Reviews Even More Important Than Ever As Orthodontic Practices Reopen Post-Quarantine

As orthodontic practices transition to a new way of operating post-quarantine, People & Practice has been helping clients re-open successfully. At the same time, we’ve also been learning from their experiences.

One thing we know for sure is that managing your online reputation is as important as ever - perhaps even more so.

Comprehensive protocols are being put in place to protect patients and keep teams safe. It’s a new experience for everyone. By asking for feedback, your office engages with families, letting them know that their opinions matter during this sensitive time. At the same time, you learn how they feel about the new protocols.

This feedback loop is essential to our clients to optimize their protocols and reassure patients.

There may even be helpful recommendations that you can implement to streamline the process. Inevitably there will be hiccups along the way. We all know that. Collecting feedback privately ensures negativity doesn’t find its way to a public forum. 

At the same time, we really want everyone to read about the great experiences your office is providing, even with an added layer of PPE and social distancing! Authentic public reviews are at the heart of that.

That’s what People & Practice helps to build for our clients.

We already have a SmartReview workflow in place at most of our clients’ offices and we have rolled out new touchless features to replace the iPad systems we had previously relied on in-office.

A comprehensive marketing campaign of automated emails and text messages gently remind patients to give feedback after they visit the office. We also design posters to display in the office with a QR code (remember those? They’re easier than ever these days) that will send the patient directly to a feedback input form on their smartphone.

Based on the type of feedback (positive or negative) we direct the patient to one of two options:

If it’s a negative experience, the doctor is alerted immediately. Perhaps a parent felt that the office wasn’t implementing enough safety protocols or expressed frustration at the new office visit experience. In that case, we make sure that the patient's concerns are addressed.

If it’s a positive review, then we ask the patient to post their review on Google and Facebook so others can see it and feel comfortable coming back to the office for orthodontic treatment or to start their journey to a new, healthier smile.

If you think you’re invulnerable to negativity, think again. Even our best rated clients who have never seen less than a 5-star feedback in their years with us are receiving negativity. Patients’ nerves are frayed; this is a trying time. With the added layer of protection our SmartReview system provides, our clients have felt much more comfortable with their doors open. Wouldn’t you?