The Power of Patient Testimonials
There are few assets more valuable than a strong patient testimonial to recruit new patients to your practice. In fact, a survey by BrightLocal showed that 80% of consumers trusted online recommendations as much as personal recommendations.
Prospective patients look to see if they will “fit” into a practice long before they walk through the front door, so having a variety of written or video testimonials maximizes your chances of having a patient seeking care select your practice instead of a competitor.
Components of a Strong Patient Testimonial
While there are many questions a patient testimonial can cover, the best will always include responses to the following questions, at a minimum:
- What issue was the patient suffering from when they came to your practice?
- How did your practice resolve that issue?
- How did your practice exceed expectations?
To capture a video testimonial, simply use a smart phone to capture a 30 – 60 second video of the patient answering the three questions written above (plus others, if you’d like) while they are in your office. Once complete, ask them to sign a release for you to use the video.
Uses for Patient Testimonials
The most obvious place for testimonials is on your website (we suggest a few on the front page, plus a section dedicated to testimonials), but don’t forget you can also use them in outbound advertising (posting on Facebook and other social media outlets, advertisements on Google or other search platforms, etc.). The third location where patient testimonials are incredibly useful is in reminder messages to new patients. Many times, new patients are apprehensive about their first appointment and a well-timed email or text with a link to a patient testimonial can be just the thing to get through the front door. If show rates are a challenge for your office, we highly suggest giving this a try.