For healthcare clinics, salons, and medspas, there’s only one way to climb the success scale — by offering the finest care. Modern patients won’t settle for anything but the best service, be it timely appointment reminders or excellent patient journeys. Meeting their needs is vital if you care to have fruitful relationships, new and old.
But what do clients consider to be “the best service?” The easiest way to find out is… to ask them directly. Patient feedback is your true BFF, allowing clients to transparently speak of your business and services, which then speaks volumes about the quality you deliver.
67% of consumers prefer to read a variety of reviews, so it’s best to mix things up. Bad feedback shouldn’t be feared – it can help your business adjust and improve. And good feedback is welcome, helping you land new patients while retaining existing ones.
Client reviews are a must, but they’re not always the easiest to secure. Here’s a guide to help you get patient reviews and use them for retention, service improvement, and growth.
Why positive patient reviews matter
Positive patient reviews can shape the success of your healthcare practice, salon, or medspa. With approximately 94% of patients relying on online reviews when choosing a provider, they carry as much weight as personal recommendations.
Thanks to digitization, your satisfied clients can easily leave 5-star reviews or make referrals, sharing detailed insights on their experiences, wait times, your services and staff, and the quality of care you offer.
Positive feedback will do wonders for improving brand identity, helping you attract a wider clientele by offering a transparent first-hand view of your business — as experienced by others.
5 proven strategies for securing patient reviews
Getting patients to share their thoughts can be tricky. Some are happy to express their positive patient experiences, while others might need more encouragement. However, research shows that 79% of people will leave a positive online review if their healthcare provider turns their initially negative experience into a positive one.
Let’s discuss tried-and-true strategies to help healthcare providers get patient reviews easily.
1. Ask your clients nicely to write a review
Politely asking patients, ideally at the end of their appointment, or when they start seeing results, is the quickest way to gather their feedback. Beforehand, be sure to discuss the patient’s overall experience to encourage a more transparent response or address any issues they might have. If you offer any feedback incentives, like a discount on their next visit, let your clients know so they become more encouraged to take action.
2. Send an SMS with a direct link to your review site
Using text messages to collect feedback is highly efficient. SMS is faster, more direct than emails, and less likely to be perceived as spam. You want to keep the SMS brief and include a direct link so patients can easily leave a review on platforms like social media, Google Business, or your website. If you forget to ask for feedback during the appointment, you can send them an SMS right after the visit.
3. Use QR codes on appointment cards or emails
Using paper to collect reviews is one way for busy healthcare practices. You can add QR codes to appointment cards to collect feedback. However, if clients lose their appointment cards, you won’t be able to ask for their feedback, so it’s not the best option.
For more efficiency, you can skip appointment cards altogether and send the QR code (with a viable link!) directly to the patient’s email. It’s easier, faster, and paper-free – ensuring clients can respond anytime, without having to use their appointment card.
4. Create a review page on your website/social media handles
Social media is great for showcasing top client reviews and acquiring patients faster. Encourage patients to share feedback on Instagram/Facebook (which has an automatic review collection setup btw) or tag your medical practice in their posts. Create engaging content with an external link, redirecting clients to your preferred review page.
When featuring website reviews, create a dedicated page that is easy to navigate and secure. Also, feature patient feedback on your blogs and homepage for easy reference.
5. Give your clients a personal call
Personal calls to your patients can be superb for review requests. You don’t have to ring specifically for this, but mention it at the end of your consultation or after-care call.
For example, you can say, “It was a pleasure talking to you, thanks for choosing us. We’d be grateful if you shared your feedback online to help others find the best patient care for them.”
Since phone calls aren’t automated, you’ll have to record each patient interaction to avoid requesting repeated feedback.
Sample patient review template
Creating patient review questions doesn’t have to be hard. But, you do have to know which metrics you want to evaluate so you can get precise feedback, rather than general responses. Here are some common message templates to get you started.
- For overall satisfaction feedback, try this: “On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your overall satisfaction with our healthcare services?”
- For quality of care feedback, try: “How would you rate the quality of medical care you received?”
- For staff interaction feedback, try this: “How satisfied were you with the interactions you had with our staff (doctors, nurses, administrative staff)?”
- For communication feedback, try: “How clearly did our medical staff explain your treatment plan and any procedures?”
- For wait times feedback, try this: “Were you satisfied with the wait times for your appointment and treatments?”
- For feedback on your facilities, try this: “How would you rate the cleanliness and comfort of our facility?”
- For ease of scheduling feedback, try: “How easy was it to schedule your appointment with us?”
- For patient education and resource feedback, try: “Did you receive adequate information and resources about your condition and care?”
- For feedback on follow-up care, try: “How satisfied are you with the follow-up care and instructions provided after your visit or treatment?”
- For their likelihood to recommend you, try: “How likely are you to recommend our services to friends or family?”
- For open feedback, try: “Do you have any additional comments or suggestions for how we can improve our services?”
Responding to patient reviews: The dos and don’ts
Getting patient feedback means approaching the good and bad with equal attention. Let’s look at some of the dos and dont’s when tackling patient reviews efficiently.
The Dos
✅ Ask for feedback at the perfect time — after appointments when the patient’s experience is fresh, or when swelling/bruising has gone and they can see the first results!
✅ Emphasize the importance of patient feedback. Tell clients that their online reviews help you provide a better experience for them. Happy patients will gladly leave you feedback — it’s all about approaching them the right way.
✅ Integrate feedback collection into your processes. A robust practice management software excels at gathering patient reviews. With just a click, you can effortlessly send automated feedback requests after consultations or visits, or when the first positive results kick in — the system handles everything for you.
✅ Provide rewards to customers for their feedback. Patients are likelier to share their input if you give them an incentive, like gift cards. But avoid offering financial compensation. Clients don’t want to be paid to give feedback, but rewarded for it.
The Don’ts
❌ Don’t make it a one-and-done. Getting patient feedback is not a one-time thing, but an ongoing process. Having a steady flow of reviews over time is more beneficial than sending feedback requests once, without follow-ups.
❌ Don’t ignore unhappy patients. Criticism is uncomfortable, but you can learn from it. When patients leave negative reviews, don’t turn a blind eye. Instead, show compassion for their problem and explain how you can address it.
❌ Don’t overdo it. Some healthcare providers get too caught up in gathering tons of feedback, but pushing too hard can harm the patient-provider relationship. Be open about it, but not pushy — let patients make the final call on whether they will leave a review or not.
❌ Don’t make it too time-consuming. Requesting client feedback shouldn’t be a task, but something clients willingly want to do. Patients prefer spending less than three minutes on a feedback form, so make it sweet and short, yet resourceful.
Leveraging positive reviews to enhance reputation
Positive patient feedback is superb for scaling your online reputation. It’s like having a personal marketing agent highlighting the best aspects of your practice to the world.
One way to leverage positive reviews is on social media, clients love to scout for healthcare references there. Post your 5-star reviews on Facebook/Instagram to spread the good word to more new users.
Another option is to publish more positive reviews on your website. Not all people hang out on social media, so throw some praise there, too. Also, nudge your clients to publish their feedback on other websites, like Google/Yelp to organically boost your search engine rankings and gain traction online.
Find out how Pabau helps clinics receive 5-star ratings
Promoting patient reviews is its own marketing strategy. But, handling it manually is draining. To streamline the process, consider an automated feedback collection solution, like Pabau.
Pabau simplifies patient feedback management by automatically requesting them as part of the booking process. Simply check the box and it’ll send after their appointment.
Our review management tool also lets you see, share, and respond to reviews from multiple sources (Facebook, Doctify, TrustPilot, etc), effortlessly, in one place.
Showcase your best reviews on socials or your website, or integrate with Google Reviews to organically boost search ranking. Pabau lets you set up referral programs with enticing offers or build your own smart surveys to secure targeted feedback instantly.
Let your 5-start patient reviews do the talking — book a demo with Pabau to learn more!
