If your veterinary practice website is active online, then you can be sure clients and visitors to your website are posting reviews about your practice on websites all across the Internet. You can also be sure that potential clients are visiting these websites to get a feeling of the kind of services you offer and also to compare you with your competitors.

As long as you are getting great reviews, you are in the clear. However, all it takes is one or two disgruntled clients and things can quickly go south. While you cannot control the thinking of all your clients and website visitors, you do have a degree of control when it comes to managing what clients are posting about your practice online.

Here are 4 easy ways you can control what goes out there–

Exercise greater control over your social media profiles – There is no doubt that social media platforms do provide your current and potential clients with a place to vent their feelings in a more visible manner. However, in the same breath, it also allows you to step in and respond to those comments and reviews a lot faster thus speeding up damage control.

Keep an eye out for any mention of your veterinary practice – A great way to keep track of any mention of your practice is by setting up Google alerts based on specific keywords such as your practice name. You can also type in select key terms with or without the hashtag symbols into the search bar on Twitter to quickly find the kind of information users are tweeting about your practice.

Make Amends if Possible – In the event that you do find negative reviews, try to get in touch with the person that wrote it and work with them to improve the relationship and have the comment removed or updated. If this does not work, respond to the review by objectively addressing what has been stated. Apologize if necessary and express your desire to make amends if possible.

Don’t shy away from asking for reviews – If a client is happy with your practice for whatever reasons, there is no harm in asking for a review!  Encourage them to write or even record a short video, and share their experiences with your practice.