Strategic management of negative patient reviews can serve to strengthen the relationship between the patient and the provider. As well as serving as effective marketing to prospective patients and ultimately resulting in better patient retention and increased revenue.
Service recovery paradox
“Research over the years has shown that customers who have had a service failure resolved tend to be significantly more loyal than those who have never faced a failure.”
The author Harsh Vardhan illustrates the unique advantage of negative feedback.
“It is a situation where a customer begins to have a good opinion of a company after they have managed to solve their problem, compared to their impression of the company before experiencing the problem.”
The power of good customer service
In essence, it is the power of good customer service. What is communicated to the patient when negative comments are properly handled by a healthcare facility is invaluable in strengthening the relationship!
“The company shows empathy for the customer by going the extra mile to satisfy them. They show a genuine desire to solve your problem. The client begins to have a sense of trust. They know that if something goes wrong, it will be solved, the greatest guarantee that every client needs ”.
Furthermore, this level of security could not be acquired if it weren’t for a point of dissatisfaction. There is a great chance of negative feedback if handled correctly.
Implement a recovery strategy
The first step in implementing a service recovery strategy in a way that is conducive to patient safety and loyalty is to be intentionally and consistently aware of your patients’ feedback.
This is often a great missed opportunity for many health centers. What a current or potential patient sees when a negative comment is not addressed or goes unnoticed is a lack of attention from the healthcare facility.
Rather, genuine care and concern for the patient can be communicated with a simple and strategic response to negative comments.
“Taking the time to monitor and respond to patient feedback presents opportunities that others are not taking advantage of. In the patient perspective survey, 58.5 percent of patients said they did not receive a response from their provider after sharing critical comments. “
Here are a couple more stats to highlight the importance of responding to negative reviews:
- Fifty-nine percent of the patients who were contacted said they were satisfied.
- When a provider or practice doesn’t come forward to address negative comments, patient satisfaction is 3.6 percent. That unhappy patient is still an unhappy patient. They are practically immovable.
- Ignoring negative reviews can be absolutely detrimental to your healthcare facility. However, taking advantage of the commonly missed opportunity to respond strategically to negative reviews can help your healthcare facility stand out from the competition.
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