition in a post-COVID world. 

Be Proactive – Keep Your Online Practice Information Current

If your practice had to change its hours of operation, location, services, or contact information because of COVID-19, make sure your listings are updated with any new details, and remove anything inaccurate. 

Information is bound to change frequently as you and your staff flex with the circumstances of the pandemic. Just keep posting any changes online, as they happen, and update your patients through a blog article and/or your social media accounts.

Make sure all of the information that you hand out to your patients is accurate because inaccuracy can put your online reputation in danger. 

Habitually take a look at your Google My Business to ensure that your patients can select your current practice website and services and navigate accordingly to the services and information you provide.

“How’d We Do?” – Remind Your Patients to Leave Reviews

92 percent of people regularly or occasionally read online reviews.

The power of the customer testimonial cannot be underestimated in its influence on other potential patients.

If your online reviews aren’t what you’d like them to be, it might be time to take some proactive steps to connect with your top-tier patients in order to convince them to write reviews.

Let them know how quick and easy it is to leave a few kind words and a positive review on mobile devices or desktop computers.

  • Simply ask patients directly to write a review
  • Automate emails for patient feedback
  • Ask patients on social media
  • Link review sights on your website

Business reviews appear next to your listing in Maps and Search, and will lift your Google ranking and will help your practice list higher than your competitors. 

Patients Come First – Communicate Your Commitment to Customers

You have probably spent a lot of time reassuring patients of your plan of doing your part to help contain the virus. For the most part, the narrative should be the same.

No one is sure when this novel virus will dissipate but we cannot assume that things will return to how they were before. Continue communication to amplify your credibility by guiding patients toward accurate, trustworthy information sources, along with your own medical expertise.

“Most of your patients will check how you respond to negative reviews and your response is more important than what your patients say.”  – Klara Morgan, Marketing Director @ Koda Digital

People may still be fearful and have a lot of questions. It’s important to continue to monitor and respond to patient reviews and comments during and after this extraordinary situation. Answer them as soon as you can, and respond to everyone.

Examples:

  • Patient review: I went to this clinic today and there was an employee that was not wearing a mask. This place is NOT safe to get treatment.

Your response: Our #1 priority is the health safety of our staff and our patients. Our office is following the most recent safety protocols as recommended by the CDC. We take this very seriously and would like to further investigate this occurrence. We will be contacting you to discuss, thank you for your time.

  • Patient review: I waited a long time to see my doctor.

Your response: For the health and well-being of our staff and our patients, we are thoroughly sanitizing all high-touch surfaces between visits, which may take a bit longer than usual. Also, during emergencies or critical times, the doctor may need to spend extra time with a patient. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope you accept our apology as we place the utmost importance on providing the best and safest care possible.

Stay up to date on the continuous updates regarding the novel virus. Reassure your patients that your medical practice is making every effort to follow guidelines from trusted sources like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as federal, state, and local governments to ensure the well-being of all customers and employees.

Increase Patient Engagement – Feed Your Patients with High-Quality Content

It’s safe to say that 98% of your patients (current and potential) are on Facebook.

Social media gives you the perfect platform to increase engagement with current and future patients. You can provide basic information about your business, and discuss general healthcare and industry topics.

Take that bit of extra time to make sure your content is high-quality, meaning clear and readable text and high-grade images or videos.

Check out our other blogs that share insightful tips to make the most out of your Facebook content. 

Explore Your Options – Hire a Team That Will Revitalize Your Online Reputation

Dealing with the ongoing months of stress and uncertainty this novel virus caused, managing your online reputation may feel like a heavy task. You can lift the burden off your shoulders by hiring a team that will manage your online reputation. 

As things pick up, you can take time to invest in strategic, tactical, or creative marketing initiatives you haven’t been able to focus on until now.

At Koda Digital, we strive to make your professional life a whole lot easier.

Looking for an 85% decrease in negative patient experiences, a 180% increase in daily visitors, and 3x increased online sign-ins? Those are just a fraction of the results one of our clients has seen after a few short months working with us.

We will elevate your online reputation and build your authority through effective digital marketing strategies so you can focus more on your patients, practice, and staff.

You Got This – Push Forward

As everyone moves into life on the other side of the coronavirus pandemic, medical practices need to come out of it with their positive reputation intact and be known for being credible and caring. 

You should always understand that building your online reputation and managing it takes time and there is no shortcut in doing so. 

Take this opportunity now to ethically and effectively position your hospital or medical practice for the future.

Practices seen responding positively to the COVID-19 pandemic and creating a plan of action of what to do post coronavirus are more likely to survive and thrive.

Digital Marketing

Choosing the Right Social Media Platform For Your Medical Practice

When implementing a successful social media marketing strategy for your practice, you must first

Digital Marketing

How to Respond to Patient Reviews in Compliance with HIPAA Guidelines

94% of people use online reviews to evaluate physicians, and 75% say online ratings

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get your free & custom website audit

If you're ready to discover the strengths and weaknesses of your
digital marketing efforts, without all the confusing techno-babble,
then enter your healthcare website below.