All medical practices owners in Malaysia know that having positive patient experience is important to the success of their business. The use of word-of-mouth is not a marketing strategy to be depending upon today, if you are aiming to grow your practice, then even the patients that are satisfied will not be able to bring business that will make an impact.
The consumer habits have been seen to change, and therefore if your competitors have not adapted their marketing strategies to fit the shifting trends, then you can be confident that they soon will. The potential patients you have still place a certain value in social trust, however, their information-gathering process has majorly moved to the internet and particularly through social media platforms and online reviews sites.
To improve your practice’s online presence, you must first understand how important reviews are to Malaysians. Here are a few statistics to keep in mind:
Potential patients immediately turn to reviews for guidance.
About ¾ of Malaysian consumers (71%) say they use online reviews as the first step for finding a new doctor.
Almost all your potential patients read reviews.
90% of all Malaysian patients use online reviews to evaluate physicians.
Malaysian consumers check multiple sources for reviews.
84.5% of Malaysians who read reviews visit about two different review sites before coming to a decision.
Malaysians trust reviews just as much as word of mouth.
76% of Malaysians trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation, and among the locals trust is high among people between the age of 35 and 54, which stands at 89%.
If they do recognize the importance of online reviews, the practice owners most of the time end up falling short in search for a strong reputation. You cannot hope to support your reputation if you are not..
Properly equipped to manage and improve your online presence.
This could include making your profiles polished on directory sites and ensuring you check them regularly, or you can work with a marketing partner who have certain tools to assist in improving your ratings.
Ensuring that the Malaysian interactions , both online and in-person, are as positive as possible.
Basically, patients that are happy are more likely to leave reviews that are positive. But when you approach each point with a 5 star experience in mind, you will definitely find new opportunities for improvement.
Responding to negative reviews properly.
Ensure you report reviews that you could be suspecting to be inaccurate or fraud-like, respond to them if you feel like you could save a patient relationship, and address any shortcomings that patients that are unsatisfied bring to light.
The recommendations above are only a few of the ways you can take action to strengthen your medical practice’s online reputation and have more new patients coming in. For more medical practice tips and the latest news about digital marketing for medical practice, contact us for more news for you.
