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Stop Ignoring Online Review and Rating Sites

 |  By Marianne@example.com  
   March 20, 2013

Whenever I read new statistics shedding light on the state of advertising today, I can't help but think of Don Draper, Mad Men's fictional ad man and womanizer. If you asked Don what the public would trust more—an advertisement or a stranger's opinion—he would tell you the ad is more trustworthy, hands down.

Well, Don, brace yourself for 2013.

According to Forrester Research, 32% of online consumers trust a stranger's opinion on public forums or blogs more than they trust branded advertisements and marketing collateral, Forbes reports. While that's not a majority, it is rather telling that about one-third of consumers would trust a random, faceless person posting on the Internet over a well-established brand. And that percentage will likely continue to increase.

This research should set a fire under hospital marketers to monitor and participate in online review and rating sites. Until now, hospitals and health centers have largely ignored this space, either due to ignorance, fear, or helplessness.

But by monitoring and responding to patient reviews—and, most importantly, listening to what they have to say—you can boost your brand or shore it up if it's taken some dings.

Yelp
Yelp is one of the oldest and most respected customer review sites, and is the go-to for most internet users.  Your organization is most likely already on there. Go ahead, search for it (in a new tab, please). See?

Furthermore, a study published in the BMJ Quality and Safety Journal found that high Yelp ratings for hospitals correlate with high HCAHPS ratings, as well as with lower readmission and mortality rates.

If you see negative reviews on Yelp, respond to the poster to apologize for their grievance, ask what could have made their experience better, and, if possible, to see if you can rectify the situation. When organizations take the extra step to make amends, Yelp users will often update their review to reflect it.

Angie's List
Angie's List is a membership service that compiles consumer ratings for companies and contractors nationwide. This review site has been growing in popularity and counts among its service categories hospitals, primary care providers, and several medical specialties.

It is seen as a legitimate resource because it doesn't allow anonymous reviews and because it uses a certified data collection process that prevents companies from reporting on themselves or their competitors. By the way, businesses do not pay to appear on the site—they are only added when a paying member submits a positive review.

Typically, Angie's List focuses on promoting the best of the best, so most of the reviews are positive. If there is a negative review, however, the site does allow organizations to respond.

Foursquare
Foursquare is a geo-location based website and app that prompts users to "check in" and post comments and photos about the various places they visit each day. According to the site, 30 million people and 1 million businesses use Foursquare.

Many Foursquare users link their accounts to at least one other social network, such as Facebook or Twitter, so their thoughts about your organization are likely being posted and viewed from multiple locations. And, like Yelp, you're probably already on there. In this case, the app allows you to "claim" your business, which enables you to have some control over how you are represented on the site.

Businesses can respond to reviews either directly on Foursquare or via one of the social networks that the users has synced to his or her account. I've found, however, that users tend to simply "check in" to a location and don't often make additional comments. One way to capitalize on this is to ask patients to check in to your hospital by posting QR codes linking to your account.

Bottom line: You cannot fight the online customer (patient) review. It's happening. Embrace it. In recent months, more and more hospital marketers I've talked to have said they ask patients to review them online, either verbally, through internal signage, or on social media.

If the patient experience your organization delivers is up to par, the majority of reviews will be positive. And if they're not, you can target the pain points and start working toward fixing them.

Marianne Aiello is a contributing writer at HealthLeaders Media.

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