Having a systematic approach to request and manage reviews for your MedSpa and getting your team on-board with this is crucial.
In this guide we will clearly outline the importance of managing your MedSpa’s online reputation , and how to successfully get more stellar reviews as well as how to handle situations when someone leaves a negative review.
The global medical spa market is expected to grow from $12.50 billion in 2021 to $14.49 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.89%. The medical spa market is expected to reach $23.42 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 12.75%. This rise in demand for aesthetic procedures will cause the medical spa industry to flourish.
With the growth of the MedSpa industry comes an increase in competition and the need for all businesses to be on the top of their game when it comes to marketing and customer service. At The MedSpa Society, we’ve made it our mission to help the business owners navigate their marketing from an informed place.
We hope you’ll find this guide we’ve created on how to manage your MedSpa’s Online Reputation helpful and be able to start implementing some of the recommended tactics to take your business to the next level!
Reviews & ORM (online reputation management)
Anyone considering a visit to a MedSpa or other medical facility typically start their buyer’s journey with research.
These days, thanks to the prevalence of online sharing, consumers are especially interested in (and reliant on) testimonials and online reviews to make informed decisions. These offer first-hand verification of your reputation, services, products, and staff. Focusing on and growing your online reviews will help grow your business.
When potential patients see there are a lot of reviews about your business their confidence in choosing you to provide services increases. No one wants to feel like they’re the first one, so showing that many people have already visited and had a great experience reinforces your credibility and stability.
Getting more reviews
It is perfectly OK to encourage clients or patients to write reviews! Don’t be shy and let them know how much it would mean to you and your business.
- After each appointment, especially with new patients, ask about their experience. Feedback enables you to continuously improve your service and other business practices. If they’re happy, ask if they would be kind enough to write a review.
- Put a sign on your reception desk and other visible areas within your facility, that invites patients to post a review. Add the icons of your preferred review sites and a QR code to make it easy. Your CRM system may even offer an option to request reviews from patients directly on an iPad.
- In your follow-up & post-procedure Emails or SMS messages add a link to post a review about their experience, with links to the top review sites. We’ve listed them later in this document.
- Offer a reward or incentive for leaving a review. This is a great way to get them back in for another treatment or procedure as well! An example would be to offer 10% off their next treatment.
- Invest in a system to help manage your review process.
While getting lots of reviews is important, the review ratings themselves are more important.
Naturally, you hope everyone will give you a 5-star rating, but nobody’s perfect. Regardless of how wonderful you and your staff are, you will probably get a negative review now and then. Potential clients who see your reviews are able to read between the lines. One negative among many positives doesn’t carry much weight. In fact, if you have 100% positive reviews, that can actually look disingenuous and can make people doubt whether those reviews are actually real.
Managing your online reputation
It is imperative to make sure you get a notification as soon as you receive a review or if someone mentions your business online. There are online reputation management platforms OR you can set up notifications directly within the review sites with your Email address so that when a review is left you OR someone you’ve designated gets notified immediately.
Of course you want to see what patients are saying about you — and celebrate when the comments are especially complimentary. However, it is even more important to catch anything negative right away. Either way, responding quickly and appropriately helps build trust in you and your business. Creating a system for managing reviews – both positive and negative – will help you stay on track with this vital marketing opportunity.
Another tool to that you can use to monitor mentions of your business online are Google Alerts. You can set up an alert with yours and/or your businesses name so that if it’s ever mentioned online, you’ll get a notification. This is another way to make sure you’re on-top of managing your online reputation. Click here to set up your alert now!
Positive reviews
When you receive a positive review reply directly on the review site with a short and gracious response – something along the lines of, “Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience! We look forward to seeing you again soon.” If the reviewer’s comments were especially flattering, also send them a personal Email to say thank you.
Positive reviews are also a great way to celebrate the hard work of your staff. If you receive positive recognition and someone else was involved in making that client’s experience great, make sure they get to celebrate their accomplishment as well!
Negative reviews
Address negative reviews calmly and get all information related to the incident from the staff involved before you respond. Sometimes it’s better to reach out by phone first before you respond to the review online. If you can come to a resolution and make the reviewer feel better about the situation they may take down or amend the review.
If you’ve tried to come to a resolution, but the review still remains, respond on the review site by apologizing for their negative experience, even if you don’t feel at fault, and always state what you are doing (or will do) to address their issue. It is critical to build a reputation as a business that listens and acts to correct problems, small or large. However, if you receive a review that is very serious or personal, do not go into details when you respond publicly. Apologize in generalities, and then take the conversation offline by responding directly to the reviewer about the specifics of their complaint.
Top review sites
With the popularity of reviews growing, the number of review sites is ever-increasing, too. You can’t possibly have a meaningful presence on all, or even most, of them. The key is to focus on the sites existing and prospective patients are most likely to use.
These are the top review sites for MedSpa and other related industries. By clicking on the name of the review site below, it will take you to instructions on how to set up your FREE profile.
In order to request reviews on Google, you must first set up your Google Business profile. You can do this yourself OR your marketing partner or agency can do this for you. Within your profile, there is a link that’s provided which directs to your profile and should be used whenever you’re asking for reviews. Click here to see where to capture the link
In order to request reviews on Facebook, you must first have your business profile page set-up. The URL that you’ll use to request reviews, is your page URL with /reviews at the end of it.
YELP
Yelp is a whole different story when it comes to reviews. To manage your reviews on Yelp, you must claim your business page first. They actually discourage businesses from soliciting reviews on their platform. If their system notices similarities in when and how reviews come in to the platform they will hide them. If you’re going to ask for Yelp reviews, you should do it sparingly so that there’s more of a chance of the review actually being shown. You can read their policy here
Reviews and testimonials are powerful marketing tools
Above we listed the ways that you can manage good or bad reviews. Now here are ways you can take your positive reviews through your marketing channels. Essentially, it’s FREE PR.
- Use short quotes from testimonials on relevant product or procedure pages throughout your Website. there are also ways to filter the reviews directly into your site through software that your Website Developer would be able to implement.
- Place buttons for each preferred review site on your Website
- Incorporate testimonials into marketing campaigns for specific products or procedures. If you have a client or patient that would be willing to do a video testimonial, this is a great way to incorporate their
- Turn happy patient stories into case studies. If someone mentions they were especially pleased with their experience, either in person or in review, ask if you can share their “experience story.” Case studies have tremendous value when it comes to marketing your MedSpa. By illustrating a successful real-life example, they simultaneously educate potential patients and reinforce their confidence in your facility.
- Ask if you can share before and after images
- Even better, if they’re willing to do a testimonial video for you. These days iPhones produce great quality with the right lighting and sound preparation. Just make sure you have the person appearing in the video sign a simple release giving you permission to use their footage in marketing and promotions.
Add to your online reputation by highlighting certifications & awards
Professional certifications and formal recognition from medical aesthetic associations, local lifestyle publications, and public “best of” surveys all highlight your med spa’s credibility and personality. Creating an Awards & Honors page on your website gives you a place to show off these accolades. Be sure your website displays icons with links for all your social media endeavors. They should be instantly visible to visitors. Simply seeing these familiar icons tells prospects your business is “with it” and engaged with patients. That’s a subtle testimonial in itself.
About The MedSpa Society
We are a medical spa marketing agency with 15+ years of experience working with MedSpas, Plastic Surgeons, Functional Medicine & Wellness Practices and IV Nutrient Therapy Clinics. Not only have we worked with multiple clients in the Medical Aesthetics industry, but we’ve also worked in-house for large multi-location MedSpas. We know how much skill and time goes into running a medical aesthetics or wellness practice. Let us help you stand out and achieve greater success by streamlining your marketing. Working with The MedSpa Society, you will gain a highly engaged team, fiercely loyal clients/patients, and peace of mind. Let’s just say we know the industry like the back of our hand. To learn more about how we can help your MedSpa or Aesthetics business stay ahead of the competition when it comes to marketing, Click Here
