Reputation Management

Whether it’s fair or not for businesses, online reviews that are over a few months old have little value anymore for consumers. That’s one of the findings of the most recent survey from BrightLocal, an English citation-building company that has been surveying online reviews for years.   For medical practices, that means if you have […]

There was a time when “reviewers” were paid positions. Consumer Reviews made an entire magazine empire out of reviewing everything from baby cribs to cars. Siskel & Ebert were the trusted source to tell you if you should bother going to see a new movie or not. Every newspaper in every city and town had a

These days everyone’s a reviewer. Go to a movie — write a review as if you’re Roger Ebert. Buy a new vacuum cleaner on Amazon — write a review as if you’re a writer with Consumer Reports. Eat at the new local Italian place — write a review like a New York Times food critic.

It used to be that reviewers/critics were highly coveted newspaper positions. Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert were famous for their Chicago Tribune movie reviews. Restaurant reviewers in big city papers could make or break a new restaurant. But today everyone is a reviewer thanks to online reviews. See a movie? Post a review on a

Studies show that 84 percent of consumers turn to review sites to find a doctor or dentist. But those reviews they’re reading can be a mixed bag for the practice. Good or not so good, your practice needs to respond to every review if for no other reason than to show you are cognizant and

It’s easy to be irritated by how the Internet has changed some things with your practice. Sure, it has made it easier to get your name out there (especially when we move you up in search!). And it is easier for patients and potential patients to know exactly what procedures you specialize in. Plus, a

Every day it seems professional reviewers become more of an afterthought. You could subscribe to Consumer Reports to see the latest reviews before you buy that new vacuum. Or, you could read the plethora of reviews from actual owners on Amazon. You could search Rolling Stone for reviews of the new CD from that indie group you

Remember when the job of “reviewer” was something you had to be paid to do? Take someone like Gene Shalit, who reviewed movies for the Today Show. Or the restaurant guy or gal in every big city newspaper whose job it was to go from restaurant to restaurant and review them…in the paper. Radio stations

The Internet has a wonderful democratizing characteristic — everyone can be a writer, a video star, a movie critic, a comedian, even a product tester. And they can be reviewers of your practice…for better or worse. Formerly if a business had a disgruntled customer/patient, that person had to make it his or her personal goal