For chiropractors, veterinarians, and eye care practices, one comment or social media post can shape how your entire community sees you. It can boost customer loyalty, build a good brand reputation, strengthen connections, and fill your schedule, or it can leave you working twice as hard to earn your trust back.

This guide shares straightforward, real-world dos and don’ts to help you protect and strengthen your brand reputation. You’ll learn exactly what steps to take — and what to avoid — so you can build a trustworthy name that keeps patients coming through your doors with confidence.

What is Brand Reputation and Why Does It Matter?

Every business tells a story, and your brand reputation is how people remember that story. It is shaped by online reviews, comments on social media, personal recommendations, and the direct experiences customers have with your team.

Each detail, from a kind greeting at the front desk to the way you handle an unexpected complaint, leaves a lasting impression that adds to your overall image.

For many practices, reputation is the reason a patient picks up the phone or walks through the door. Trust drives decisions, especially in healthcare and service-focused businesses. A pet owner wants reassurance that their animal is in good hands, just as someone looking for a chiropractor wants to feel safe and cared for before scheduling that first visit. When your reputation reflects honesty and quality, it turns interest into action.

A respected image can also boost your business in unexpected ways. Practices with a strong reputation often attract more referrals, resulting in less money spent on advertising and steadier growth through word of mouth. Many patients are even willing to pay higher fees when they believe they are choosing the best care available.

Losing trust, on the other hand, can have serious costs. A poor reputation can push potential patients away, increase marketing expenses as you try to win back confidence, and make it difficult to build strong relationships in your community.

16 Do’s and Don’ts of Building a Powerful Brand Reputation

Don’t: Attack Clients for Leaving Negative Feedback

As a business owner, you do everything you can to make sure every person who comes into your practice is satisfied. But sometimes, there will be people who are not happy with a particular aspect of your brand, and you don’t want to negatively engage with those people.

It’s important to stay level-headed because that’s a reflection of you and your practice. We’ve probably all witnessed businesses arguing with customers on social media once or twice, and you never want to go down that route.

When people leave negative feedback about their experience at your practice on review sites like Yelp or Google, it’s available for millions of people to see. After they read their review, they may form a negative opinion about you without ever setting foot in your office.

READ MORE: 6 Tips for Handling Negative Business Reviews

Do: Remain Professional and Set Guidelines for Responding

Remember, you are a business that is providing a service for someone, so if they aren’t satisfied, take this time to reach out to them and resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

If you are upset after reading negative feedback, step away from your computer before you hit send. Avoid tainting your brand image at all costs. Respond to them publicly and apologize for any bad experience that they may have had, then contact them privately so that you can two can come to a mutual decision that will make both parties happy.

Respond in a timely manner so they know you value them as a client. Timing is crucial for businesses in today’s world when people expect things almost instantly. So, don’t wait for weeks to respond to a bad review.

If you have new patients or clients often, try to schedule a specific time to monitor your reviews and reply. If you cannot do it every day, once a week should help you stay on top of the latest responses.

Whether it’s you, your office manager, or someone else on your staff that is monitoring your ratings, everyone should be well-versed on the guidelines you’ve set in place for how to respond.

Don’t: Make Promises That You Can’t Keep

When you tell someone you’re going to do something, it’s crucial for your brand reputation that you stay true to your word. We know it sounds cliche, but honesty really is the best policy! If you tell a client or patient what you plan to do, they will be expecting that you will do it.

For example, if you own a chiropractic office and you send your patients email an email saying that if they refer a friend to your practice, they’ll get 30% off their next visit, and they do it, the next appointment they book with you should be discounted automatically.

If they were to arrive for their scheduled visit and you inform them that you will not be giving them a discount, that will cause problems with you and your patient. If you don’t keep your promises, that creates distrust with your brand and your patients, potentially leading to a bad reputation.

Do: Keep Your Word

Imagine the relief your patients and clients feel when they know they can count on you every single time. That sense of security doesn’t just happen on its own; it comes from doing exactly what you say you will. Honoring your promises is the heart of a strong brand reputation and shows that you take your core values seriously.

When you consistently keep your word, you show that customer satisfaction truly matters to you. This commitment transforms first-time visitors into loyal customers and helps build a positive brand image that stands out. People talk, and when they share stories about how dependable you are, it fuels positive online reviews and attracts new customers without extra effort.

To make this part of your daily routine, set clear goals and expectations for your team. Align these standards with your brand reputation strategy so every staff member knows how to deliver on your promises.

Doing this creates a dependable, welcoming environment that turns satisfied customers into brand advocates and keeps your reputation strong for years to come.

Don’t: Assume Silence Means Satisfaction

Quiet customers aren’t always happy customers. Just because you don’t hear complaints doesn’t mean everything is running smoothly. Many people stay silent even when they’re unhappy, hoping someone else will speak up or simply deciding to move on without saying a word.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking no news is good news, but this mindset can slowly damage your brand reputation. If you don’t actively ask for customer feedback, you might miss warning signs that could lead to a poor brand reputation and a loss of trust. Staying connected helps you catch small problems before they grow into negative reviews or public complaints that hurt your brand image.

Make it a habit to invite open, honest feedback through surveys, follow-up calls, or even quick chats in person. Show your patients and clients that their voices matter. When you address hidden concerns early, you strengthen customer loyalty and show your commitment to a positive brand reputation strategy.

In the long run, listening closely keeps your loyal customer base happy and helps build a strong reputation that attracts new customers and encourages repeat business.

Do: Celebrate Positive Reviews Publicly

There’s something special about seeing your hard work praised in public. Sharing those shining moments not only feels good but also plays a big role in shaping your brand reputation. In fact, 93% of people read online reviews before making a decision, so highlighting positive feedback can do wonders for your business and help you build a positive reputation.

When you showcase positive reviews, you show that customer satisfaction truly matters. It signals that you pay attention, value your loyal customers, and care about building a strong brand reputation. This kind of openness encourages others to share their own stories, turning happy clients into brand advocates who proudly support your practice.

Celebrating good feedback publicly helps build a positive brand image and boosts your credibility in the eyes of potential customers. It creates a ripple effect, inspiring new customers to give your services a try and strengthening your loyal customer base.

Over time, this simple act supports your brand reputation strategy, encourages repeat business, and keeps your brand identity strong and trustworthy.

READ MORE: How to Generate Reviews That Get Results

Don’t: Use Stock Replies

We’ve all felt that moment of disappointment when we get a canned reply that sounds like it was copied and pasted for the hundredth time. Those one-size-fits-all messages might save time, but they can seriously hurt your brand reputation.

Customers look for real, thoughtful conversations. When they see a stock reply, it sends the message that you don’t truly care about their experience. Over time, these robotic answers can weaken your brand identity, reduce customer satisfaction, and turn loyal customers into frustrated critics. Ignoring this can lead to negative reviews, a poor brand reputation, and even a loss of potential customers.

Instead of falling into this trap, focus on authentic, personal responses that show you’re listening. Tailored replies reinforce your brand values and help build strong connections that encourage brand loyalty and repeat business.

Do: Proactively Ask for Feedback

People love to feel heard. One of the easiest ways to strengthen your brand reputation is to show that you genuinely want to know what your customers or patients think. Surprisingly, 65% of consumers say they would leave a more positive review if a business simply asked.

Instead of pushing for reviews forcefully, focus on creating an experience so good that customers feel excited to share it. A friendly follow-up email or a personal thank-you message can make a big difference and encourage customers to leave positive online reviews.

This small step supports your brand reputation strategy, shows you value customer feedback, and helps shape a positive brand image.

Asking for feedback also helps you understand customer concerns before they become bigger problems. You’ll learn what keeps your loyal customers and patients coming back and what might be turning potential patients away. Over time, this openness builds customer loyalty, boosts repeat business, and keeps your brand identity strong.

Don’t: Forget About Your Offline Reputation

There is a huge emphasis on the importance of protecting your online brand reputation on social media and in the digital world. But what about in person?

If you interact well with your clients and patients online, that’s great! You should make sure that they have the same experience with your business when they meet you in person as well.

If you are genuine, helpful, and reliable when they’re connecting with you through social media, they will expect the same thing when they speak to you on the phone or come in for a visit.

Do: Be Consistent On and Offline

It’s important that your brand personality be the same online and in the office. Do you want your brand voice to be professional, friendly, or informative? Establish your voice and remember this for every interaction you have with a client.

It can be very easy for your clients or patients to spot when you aren’t being authentic. Practice consistency with your brand so people always know that what they see is what they get. Provide them with quality customer service on and offline.

It should be a positive experience for new and current clients whenever they come to your practice, so you can build trust. Some tips that your business can use to provide excellent customer service are:

• Utilize automatic email responders
• Always reply to customer grievances in a timely fashion
• Be as transparent as possible with clients
• Practice clear communication
• Be sure that all your customer service representatives are aware of the guidelines for how to deal with each and every situation.

Don’t: Just Post Content and Go

Creating quality content that your audience will be happy with takes time, so when people on social platforms engage with it, don’t ignore them. Each of your social accounts should be full of content that your practice has created as well as show that you communicate with your following.

For example, let’s say you own a veterinary practice and post a video of a dog walking again after being in a cast for several weeks and it receives high engagement.

The more comments you get, the more you should be communicating with those people. Clients like when you talk back to them. It lets them know they are being heard.

Do: Create a Community and Engage With Your Audience

You want people to interact with the content you post online. This will increase your reach, likes, comments, and followers, all of which are great things! Whatever industry you’re in, join or create your own community specifically for those people.

When you have an online community, you can go to these people to test out any ideas you might have for new products, services, or anything else you would like to run by them before executing it.

The people in your community are loyal and would make excellent ambassadors for your brand. Word-of-mouth is still a great way to produce more business so when your community members speak highly of you or post positive things about your practice online, it encourages others to schedule an appointment as well.

Don’t: Overlook the Power of Social Media

If everyone else is at the party, why would you stay home? Ignoring social media is like closing your doors when customers and patients are right outside, eager to connect and learn more about you.

A strong social media presence does more than share updates — it shapes your entire brand reputation. It shows that you’re approachable, ready to listen, and willing to celebrate wins or address concerns in real time. When people see genuine posts and real interactions, they start to view your business as trustworthy and caring, which ultimately enhances your company’s reputation.

Missing out on this opportunity can leave your brand looking distant and uncaring. Customers or patients might question your commitment or turn to competitors who feel more involved. Active engagement helps you build a loyal community, inspire brand advocates, and maintain a good reputation even when challenges pop up.

Instead of treating social media as an extra task, see it as a chance to strengthen your brand identity and invite more people to be part of your story. Staying present and authentic encourages positive conversations, supports customer loyalty, and helps protect your reputation for the long run.

Do: Turn Social Media Into Proof of Great Service

Social media isn’t just for announcements or pretty photos — it’s your chance to prove that you truly deliver on your promises. When customers rave about your service, that’s pure gold for your brand reputation. Featuring those positive reviews and testimonials right on your feeds gives potential customers a real glimpse of what it’s like to work with you.

Sharing praise can take many forms. You might highlight glowing feedback in a simple post, turn a kind comment into an eye-catching graphic, or even create a short video that brings a story to life. These moments build a strong brand identity and show that you value customer satisfaction above all else. Publicly thanking happy clients also creates a sense of community and shows you’re engaged and paying attention.

But don’t stop at reviews. Offering helpful tips, tutorials, and quick resources shows that you’re not just selling — you’re supporting. This type of content positions your business as a trusted guide rather than just another service provider.

These efforts strengthen your brand reputation strategy, encourage brand loyalty, and keep your audience coming back again and again.

Don’t: Forget Who You Are

Your brand is an integral part of your business. It should be considered when making any major decisions about your practice.

When you do email campaigns, execute your content plan, and build your social media strategy, think about each of these coordinate with your brand.

Do: Stay True to Your Brand

A clear sense of identity is what helps a business stand out in a sea of similar options. Staying true to your brand starts with knowing exactly what you stand for. Taking time to review your mission, vision, and values ensures that every choice you make reflects what matters most to you and your patients.

This reflection can guide decisions, from the way you train your staff to the tone of your online messages.

A great way to keep everything consistent is to create a brand style guide. This resource helps your team understand how to communicate with patients, what kind of language to use, and how to present your services.

Whether someone is answering phones, posting on social media, or greeting a client at the front desk, a shared guide keeps your voice and image steady across every touchpoint.

When your business shows up the same way everywhere, it builds trust that lasts. Patients learn what to expect and feel confident choosing your services again and again. In a busy market where people have endless choices, being authentic and consistent is what makes your practice memorable and encourages long-term loyalty.

Building a Powerful Brand Reputation

A strong brand reputation is never the result of a single campaign or a quick fix. It requires steady, long-term effort and a strategy that evolves with your practice. Every patient interaction, online review, and community touchpoint shapes the way people see your business and influences whether they choose to trust you.

Bringing in a dedicated reputation manager, whether on your team or through a trusted partner, helps keep everything on track. This person can monitor reviews, guide responses, and adjust your strategy before small issues become larger problems.

Sharing blogs, educational resources, and community stories positions you as a thought leader and builds even deeper trust with both current and potential patients.

At the same time, preparing for unexpected challenges is just as important. A clear crisis plan with assigned roles and ready responses allows your team to act quickly and protect your reputation when it matters most.

If you want expert support to protect and strengthen your brand, iMatrix can help. Our reputation management services are designed for healthcare practices that want to build trust and attract loyal patients.

Visit iMatrix Reputation Management or call 888.792.8384 to get started.

FAQs

How can I get more positive reviews without asking awkwardly?

The best way to inspire positive reviews is to focus on delivering an excellent customer experience every time. When customers are happy, they’re more likely to share their thoughts without feeling pushed. You can encourage reviews by including friendly reminders in follow-up emails or on social media. Showcasing other positive reviews also inspires satisfied customers to speak up. By making the process easy and highlighting your commitment to customer satisfaction, you’ll build a strong brand reputation without making anyone feel uncomfortable.

How often should I check my brand mentions or reviews?

Keeping an eye on your brand mentions and online reviews should be part of your weekly routine. Regular monitoring helps you catch negative feedback early and respond before it turns into a bigger issue. Using social listening tools and reputation management platforms makes it easier to track brand mentions and stay updated. Staying engaged shows your audience that you value customer feedback, which helps build trust and keeps your reputation strong.

How can social media help my reputation?

Social media is a powerful way to showcase your brand values, engage with loyal customers, and build a positive reputation. By sharing user-generated content, highlighting positive reviews, and answering questions quickly, you show that you care about customer concerns and satisfaction. A strong social media presence helps reinforce your brand identity and encourages brand loyalty. When potential customers see your active, supportive community, they feel more confident choosing your products or services over a competitor’s.

How to overcome a weak brand reputation?

Overcoming a weak brand reputation starts with listening to customer feedback and making real changes based on it. Focus on delivering high-quality products and excellent service to rebuild trust. Highlight your core values and show that you’re dedicated to improvement through positive brand reputation strategies to ensure your business success. Sharing positive reviews, investing in reputation management tools, and encouraging brand advocates to speak up can also help shift public perception. Consistency and genuine care will slowly transform a poor reputation into a strong, trusted one.

How do I stop competitors from harming my reputation online?

While you can’t control what competitors say, you can strengthen your brand reputation by focusing on your own actions. Encourage positive reviews, build strong relationships with your loyal customers, and maintain a positive brand image through transparent communication. If false claims arise, respond calmly and factually to protect your brand identity. Using your reputation management strategy with appropriate tools helps you track online mentions and quickly address any misleading information. Staying proactive shows potential customers that your business values honesty and stands behind its services.

The post How to Build a Strong Brand Reputation: 16 Do’s & Don’ts appeared first on iMatrix.

To help you improve your online eye care marketing strategy, we’ve developed five top tips to get more reviews from patients and boost your online reputation. We’ll also discuss the value of reputation management to optometry marketing.

1. Manage Review Listing Sites

If you want potential customers to read positive reviews on your practice, you should ensure you have the platforms for them to see your online reviews. Optometry practices should claim their business listings on relevant websites, including Yelp and Google My Business. While you may have existing Google reviews, claiming your listing allows you to take control and be more proactive in your practice’s online narrative.

Business directories list companies within specific niches based on relevant categories. Your business listing reflects your practice’s pertinent information. While you may have an existing listing, you can ensure all details are updated and accurate by claiming your business listing.

All contact information, including your business name, address and phone number, official website URL, and operating hours, should be correct. The information across all business listings should be consistent and accurate to avoid customer confusion.

While you should claim your listing on major directories, you should also take time to list your local business in niche directory websites. As an optometry business, you should list your company in healthcare directories, and the business information should be consistent with your other listings. While select directories may be paid, this is a stellar investment because more people would perceive your company as legitimate.

2. Simplify the Review Process

If you want more people to post reviews on your optometry practice, you should make it easy for them to share their experiences. Your patients shouldn’t have to go out of their way to write nice things about you.

One way to make it easier to post reviews is by providing direct links. You should add links to relevant review sites when you follow up via e-mail and on your website. Ideally, you should shorten the link to make it easier for people to enter it manually.

You can also display QR codes in the office to easily access review pages. You should keep several copies of the QR code, so your team can share them with multiple clients simultaneously.

You should make the process easier for your staff through automated reminders. Implementing software solutions to send automatic reminders post-appointment would ensure you don’t miss any customers.

3. Send Email Follow Ups & Text Reminders

Optometrists like you should set up a steady flow of emails asking patients to leave reviews or fill out quick surveys to keep them on top of your performance. The positive feedback can encourage your team, while the negative online reviews are opportunities to improve your services.

You should also send out quick surveys via text. After a patient visits your clinic, you should ask for their feedback. The experience would still be fresh in their mind, so you have a better chance of getting insightful comments. You can explore automation tools to simplify this process.

If a patient is already in your office, you can take advantage of the situation and ask them directly if they’re willing to leave a review of their experience that day. You should be prepared with a link or QR code to send quickly to their phones or emails. Alternatively, you can direct them where they can post their comments.

Moreover, it would be best to have a script to guide your team. This reference ensures your messaging is inviting and consistent.

Here’s a couple of sample lines you can send them:

• “Would you post about your experience today on Yelp? We can send you a link to our profile.”
• “Thank you so much for visiting our clinic. We’d love to hear from you. Would you mind sharing your experience through this survey?”
• “We’re grateful you visited us at XX. It would mean the world if you shared your experience on Google. We can share our official listing for your convenience.”

4. Create Incentives

If you want more patients to share their experiences at your practice online, you should provide incentives for them to take the time to write about your business. You can give away coupons, discounts, and other rewards to encourage them to write about your business. It’s also an excellent way to promote your services.

Here are some incentives you can consider to gain more positive reviews from patients:

• FREE eye exam on their next visit
• 10% off their next appointment
• A FREE gift for every review they post online

5. Be Responsive 

If a patient does leave a visible review on your optometry practice online, you should actively manage these reviews with appropriate and professional responses. Regardless of whether the comments are flattering or not, you should demonstrate that you appreciate them taking the time to write about their experience because it leaves a good impression.

Tips on How to Respond to Positive Reviews:

• Keep your response personal. Simply adding that person’s name to the reply will make them feel seen.
• Thank each customer for their loyalty. You should be graceful with every response you post online.
• Offer exclusive promotions. Your patients should be rewarded for posting reviews on your practice.
• Shout out to the staff and team for doing a stellar job. You should acknowledge your team’s efforts to deliver the best services possible.

On the other hand, mistakes happen, and too much negativity can damage your online presence. Negative reviews don’t have to mean the end of the world. In fact, you can use their comments to your advantage.

Tips on Managing Negative Online Reviews:

• Take accountability and apologize when needed for a less-than-stellar experience. Your optometry practice should accept that mistakes do happen, and you need to accept your client’s opinion.
• Ask to hear more details about their experience. Negative reviews can be a chance for your practice to improve your services. Your team should reach out to them personally for more information.
• Flag reviews that could be spam. Not all reviews might be from genuine customers, and you must acknowledge the platform where the review is posted.
• Invite them for a better experience. You can fix your relationship with that particular client and improve their perception of your practice by inviting them back for FREE. This is a stellar opportunity to convert them into a loyal client.
• Be mindful of your tone. How you respond to negative reviews is integral to your dynamic with that customer moving forward. Don’t be defensive in your response.
• Use their feedback as lessons. There’s always room for improvement, and you should share negative reviews with your team so they can learn from their mistakes.

Why Are Online Reviews So Important?

What value do reviews have to your business? 79% of consumers say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from family or friends. Reviews online are your digital version of word-of-mouth marketing. And how can you show the world what you have to offer if you don’t try to get more reviews?

Here are some benefits you can enjoy through reputation management:

• Builds Credibility and Trust. More people trust an optometry practice with stellar reviews online.
• Improves Search Engine Rankings. Reputation management can be helpful in search engine optimization.
• Enhances Brand Perception. You can improve people’s opinions of you with the right strategy.
• Showcases Customer Service. You can demonstrate how you value your customers.
• Gives an Edge Over Competitors. You can gain an advantage over your local competitors.

Share Positive Patient Feedback

Aside from monitoring reviews via search engines, you should also proactively manage them through social media. Your team should actively respond to negative and positive online reviews through your business’s social media accounts, such as Instagram and Facebook.

You should share positive reviews your clients share on different platforms. The five-star reviews you receive can drive more patients to book an appointment with you. The customer who posted the review would also appreciate your acknowledgment of their kind words. They might even share your post on their personal page, which may lead new patients to discover your business.

In addition, you should post educational content as part of your overall digital marketing strategy. Your posts will keep your optometry practice at the top of your audience’s minds regarding eye care, and they’re also a stellar opportunity to keep your audience engaged.

Reputation Management Through Online Marketing with iMatrix

To get more reviews for your optometry practice, you need to make a solid effort to get people to write about you. Being proactive in your reputation management can help your team collect more positive feedback while efficiently managing negative ones.

Given your busy schedule, you may not have the time for all of these tactics. Fortunately, iMatrix can handle all your digital marketing needs, including managing your online reputation. Our team of online marketing experts can ensure no stone is left unturned regarding reputation management. For more information on digital marketing packages, including reputation management, call 800.792.8384 or click here. 

The post 5 Ways to Get More Reviews for Your Optometry Practice appeared first on iMatrix.

Imagine this – you’re a thriving business that delivers good results. You have a loyal community of customers, but for some reason, you find it challenging to attract new patients. Why? Some angry visitors spoke about their experience online and left some unflattering reviews. So unfortunately your online reputation is being affected tremendously.

Regardless of how many happy clients you have, a few negative reviews can affect the perception of the general public. This kind of issue is common in any business nowadays. However, not all hope is lost.

Online reputation management can help you turn things around. This blog will highlight the main benefits of reputation management. We will give you tips you can apply to resolve issues like this and even more importantly how to best respond to negative feedback. 

1. Showcase Patient Reviews

Nowadays, prospective patients search online when they need a service. Most people check out reviews to get an idea of what they can expect from a particular business. Patient feedback is basically the digital equivalent of word-of-mouth recommendations.

Let’s note that not everything people say online is true. However, what people say about your business online to a degree will affect potential patients’ confidence levels in your practice. Every account of patient experience can affect people’s perception of your practice. After all, your ophthalmology practice’s online reputation is your business’s first impression.

So on the other hand, positive online reviews can do wonders for your business. You can use these positive reviews to your advantage by displaying them on your company website. Positive feedback from your current patients helps fortify how effective your services are. Additionally, it shows your much your business values patient relationships.

Your ophthalmology practice can also display your positive reviews on social media. Sharing your positive feedback and a few kind words is great social media content. This is a great way to convince more prospective patients how credible and trustworthy your business is.

2. Manage your Brand

The digital world is full of opportunities. Online reputation management is a practice of structuring a brand’s reputation online by displacing possibly misleading content, uploading trending content, and increasing the brand’s visibility online.

Companies today need to be aware more than ever of their positive narratives and values. You need to be mindful of the possible impact of your posts to avoid damaging your reputation and getting ‘canceled.’ You need to communicate effectively what matters to your ophthalmology practice. How you address every concern online can affect how other people perceive your business.

Nowadays, a healthcare provider like you should be consistent. You should address all online comments regularly and make it a point to pay attention to what people have to say in social media comments and messages.

Your business should post and create quality content. A professional photo conveys the impression that you’re a trustworthy business. That’s why you should post pictures or videos that position your business in the best positive light. With your patients’ consent, you can post before-and-after photos that show the world what your ophthalmology practice can do.

Plus, your business should be transparent. Even the best companies in the industry commit mistakes once in a while. You must be honest in patient relationships and acknowledge when your business has fallen short or has committed errors. Your business needs to take control of its narrative.

Lastly, you can find a unique story that can make your ophthalmology practice stand out among the competition. You can capitalize on factors such as your location, community, and background to position your company in the best possible light.

3. How to Address Negative Reviews

While positive reviews are great for business, a negative review that goes viral can severely damage your business. Therefore, you need to check whether your online reviews scare away patients or attract them.

A vast majority of businesses can get discouraged by negative comments. However, you can use bad reviews to your advantage. First of all, don’t ignore bad reviews. For example, use a negative comment as an opportunity to make amends with a patient and showcase how patient relationships matter to your business.

Secondly, when addressing a bad review, you should take a personal approach. Try to acknowledge that person’s sentiments and show how much you value their feedback. Maintaining a polite tone is a must to convey professionalism, and you should let them know you’re addressing the issue. Moreover, it’s not enough to say you intend to address a particular problem. You should follow through with it and address their concern in real life.

Review Response Examples:

Negative Review – “Their office was messy. I didn’t feel comfortable there. I wouldn’t recommend this practice.”

1. Be personal and polite.

“Dear (name),

Thank you for your feedback! I’m sorry to hear about your experience and that our staff didn’t meet the level of service we strive for. We try our best to create an inviting environment for everyone. We apologize for any inconvenience. Sometimes we get so busy we clean our offices at the beginning and end of the day. We will keep our eyes out for any extra clutter moving forward.”

Negative Review – “I wasn’t satisfied with my experience. The service left much to be desired, and I don’t recommend you try this business.”

2. Ask for a second chance.

“Thank you for your feedback. I apologize that your last visit to our office has been less than stellar. We’d like to ask you for a second chance? To make it up to you I want to invite you for a free consultation to fix our mistakes and give you the servicse you deserve.”

Negative Review – “I had a terrible experience at this practice. I had to wait an additional 30 minutes for my appointment which made me behind schedule the rest of the day. I didn’t get any type of apology for the wait time either.”

3. Address the issue.

“Thank you for your feedback. I’m sorry to hear you had to wait for your appointment. We’ll continue to improve our services to provide you with the best service possible. We will be making adjustments to our online booking system to prevent these types of issues in the future. Plus, we would also like to offer you a $50 gift card after your next consultation. Kindly message us for more details. Hope to see you soon.”

BONUS TIP – Offer incentives to mend your relationship with patients with less than stellar experiences in your practice. 

4. Why You Should Be Asking Patients for Review

So why should you be asking patients for reviews? In this day and age, potential patients trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. This means that your business’s online reputation and success are directly affected by your reviews.

How can you boost the number of positive online reviews on review sites? You should take control by requesting your clients for patient feedback. You can encourage people to leave kind words about your business in different ways.

For example, you can give them physical cards when they check in for their appointment. The cards can be incentivized if a new patient reviews your business on Google My Business.

Another good idea would be to encourage them to leave reviews online in exchange for a free consultation or free item. Everyone loves receiving free things, and you can maximize your email list by sending them reminder emails to leave a comment about your business online.

Lastly, you can explore something like providing a QR code to leave online reviews in their after-care pack. What’s important is that you make it convenient for anyone to post reviews about your business online.

5. Try a Survey Builder

You can also take care of your online reputation by trying a survey builder. A survey builder is an online tool that offers an easy-to-use interface for creating appealing and interactive survey designs. For your business to generate positive reviews from patients, you need to ask them practice-specific questions.

How can you encourage more people to answer your surveys? It would be best if you send them patient surveys after their appointment via email. Having the link in their email inbox makes it easier for them to write a review at their convenience. You should also make an effort to ask them to do so after their appointment is done.

6. Focus on Preventing Negative Reviews

While you have the option to manage your online reputation manually, you should take advantage of digital marketing tools to make your life so much easier. Investing in reputation management software allows your business to take control of your online narrative.

This digital tool allows your business to generate more stellar reviews and increase your online reputation. This solution enables you to manage all your reviews in one place. It also allows companies to monitor and compare progress in your area. Moreover, this tool can take your online reputation to the next level.

What’s great about having reputation management software is that you can track your reviews across all platforms. This tool makes finding positive reviews that you can feature on your website more accessible. Moreover, you can also easily find bad ones that you must pay attention to immediately. The timeliness of your response to unflattering comments leaves an impression of how valuable patient feedback is to your business.

Managing Online Reputation and Beyond

Nowadays, it’s important that you take control of your reputation and encourage more people to leave kind words about your business.

Knowing everything your business has on its plate, it might be difficult to apply all these tips. Fortunately, you don’t have to do everything on your own. For help applying all these tips, eye care professionals can reach out to our marketing professionals and schedule an evaluation. For more information on digital marketing packages that include content creation, call 888.792.8384 or click here.

The post A Beginners Guide to Ophthalmology Reputation Management appeared first on iMatrix.

Having stellar online reviews is a necessary part of running a successful practice. More than 80% of people looking for businesses look at reviews before making a decision. Asking patients for reviews is now part of the normal way practices need to do business, but being consistent and actually getting your patients to leave reviews can be a very time-consuming and painful process.

You’ve got your business listed on all social platforms and are ready to get some reviews, but keeping track of every platform you’ve created and being timely in answering customer questions is not as easy as it sounds.

That’s why we’ve improved our Reputation Management solution with Intelligent Reviews to build the definitive platform to not only manage and compare your review score with competitors but actively grow your number and quantity of reviews with much less effort than ever before.

A Frictionless Way of Asking for and Receiving Reviews

Chasing down patients to confirm their appointments is already a huge drain of resources for many practices, so when it comes to asking for reviews, oftentimes it becomes the last thing on a busy practice’s priority list.

That’s when Intelligent Reviews comes in. Our new solution lets you automatically send review solicitations to your patients after their visit so that they get reminded to leave their feedback in a timely manner and take the burden off you and your staff.

This means you can passively solicit and grow your online reviews without having to do much effort on your part. Just set a timeframe after their visit, whether you want to send an email, text message request or both and our system will take care of the rest.

Choose Your Favorite Platforms and Prioritize Reviews

The hardest part of any initiative is starting and we often get asked “Is it best to have more reviews on your Google My Business Page, Facebook or Yelp?”

The honest answer is that all of these platforms should be maintained and nurtured when it comes to reviews. That’s why our Intelligent Reviews solution lets you choose the specific platforms you want your patients to leave reviews on and set a specific percentage of reviews you want to send to each platform.

This means that customers will be directed to the platforms you want more reviews on. You can allocate them yourself or have our automated system take care of it for you.

Showcase Reviews on Your Website

What good is working hard to build up reviews if you can’t show them off, right? Having receipts, or in this case –social proof– is evidence that your patients really love what you do and can help convince potential patients visiting your website that working with your practice is the right move for them. 

Our included reviews widget embeds right into your website, and comes with a variety of customizable display styles to give your website a more personalized touch. 

This means you get an opportunity to highlight your best reviews at every point of your patient’s online journey.

Ready To Get More Reviews?

Our revamped Reputation Management Solution with Intelligent Reviews is now available. Are you ready to get more 5-Star reviews for your practice?  

Schedule a free consultation with our digital marketing experts now and get ready to improve your online reputation. Give us a call at 800.792.8384 or click here to get started.

Don’t forget to follow iMatrix on Facebook where we share educational content and marketing tips for practices like yours.

The post Introducing Our Reimagined Online Reputation Solution appeared first on iMatrix.

This feedback carries significant weight in the mind of your potential clients, with 88% of consumers reporting that they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations!

When people search for your practice online, make sure they’re seeing positive results. Favorable online reviews have the power to increase sales, improve your website’s search engine ranking, and encourage accountability at your office. You’re probably wondering, “where do I start?” Well, you’ve come to the right place.

 1. Choose a Platform

Between search engines and social media, the majority of your clients are communicating online daily. Make sure your business is a part of the conversation by creating online profiles for your practice on social media and trusted sites to offer patients a place to review your practice.

While Yelp and Google may be the first review platforms that come to mind, there are many other sites to consider. And you don’t have to choose just one! Try a combination of review sites and social media to see better search optimization benefits from this tactic.

Once you start garnering excellent customer reviews, you can also feature client testimonials on your website to highlight some of your practice’s greatest moments.

 2. Build Your Review Profile

After you’ve picked which review websites are best for your business, you’ll need to build your profile on each platform. When creating your profile, make sure you have the following essentials:

• Correct information about your location, hours, and website so that potential clients can easily locate your practice.
• A short bio or description that illustrates your company’s purpose or mission.
• High-quality photos and/or video of your location, office, and staff so that you can create a sense of familiarity with new clients before they ever walk in the door.

Some clients may find your review profile before your website, so put your best foot forward. Once your profile is up and running, check on it regularly and update your information as necessary.

3. Get Reviews, Get Results

We know your next question. “Now that I have review profiles, how do I get clients to leave feedback?” We answer this question and more in our webinar, How to Generate Online. Business Strategy Consultant Lillie Morrison will walk you through everything you need to know to gain the stellar reputation your practice deserves.

The post How to Generate Reviews That Get Results appeared first on iMatrix.

But now, online reviews are the new word-of-mouth and they have the power to make or break a business’s brand reputation. The usage of Google My Business, Yelp, and other reviewing sites give people the opportunity to amplify their voice to millions of other users. 

When people come into your practice, you and your staff should provide each and every person with great service so when they leave patient reviews, they can rave about their experience. 

Once others see how professional your practice is, and how well your products and services worked for them, it will encourage even more people to visit your practice. 

Want to refine your brand image and attract more business to your eye care practice? We’re here to tell you 3 reasons why monitoring your reviews can accomplish these goals and improve your online reputation at the same time. Let’s get started!

1. Customers rely on online reviews.

Every single day, millions of people are searching for local businesses and you could be one of them! When a potential patient is searching for local eye care practices that provide routine eye exams or prescription glasses, don’t you want your business to populate alongside great reviews? After reading what others have to say about their experience with you and your staff, it may influence new patients to make an appointment with you.

Some people are even looking for a practice that they could visit within the same day or the next. If they were prompted to search for a local business, then they’re most likely in need of a certain product or service as soon as possible. Oftentimes, people’s first instinct is to go to Google and look for an eye care practice in their area. When your business appears in search engine results pages (SERPs), they’ll read about how other people felt when they left your establishment.

How to Respond to Negative Reviews

If the review is good, it’s a win! But if it’s a negative review, what do you do? Well, you definitely shouldn’t panic or worry that it will deter all potential business from your practice. You also shouldn’t angrily respond to patients because you should always remain professional (even if they’re in the wrong).

Take this time to catch your breath and fully read what your patient had to say. Did they think your staff was uncooperative and didn’t meet their needs? Did they have to wait a long time before being seen for their appointment?

Once they have posted their review, it will be seen by many other people who are seeking recommendations. However, if they see a negative review with an even more negative response from you, they may reconsider.
There are multiple ways you can handle this situation:

• Respond to the review – Publicly apologize to the patient to let them know that you value their opinions and patronage. Other users will see your response and appreciate that you are open to patient feedback and when one of your patients does have a bad experience, you take the time to figure out a solution to the problem.
• Email them – You can also reach out to the patient via email and resolve the problem. It becomes more personal and you two have the opportunity to come to a resolution. If you communicate through email, you can send them a discount on their next visit or some sort of complimentary gift to encourage them to return. Then, you’ll have an opportunity to prove to that patient that you are the best choice for eye care solutions in your community.
• Call them – To take it a step further and make it even more personal, you can ask for their phone number and call the disgruntled patient. Oftentimes speaking over the internet can lead to misunderstandings. You don’t want your patients to misconstrue your tone or meaning, so speaking on the phone will help eliminate the possibility of that occurring.

Here’s an extra tip for you: timing is everything! Don’t wait two weeks to respond to a bad review. If you can, check your online reviews daily and reach out in a timely manner. If you can’t do it every day, a few times a week should be good enough to respond to any newly added reviews.

Reaching out to patients who have left negative reviews is extremely important, but remember you should acknowledge the good ones as well.

Let them know you appreciate their kind words and that you hope to see them in your office again.

2. Increased visibility for your practice.

Good reviews equal good visibility for your eye care practice. On review websites like Google and Yelp, the top-ranking or highest-rated businesses will show up first and ultimately receive more organic traffic. 

About 33% of people will click on the first Google result and 75% of people won’t even continue on to the second page. The better your rating, the higher you are to the top and the more people will see your business.
If you have a great rating, it works like a magnet to attract patients. They see that others enjoy their office visits and have faith that their visit will be just as good. Who wouldn’t want to visit a business that has a 5-star rating? 

3. You can capitalize on online reviews.

Your digital marketing strategy can build off of more traditional methods, like exceptional customer service, to drive more traffic to your practice.

Online reviews are a completely free marketing tool that you should use to your advantage. People are essentially marketing your business to other users when they leave you positive reviews because it influences others to visit you and also leave reviews. So, a positive interaction through your customer service can actually become an asset to your digital marketing strategy!

On Yelp or Citysearch, you can register your business and manage all your listings. On Google, you can utilize Google My Business to claim your practice and manage all the information about your business that appears in the SERPs. 

When you create an account on either of these platforms, you can begin responding to patients and improve your brand’s online reputation. 

Use online reviews to your advantage.

Now that you know the importance of online reviews, what are you going to do? Use this information to get active online and read the good, the bad, and the ugly reviews, then take the necessary steps to ensure people come back to your practice. This way, you can build a strong, trustworthy online presence that inspires loyalty in your patients.

Learn how to manage your practice’s reputation with the help of our other resources

6 Tips for Handling Negative Business Reviews
5 Ways to Improve Patient Recall at Your Practice
How to Target Your Ideal Clients with Local Marketing

The post The Importance of Online Reviews for Your Eye Care Practice appeared first on iMatrix.

Managing your online reputation gives small businesses the opportunity to receive more publicity and gain new clients.

Online reviews are useful because they help prospects search for local businesses that are trustworthy and can deliver the best products along with great customer service.

A whopping 90% of online users make the decision to purchase from a business based on the opinions and experiences of others.

As a small business owner, you should be making an effort to motivate your clients to leave reviews on websites like Google My Business, Yelp, and Facebook.

If you would like to increase your online visibility, here is how you can encourage feedback from your clients and influence potential customers to use your products and services.

5 Ways to Encourage Clients to Leave Feedback

Ask Them

We know, we know. This seems like the most OBVIOUS way to encourage reviews but it’s true. Many customers have no problem leaving a review when asked to do it.

Whether it’s just giving your business five stars or leaving a very detailed telling of their experience, you and your staff should be reaching out to them to gently prompt their feedback.

Email Your Clients

Whether it’s a new client or one that has frequented your business for years, you should be emailing them to ask about their experience with your practice and staff.

If you have a customer’s email address, set up an automated message that is sent out to them after they’ve visited your office or have made a purchase.

When it’s a new client, the email should say something along the lines of “Thank you so much for choosing [name of your business]. We would love to hear about your experience with us. Please do not hesitate to rate us and leave a review!”

This marketing tactic let’s first-time clients know that you care about their satisfaction with your service and product. It can also help to increase customer retention because they see that you value their opinions on what they liked and things that they were not satisfied with.

Shooting a client a quick email to ask for feedback or one that includes a simple survey doesn’t have to be a heavy workload either. There are services that you can use that will do the work for you and reach out to all your clients!

Social Media

If you use social media as a way to interact with your clients (if not, you should be) then it’s important that you also utilize it to ask for feedback.

You can directly engage with clients to see what they like or dislike about your practice and ask for suggestions on some things they think you may need to improve on.

You can even have some fun with this and use the poll feature on either Twitter or Instagram to ask your followers to vote on their favorite products or what they like best about your business.

Interacting with clients through social channels is also a great way to attract the attention of prospective customers. When a client’s friends, family, and followers see how great it was doing business with you, they’ll be interested in doing the same!

Publicize Your Reviews

Displaying your reviews on one of the pages on your website lets people know how open and trustworthy you are. It shows that you have nothing to hide and respect the opinions of your customers.

When you’re a local business owner, a negative review can really impact your online and in-person reputation. But, it’s important that you also let prospects see those as well.
This is your opportunity to show how great your customer service skills are. If someone leaves a negative review, reach out to them as soon as possible.  
Offline, ask what they were dissatisfied with and how they think you can improve in order for them to come for a second visit or make another purchase. Once you’ve touched base, respond to the review left so that prospective clients see that you have addressed the client’s concerns.

The initial review may not be as good, but responding to them shows that you genuinely care about your customer’s experience and that will encourage others to come to your business.

Offer Incentives

Offering your clients incentives here and there is one of the best ways to encourage them to leave a review.

I mean, who doesn’t love free or discounted stuff? You can motivate your clients to leave reviews by doing things such as offering a percentage off their next visit or purchase.
But it’s important that you’re careful with incentivizing them and don’t actually PAY for the reviews. Most sites will flag or penalize you for this tactic because it’s dishonest.

You want your reviews to be authentic and come from real people with real experiences and offering incentives is a great way to generate more customer feedback.

Let’s Review

So, we’ve gone over five ways that you can encourage online reviews and ratings, which are:

1. Ask them
2. Email your clients
3. Use social media
4. Publicize your reviews
5. Offer incentives

Now, it’s your time to use these tips to receive more reviews and build up your online reputation. Potential clients want to see and hear the perspective of those who have used you before so they know what to expect.

Remember, people are very trusting of the online reviews they read, so just provide the best possible service for them so that the reviews will motivate them to come to you as well.

Need more help with managing client relationships, check out these other available resources

Email Marketing Best Practices
How to Improve Client Retention
6 Do’s and Don’ts for Video Testimonials

The post How to Encourage Clients to Leave Feedback and Strengthen Your Online Reputation appeared first on iMatrix.

According to Inc., 84 percent of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. That means that even though someone does not know the person that left the review, they will take it into consideration and may use it as a deciding factor when choosing whether or not to use your services.

When someone leaves you a review, you want it to be as positive and informative as possible because potential clients will be checking to see what others have to say. Reviews are a powerful tool that can be used as an asset to drive more traffic to your business.

But, occasionally someone may not have enjoyed the experience they had at your business or while using your services. The best thing to do in this situation is to remain calm, cool, and collected before responding. Stay level headed and follow these tips on the do’s and don’ts of responding to negative business reviews.

Don’t: Get Defensive and Lash Out

When you see that someone criticizes your business, it’s a natural reaction to want to defend it, especially when you feel like the comment was unwarranted. If they leave a bad review, it can seem like a personal attack, but that is not the case.

Every single customer will not always be happy and that is to be expected. For example, if someone leaves a review saying they called customer support and the employee they spoke to was very rude, obnoxious, and unhelpful, you should never respond by saying “Well, my employee told me what happened and you were actually the one that was rude. Don’t use our service again.”

It’s important that you take the high road and remain civil even if a customer posts something that you feel is a low-blow. There’s also the possibility that there was a miscommunication between you and the customer, but even in this scenario, avoid telling the customer that you were right and they were wrong.

Remember, your first priority is the client’s satisfaction, so get to the root of the issue and think of the best solution to help solve their problem.

Do: Be Professional

Someone took the time out of their day to review their experience with your business and even though it may not have been what you wanted to hear, this is your opportunity to show potential clients how you handle conflict.

Reach out directly to that customer and try to come to a resolution that will make them happy. You want them to feel heard and that the criticism was actually taken into consideration when you respond.

Listen to what they have to say and ask questions about why they feel this way. Do you know what they need and how to make sure they’re satisfied with your customer service? One way to start a response to a negative review is by saying, “Thank you for taking the time to tell us what happened and we apologize about the unpleasant experience you had…”

This example validates their feelings and lets them know how apologetic you are that they didn’t leave your business or use your services and felt they were satisfactory. Let them know that proper customer service is one of your brand’s core values and you will do everything you can to ensure they have the best possible experience.

Don’t: Ignore It

Just because you don’t respond to negative online reviews does not mean they will magically go away. If potential customers see that bad reviews about your company are just beginning to pile up with no response from you or your team, they’ll assume you don’t care about your reputation.

Ignoring the problem will not make it disappear. In fact, it may do just the opposite. Some people are dead set on constantly leaving bad comments about your business until you finally respond. In this situation, you need to communicate with them as soon as possible to resolve whatever issue it is that they have.

Do: Respond in a Timely Manner

Constantly monitoring your Yelp and Google Reviews is a good habit to put into practice. It’s important that you implement a response time policy so that no bad review goes unchecked. Whether it’s an arbitrary complaint or a more urgent matter, your response time should not be over 24 hours. Now, even giving yourself a full day to reply may be too generous.
According to SuperOffice’s research from 1,000 companies, the average response time is approximately 12 hours and 10 minutes. This may not seem that long to you, but to a dissatisfied customer that is looking for answers, this can seem like a lifetime.

Don’t make excuses as to why it took so long to get back to them. The customer will most likely be unconcerned with what occupied your time for so long that you could not acknowledge their complaint in a timely manner. The moment you have time to do so, address the issue and offer a solution.

Don’t: Give the Same Generic Response

If a customer sees that you’re replying to every negative review with the same general comment, they’ll just assume you’re not actually reading them and attempting to solve the problem. You should personally tend to the customer’s issues and make sure your reply is specific to the problem that this particular customer is having.

This shows them that you care about them enough to not just leave a message that was copied and pasted from a document. Personalize your message to them. If you have specific information about them or know the exact incident that they are referring to, use it.

You want to seem as sincere as possible so when you actually acknowledge an issue that is particular to them, it communicates to the customer that you care.

Do: Be Genuine

Being authentic and showcasing that in your response will always get you a better reply from someone. We’re all humans and we make mistakes so don’t be afraid to say that you may have messed up. Apologize to them about having a negative and come to a resolution that will make them happy.

Now that you know the do’s and don’ts of how you should respond to bad online reviews, next time you receive one, you’ll know the proper measures to take to turn the situation around in a positive way. Don’t forget who you are as a brand and how important customer service is to you. Let that show in every interaction you have with someone and they’ll know you care.

Interested in more ways to practice proper customer service? Check out these other resources!

3 Ways to Provide Exceptional Customer Service for Long Term Success
7 Tips to Build Patient Loyalty
Showcasing Your Brand When Responding to Online Reviews

The post 6 Tips for Handling Negative Business Reviews appeared first on iMatrix.

Just like a poor recommendation from a friend, a poor review or low star rating on Yelp will deter new business from your doors. Don’t let your practice fall victim to an undeserved negative online reputation. From claiming your practice’s Yelp profile to responding to reviews, there are quick and easy steps you can take to ensure your local community trusts your practice on Yelp. If you’re not sure where to get started, this webinar video is for you!

The post [Video] 3 Ways Yelp Can Benefit Your Eye Care Practice appeared first on iMatrix.

This public sponsorship speaks for your business in ways that you can’t. Video testimonials are particularly valuable because they present a real person who has benefited from your service and they humanize your business.

Videos in universal search results have a 41% higher click through rate than plain text results.
-aimClear, August 2012

As previously explained by Jamie and Eunice in How to Ask for a Video Testimonial, asking a client to film a video testimonial is often seen as an uncomfortable event. After you have gathered the moxy to ask a client to advocate for your business, this can beg many further questions pertaining to preparation and filming… now what? Below is a list of 6 do’s and don’ts to best prepare yourself for the on-site shoot.

Do Prepare

Preparation is vital. What do you want your final product to look like? Do you want one client in front of the camera or do you want to compile a video full of multiple testimonials?

Do Have Questions Ready

What do you want your client to say? Asking a question does not always lead to your desired answer. Prepare quote-worthy and event instigating questions that encourage clients to ethically recount their experience and represent your services.

Do Keep Your Final Product in Mind

While you have your client’s time ensure that you capture all of the necessary audio and b-roll footage. What is your video going to be used for? What footage needs to be captured to meet this goal?

Don’t Have Too Many People on Film

While this is case by case, having multiple people in a video can detract from its overall goal. If two owners want to be filmed, will one do all of the taking while another sits idly by? Do their answers and interactions complement one another?

Don’t Immediately Ask Loaded Questions

Despite agreeing to film a video, some of your clients will be camera shy. Create a comfortable atmosphere by starting the conversation with questions. Who are they and why did they come to your business are good starters.

Don’t Have Uninformative Content

While sincere, having a client explain your business is the best may not be the most descriptive information. You want your testimonial to recount their unique experience.

Get a Free Video Marketing Consultation

At the end of the day, the testimonial is to benefit your business. While there is no designated path to success, these tips can lead you in the correct direction. Ultimately, you know your company and branding best. Have fun with filming and interacting with your client! This will further strengthen your existing relationship, as well as invite new ones.

For more information on video testimonials and video marketing, call us at 888.792.8384 or click here to speak to a video marketing expert.

The post 6 Do's and Don'ts for Video Testimonials appeared first on iMatrix.