Key Takeaways:

• 84% of patients check online reviews before selecting a healthcare provider, and 40% have reconsidered or canceled appointments due to reviews.
• Negative reviews outweigh personal recommendations for 61% of patients, emphasizing the power of online reputation.
• Providers who actively engage with reviews—both positive and negative—can improve patient trust and practice success.

Rater8, a healthcare reputation management company, released a new report highlighting the growing influence of online reviews in patient decision-making. Based on a survey of more than 1,000 patients aged 18 to 60+ from across the United States, the report sheds light on how reviews and other factors shape healthcare choices in 2025.

Patients Check Reviews Before Choosing a Provider

The survey found that 84 percent of patients check online reviews before selecting a healthcare provider, with more than half (51 percent) reading at least six reviews before making a decision. Additionally, 40 percent of patients said that reviews have led them to cancel appointments or reconsider providers. Despite the influence of reviews, 57 percent of patients admitted they do not leave feedback for their providers.

Key Survey Findings on Patient Decision-Making

Other key findings from rater8’s survey include:

• 26 percent of patients are considering changing providers in 2025.
• 61 percent of patients stated that negative reviews would override personal recommendations.
• Primary care providers were identified as the easiest to change (64 percent), compared to specialists like dermatologists (32 percent) and ophthalmologists (22 percent).
• 45 percent of patients said a provider’s response to reviews would influence their choice.
• 26 percent of patients said they are unlikely to leave reviews unless asked by their provider, while 47 percent are most likely to submit a review within one day of their appointment.

The Importance of Provider Engagement with Reviews

“Patients have high standards for care, and they have no qualms about changing providers when their needs aren’t met. We’ve found that physicians and practices being actively involved in soliciting, managing, and engaging with reviews makes a difference,” said Evan Steele, founder and CEO of rater8. “And, while for many everyday things a personal recommendation would still trump online reviews, our survey indicated this is not the case when people are making healthcare decisions.”

How Responding to Reviews Shapes Patient Perceptions

Steele added, “In a landscape where online recommendations are so critical to practice success, driving patients to leave online reviews is just the beginning. Responding to negative reviews helps patients see the full picture from both sides, and responding to positive reviews helps incentivize patients to continue sharing their positive stories about the practice. Providers who are not actively engaging with the reviews they receive are missing an enormous opportunity in the continued evolution of patient expectations and care.”

Photo: ID 83798151 © Rido | Dreamstime.com

“Our study also identifies some sources of bias that may affect patients” perceptions of their care – although the plastic surgeon’s gender or race doesn”t appear to affect the overall quality ratings,” comments senior author Brent R. DeGeorge, MD, PhD, of University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

Five-Star Vs. One-Star Ratings

The researchers analyzed 5,210 Yelp reviews of plastic surgery provider practices from 49 cities across the United States. Reviews were coded for the presence of positive and negative themes. Surgeon- and practice-related factors associated with positive or negative ratings were identified, including the effects of the physician’s race and gender.

Eighty percent of reviews included in the analysis were five-star reviews, indicating the highest level of patient satisfaction. Another 13.5% were one-star reviews, reflecting the lowest patient satisfaction. Two- to four-star ratings accounted for only about 6% of reviews. In positive reviews, the most frequently mentioned surgeon-related factors were the surgical outcomes achieved, the physician’s temperament, the physician’s competency and knowledge, and physician-patient communication.

“Patients with positive experiences emphasized having results that looked natural and matched the look they had discussed with the physician prior to surgery,” DeGeorge and colleagues write. “Patients felt most comfortable with physicians who gave thorough explanations of the procedures beforehand, often spending several hours over multiple consultation sessions.”

How Online Reviews Can Improve the Patient Experience

In adjusted analyses, positive physician factors associated with higher Yelp ratings were surgical outcomes, physical exam/procedures, injectable outcomes, competency and knowledge, and temperament. Negative mentions of the same factors were linked to lower Yelp ratings, along with cost consciousness.

On analysis of practice-related factors, interactions with office staff and issues related to scheduling significantly affected whether patients left positive or negative reviews. Additional negative practice-related factors included billing/insurance issues and wait times. The study “corroborates the results of past studies, which have found that practice factors such as wait time and courtesy of registration staff were correlated with a patient’s likelihood to highly rate a practice,” according to the authors.

Yelp ratings were not significantly associated with the physician’s race or gender. While that’s an encouraging finding, the researchers note some differences in both positive and negative factors related to race and gender. “Further research is needed to identify the effect of patient characteristics on their ratings and reviews of providers,” DeGeorge and colleagues write.

While noting some limitations of the study—including the inherent subjectivity of online ratings—the researchers believe their analysis lends new insights into the range of physician- and practice-related factors influencing patient perceptions of quality of care. 

DeGeorge and coauthors conclude: “Plastic surgeons can learn from patient ratings and reviews to develop initiatives to improve the patient experience and learn more about general biases held by patients as the field becomes more diverse.”

Now available to Weave’s 27,000+ customers, Response Assistant reportedly enhances the Weave product to further save customers’ time by using AI to draft responses and other content. According to the company, the first use case allows users to use AI to draft a response to a patient review with one click. The user can then edit the reply before submitting, saving time as they manage their online reputation and practice reviews.

“Reviews are the lifeblood of specialty healthcare practices, as more than half of patients look at online reviews of healthcare providers before scheduling an appointment. This is a great place for us to start with AI,” said Branden Neish, chief product and technology officer of Weave. “Our focus on automating repetitive tasks in specialty healthcare practices has been a key strength for Weave since our founding, and we have multiple enhancements on the roadmap that will leverage AI to make patient communication and engagement easier for every office.”

Online reviews are increasingly important for practices in attracting new patients. In Weave’s 2023 Healthcare Business Insights Report, 77% of offices said online reviews are vital to growing their business, but only 41% regularly ask patients for reviews after their appointment.

In the last year, Weave has added several feature enhancements to its Reviews product. Review Analytics, launched in June 2022, allows Weave users to monitor important metrics like the number of review invitations sent, how many reviews the business has received, and how many reviews your business has replied to, an important factor for local search

In a world where women are often made to feel like their choices over their bodies are constantly challenged, having control over aspects of their physical appearance can feel vital. At the same time, women seeking plastic surgery may have mixed emotions.

After years of sitting in on conversations stigmatizing women with plastic surgery, they may have internalized some negativity. In a perfect world, we would all feel happy with our bodies exactly the way they are, but we don’t live in that world, and the reality is that we are often judged by our appearance first and foremost. Enhancing our appearance for greater confidence and comfort in our skin offers autonomy over ourselves in a way that few other experiences can provide.

As plastic surgeons, we play a crucial role in a woman’s journey to self-confidence and self-discovery. So, is your practice set up in a way that supports and encourages this journey? These seven strategies will help you make small changes to your practice that will deliver a more comfortable, satisfying patient experience.

Every patient’s experience with your practice begins at your website. What impression does your website create? Every detail—from your branding, to the writing, to the ease of navigation—speaks volumes about who you are and what you offer. Sometimes, in ways you don’t intend.

Strategy 1: Provide a digital patient journey.

Today’s patients prefer the convenience of online scheduling. They also expect to get answers to their questions 24/7. A live chatbot tool can assist and free up your front desk staff to handle more pressing issues. Add a blog to your website with well-written and informative content about you, your team, and the procedures you offer to build familiarity and help patients feel comfortable before they even set foot in your office.

Strategy 2: Provide soft skills training to your staff.

Once a patient arrives at your office, what kind of first impression do they receive? Your staff should be friendly and attentive, and your waiting room should be comfortable and inviting. Put your patients at ease to feel safe and confident having potentially difficult conversations with you. Think about setting up occasional secret shoppers to make sure the experience you are providing is up to par.

Strategy 3: Choose your plastic surgery patients carefully.

Not every potential patient is a good candidate for plastic surgery, so a good screening system is critical. Surgery is not the right choice for a patient with an unhealthy mental state, such as body dysmorphia. If a patient cannot accurately assess the appearance of their body, no surgery in the world will satisfy them. Set patients up for success, both before and after surgery, and refer patients who need help to a qualified mental health practitioner.

Strategy 4: Be transparent about your plastic surgery-related credentials.

Of course, your patients should be screening you as well. Provide information on your website, and at your practice so they know they are seeing a qualified board-certified plastic surgeon and that your team has all the necessary credentials.

Strategy 5: Offer in-house financing options.

Any obstacle could stop a patient’s journey in its tracks. In-house financing eliminates one of the most common, especially today when many are worried about layoffs and the price of consumer goods. In many cases, financing makes surgery accessible, and removing money worries allows your patients to focus on what’s important after surgery—healing and enjoying their new confidence.

At my office, we offer PatientFi, which gives our patients the option of smaller monthly payments, whether they’ve chosen a minor enhancement, like Botox, or a complete Mommy Makeover.

Strategy 6: Keep lines of communication open.

Elevate your patients’ confidence in you by sending patients home after surgery with your personal phone number so they can reach you immediately in case of an emergency. Most won’t use it, but knowing they can reach you provides a strong sense of security. You might be feeling nervous about patients having your number, but if you feel a patient would abuse this trust, then you shouldn’t be performing an elective surgical procedure on them.

Strategy 7: Guarantee your plastic surgery services.

A guarantee speaks volumes about your confidence in your skill, but you must be smart in how it’s presented and stated. At my practice, we offer our compliant patients a five-year guarantee on their breast augmentation procedures, provided they haven’t gained or lost over 15 pounds since their surgery. If they want to enhance their results, we will waive our surgeon’s fees to let them know that our goal is their complete satisfaction. If an existing patient with a proper work-up wants to remove their implants, we will do so without charging a surgeon’s fee.

Removing the risk from your patients in this way is empowering and gives them confidence in their decision to have you perform their surgery. And research shows that a better mental state before surgery is associated with better recovery and healing.

Adopting these strategies at your practice will enhance your patients’ experiences and empower them to choose how they want to present themselves to the world.

Sean Kelishadi, MD, is a board-certified plastic surgeon based out of Newport Beach, Calif., and currently serves as the president of SSK Plastic Surgery. He earned his medical degree at the University of Tennessee-Memphis College of Medicine.

Over the past 2 years, many overwhelmed plastic surgery practices have pushed aside marketing efforts so they could effectively manage the complexities of the pandemic. Instead of focusing on business growth, practice owners have shifted resources to address safety protocols, testing and treatment guidelines, and complex staffing challenges.

As we learn to live with COVID and its variants and surges, it’s time for practices to look ahead to a growth mindset. With experts foreseeing the pandemic’s end, now is the opportunity to consider and implement aggressive marketing strategies.                                               

The typical marketing tactics used to attract and retain patients have rapidly evolved since the pandemic started. Amid an ever-changing consumer landscape, savvy plastic surgery practices must keep up with the trends to remain competitive and lead their market.                     

1. Personalization

Opting for plastic surgery is highly personal. Therefore, your marketing should be equally personal. Patients want to feel like their surgeons understand them, their wants, and their specific needs. A one-size-fits-all marketing approach is no longer sufficient.

Healthcare marketers need to personalize the connection with both current and prospective patients. Targeting your marketing outreach to appeal more directly to an individual patient (rather than the masses) can drive patient loyalty and strengthen the patient-provider relationship. Here are a couple of ways to personalize your practice marketing.

• Re-Engage Your Patients. It’s no secret that the pandemic caused patients to put off surgical consultations and procedures in record numbers. Surveys show that over 50% of patients missed or canceled an appointment because of the pandemic. However, the upside of these statistics is that you now potentially have thousands of prospective patients eagerly waiting to re-engage. Now is the perfect time to send out a personalized text message or email to start that process.
• Choose the Right Communication Channel. As your practice begins to reconnect with patients, it’s also important to consider how they want to hear from you. Although a phone call used to be the preferred method of communication, research shows that most patients would now prefer to receive an email or text message for key interactions, like scheduling an appointment or completing the registration process.

2. Take Advantage of Digital Connections

Nowadays, approximately half of all Americans spend at least 5 hours a day on their smartphone. It’s not surprising then to learn that most current and potential patients prefer to interact digitally with your office. Two of the most effective ways to connect digitally with your patients are text messaging and telehealth options.

Research has shown that, on average, people open a text message within 3 minutes of receiving it and are nearly five times more likely to respond to a text message than they are an email. Text messaging can also improve web conversion rates, reduce appointment no-shows, and make scheduling and payments more convenient and efficient.

With a client satisfaction rate of over 80%, telehealth has become a popular, convenient option for patients, especially among millennials (ages 25 to 40).  Promoting your telehealth services is a great way to offer your patients expanded office hours while also creating an additional revenue stream for your practice.

3. Local Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization (SEO) continues to be essential post-pandemic, but the factors used to determine search results continue to change.

Among the most important factors of late is the quality of your practice’s online directory profile. As of 2021, the top factor is your Google My Business profile (part of the Google local pack). Also, ensure your practice’s information, contact details, and address are accurate and consistent across all third-party websites and directories, including Google, Bing, WebMD, and Vitals. Consistency across all websites builds confidence among search engines, which will help your practice rank higher in search engine results.

Lastly, remember to include the most frequently used keywords and phrases related to the practice in all descriptions of your practice. It’s critical to be specific when selecting a business category (for example, “liposuction doctor” beats “surgeon”).

4. Reputation Management

Your practice’s online reputation is essential for attracting new patients. Among the most crucial aspects of online reputation management are positive reviews posted on Google, your website, WebMD, Yelp, and Facebook. Nearly 70% of patients indicate that they will not consider a provider with an average review of fewer than four stars.

To improve your online reputation, request patient feedback, monitor your reviews daily, and respond to negative reviews when warranted.

5. Monitoring Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Successful marketing is a continuous process that requires you to measure results and modify your plans on an ongoing basis. That requires monitoring the key performance indicators (KPI) that best show new client acquisition and retention data.

Fortunately, in 2022, KPIs can be easily gathered, displayed, and monitored—in real-time—in what’s known as a practice growth dashboard. While key metrics will differ based on the specific focus of your practice, nearly every plastic surgeon will want to monitor their search result rankings, new appointment volume, and website traffic.

When planning your marketing strategy, set clear and measurable goals for what you plan to achieve, then focus on capitalizing on the latest healthcare marketing trends to drive your practice’s long-term growth. PSP

Travis Schneider is the co-founder and co-CEO of PatientPop, a Tebra company, the industry leader in practice growth technology. Schneider is highly committed to helping the company operate a platform that helps thousands of providers promote their practice, attract and acquire patients, and retain them for life, for a thriving business.

The journey to becoming a successful plastic surgeon is a long one, and I believe that it does not end at the conclusion of formal training. The path to success as a surgeon is one that never ends. We never achieve perfection—we simply keep practicing and improving. One of the best aspects of being a plastic surgeon is practicing diligently to do the best job possible for our patients, with compassion and humility. It’s truly the route to success.

After a few weeks on a surgical rotation, a medical student told the wise, experienced attending surgeon that he had identified several traits that made him a good surgeon. But he couldn’t determine which one was the most important.

The medical student stated that the first thing that came to mind was the surgeon’s physical stamina. Getting up at 4:30 a.m. every day, seeing patients in the hospital before surgery, standing all day during surgery, and then seeing patients at the end of the day was exhausting. The medical student expressed that without physical stamina and toughness, there is no way someone could be a surgeon.

But despite being tough and having good stamina, a plastic surgeon won’t be successful without strong manual dexterity, the student said. So much of surgery depends on the hands of the surgeon to perform the surgery accurately and precisely. The student theorized that the surgeon’s hands must be the most important.

Even so, skilled hands don’t help discern the complicated physiology and anatomy of the human body, the student realized. Without an excellent recall of facts, the ability to remember and understand complicated 3D anatomy, and the ability to learn and comprehend physiology, the best hands in the world won’t be able to do their job. So maybe it’s not physical stamina or excellent hands that make a good surgeon; maybe it’s the brain. 

As the student concluded that the brain was the most important trait of a successful surgeon, the wise attending surgeon continued to operate and listen. After several moments, the student asked if the surgeon agreed that the brain is the most important component. The wise surgeon replied that while all those aspects are important, only one thing truly matters: the surgeon’s heart.

If the surgeon has a good heart and cares for their patients, loves them, and has compassion for them, then they will devote the time and energy needed to understand the complicated topics. If the surgeon has a good heart, then they will devote the time to develop manual dexterity. The surgeon’s loving heart will also push them to develop the toughness necessary to withstand the difficulties of surgery. If the surgeon has a “good heart,” then they will find success.

The Successful Plastic Surgeon Checklist

1. A desire and hunger to do and be your best. 

This begins in medical school, develops in residency, and continues throughout the career of the surgeon. This attitude is what drove the surgeon to stay an extra 30 minutes studying in the library as a student. It’s what drives the surgeon to wake up early each day to study new techniques and research. It’s what drives the surgeon to closely examine the before and after photos of patients to see opportunities for improvement.

2. The humility to realize that no plastic surgeon will ever be perfect and there is always room for improvement.

Improvement is part of the practice of medicine and, as surgeons, there is always room to improve our techniques and results. This can be discouraging. However, if surgeons can adopt the attitude that every opportunity—whether positive or negative—is a chance to learn and get better, then the process is much less stressful. It even becomes enjoyable.

3. An enjoyment of people with all our different opinions, philosophies, priorities, backgrounds, ethnicities, etc., and the ability to relate and communicate with them.

People are the best part of our jobs, but they can also be some of the most challenging. Why? Because each of us is unique with our own opinions, experiences, and desires. This variety make life enjoyable. However, it also causes stress. Learning to enjoy this variety helps make for a successful surgical career.

4. The necessary technical and physical abilities.

Surgery can be challenging physically and requires some technical abilities that other areas in medicine may not require. For example, physical ailments could preclude a surgeon from being able to perform the technical aspects of the job. Standing all day, most days, can be a challenge for most people and may make the job less enjoyable than it would be otherwise.

5. Being an effective leader.

Being an effective leader is an underappreciated aspect of being a successful plastic surgeon. To be an effective leader, one must be able to develop a vision of how the surgeon would like to have the patients receive care. The plastic surgeon must communicate that vision to the different team members. Most surgeons must then help with the execution of this plan, which can be challenging. Learning to delegate and avoid micromanagement is critically important.

In addition, an effective leader understands that the complaints always “go up” the chain of command and never “go down” or even laterally. This is especially true for younger surgeons who might relate more to the nursing or clinical staff. It can be lonely at the top, but the team leader should never complain to colleagues on the nursing team, anesthesia team, etc. As good as “getting something off your chest” feels in the moment, it’s always counterproductive in the end. If professional conduct standards aren’t followed closely, issues can arise.

Finally, good leaders must know that the process begins with them. If they’re not taking care of their own bodies or emotionally and physically well, then it will be difficult for them to perform at the highest levels. Remember the saying, “Physician, heal thyself!”

Summing It Up

In conclusion, surgeons that aren’t achieving the degree of success or satisfaction that they desire should evaluate their lives and practices in each of these areas to see if there are opportunities for improvement. Remember: Life is short and you deserve the best—you just need to choose to live your life accordingly.

P. Daniel Ward, MD, MS, FACS, is a board-certified facial plastic surgeon and owner of Form Derm Spa in Salt Lake City.

According to the ModMed “What Patients Really Think” Annual Survey conducted by independent research firm One Poll, 69% of respondents believe it is important for a doctor’s office to have a modern-looking website. Moreover, nearly three-quarters (74%) of respondents weigh online reviews heavily when selecting a physician.

This data indicates that, while it is paramount for providers to provide quality care, they must also focus on building a strong online presence to help attract patients and provide consumers with the customer service experience they expect.

ModMed AMP—which stands for “advertise, market, promote”—offers a website design, reputation management, digital marketing, and e-store package as part of its practice management marketing services. These services are designed to help patients find a physician more easily and for practices to build and manage a strong online brand and reputation.

“In today’s digital world, it’s not enough to simply have a website or social media account for occasional use. For physicians, attracting patients is an ongoing process that requires an ongoing online strategy,” says Adam Kupperman, senior vice president of specialty business and general manager of dermatology and plastic surgery at ModMed. “We recognized that between managing operations, caring for patients, and keeping track of financials, many providers are overwhelmed and don’t have time for marketing.”

Details of ModMed AMP include:

• Website design and management. Domain registration and hosting, customizable for the practice, self-service capabilities, integrated with EMA and ModMed Pay. This includes search engine optimization, specialty-specific content, and blogging.
• Digital marketing. Digital ad design, Google Pay-Per-Click advertising, and social network advertising that leads to optimized landing pages for campaign performance monitoring.
• Reputation management. A review widget pulls certain patient reviews from the web to showcase on the AMP website. Practices can monitor, manage, and respond directly to incoming reviews or choose to have the ModMed AMP team do this on their behalf.
• E-Store. An e-commerce site that can be used to sell products and services online. Practices can advertise their store as a purchasing option for patients on Facebook and in digital marketplaces such as Amazon.

In a recent case in British Columbia, a breast augmentation patient was sued for leaving negative reviews for her plastic surgeon. According to the Daily Hive Vancouver, the defendant is a blogger who visited her plastic surgeon in 2015 soon after the birth of her child. During her consultation, her surgeon shared that she had a “chest wall deformity known as Pectus Excavatum,” which is commonly referred to as a sunken chest.

Based on her refusal to remove the reviews that included inaccurate information that could harm the doctor’s reputation, the judge ruled in the surgeon’s favor and asked her to pay $30,000 in damages.

Read the full article at www.newbeauty.com

It appears that the expression “fake news” has become part of the modern lexicon. Indeed, lately, it has swirled around the topic of politics. However, regardless of your political stance, we all turn toward authoritative sources to get our daily information (otherwise known as the news media).

With the expansion of social media, these news platforms have broadened immensely; many would argue, this expansion has watered down the quality of the news reported. Think about it, this medium that we all use determines many aspects of our lives, everything from how to dress in the mornings based on the weather report, how to invest our money based on financial news, even where to eat based on restaurant reviews.

When the very sources that we depend upon to provide us with this valuable information are compromised by bad blood, envy, or downright mean-spiritedness, we all suffer! By no means is anyone suggesting that all news needs to feature reports on rainbows and unicorns, we can handle bad news—just let it be honest, impartial, and without an agenda.

The fact is that false narratives (otherwise known as yellow journalism) are nothing new. Many documented journalistic sources trace this type of news delivery to William Randolph Hearst in the modern era (though it’s been around since men could speak).

However, with the propagation of social media, fraudulent claims (in a printed format) are rampant. These events are concerning when companies hire people to falsely accuse competitors in the business of bad service, negligence, deception, and worse on various social platforms.

Since the early 2000s, we have seen a stark change in the way in which people connect via social media. In the early part of this century, businesses created and developed their websites as an information vehicle for their company; essentially, websites were static, four-color brochures. There was no thought given to creating an interactive medium where clients could leave comments let alone share content with friends.

We can all acknowledge that this is a far cry from what we know today. We all accept that the sole purpose of one’s website is to provide information as well as to create channels that encourage cross-pollination.

Fast-forward a decade and a half: comments and sharing have exploded, sadly not always for the better. The general public is invited to voice their opinions. Some people have legitimate axes to grind, yet others will use this forum in an attempt to destroy.

As such, many people will gladly air their complaints on social media platforms (millions per day) like Yelp, Facebook, Twitter, and the like.

Now, no one is saying that if a person has a genuine complaint or they have been wronged, they shouldn’t be able to express their dissatisfaction. However, there are many examples of horrible posted comments that have no basis in truth.

The point of this article is to help you; how you, as a responsible medical provider, can defend or perhaps insulate yourself against false accusations and unfair comments.

First and foremost, you need to be proactive and diligent. You need to find out if anyone is posting anything about you. I would suggest “Google Alerts”; they have an excellent and free system whereby you will periodically be sent information in the form of an email on whatever topic you would like (in this case the topic is you). So if someone is writing something about you, you will know it.

Secondly, and just as important, you need to shore up your reputation management campaign. The truth of the matter is that you really can’t stop people from saying untruths about you. Sure, you can get injunctions and court orders, but at the end of the day, you can’t prevent the readers of those posts from developing their perception of you. More importantly, we’ve all heard the old expression that “perception is reality” regardless of how diligent and responsible you are; so the question becomes, how do you get and stay in front of those false impressions?

Your reputation in town is everything. To have a successful practice, you need to make sure you’re a doctor in good standing within your community.

Your principal focus needs to be to develop the deepest roots possible with your patients as the best option around. What you’re trying to do is create an impenetrable fortress of goodwill from your patients.

Fill your office, your website, and your promotional ventures with testimonials. For example, feature on your website 30, 50 or 80+ testimonials of patients raving about the fantastic service you provided, and about the post-treatment follow-up calls you made to them, or how compassionate and empathetic you are. All these things go a long way toward building your reputation fortress.

But what exactly do you say? Before you can say anything, you have to know to whom you’re speaking. Traditionally, being all things to all people is a surefire recipe for failure.

You need to target your audience; which means, you need to do an inventory of your current patient base, and this is the only way to develop your reputation as “the” resident expert in your county on “this” particular condition.

• To create your inventory, you will need to determine why they [patients] come to see you. You will have to sort out your patients according to ailments. So, you may notice that the majority of your patients come to you to treat their jaw reshaping, eye lid surgery, post-gastric bypass procedures, etc.

• Say, for example, you establish your reputation as the pre-eminent gynecomastia specialist in town. Begin by focusing your message on those particular patients with that condition in your practice. You target your writing very specifically, with engaging content, on your blogs, newsletter, materials you send, e-books you write, etc.

* You may have several niches, so write and target your marketing to each particular segment. Create different pages for your website for each condition.

• Write robust and informative pieces; but consider your audience, and translate medical jargon into language that is easy to understand and grasp. I believe that it was Albert Einstein that said the definition of genius is, “Taking the complex and making it simple.”

• Create your testimonials on video (about 2 minutes long). Feature each of those testimonials on your landing page of your website; and include a monitor in your waiting area that shows your written testimonials and these videos on a running circuit. Include patients that are thrilled with the results of their treatment.

Make sure your videos are relatable, for example: “gone are the days of constant pains and discomforts,” as patients describe their physical difficulties before they saw you. Gone are the frustrations of not being able to correct their gynecomastia with exercise and weight training. No more self-consciousness when going to the beach or the gym. The constant stress when making wardrobe decisions, etc. Every video should engage and compel!

At the end of the day, might there be someone who says something fraudulent about you? Sure.

Remember, what you say about yourself carries no weight. However, what others say about you is priceless! You will make your case by the sheer volume of positive testimonials from patients that are “raving fans.”

The cornerstone of good reputation management is the ability to navigate your practice through the storms and tempests. Continue doing great work; only from now on, let others know how good your patients think you are.

Just remember, you can’t transform, build or enhance your reputation in the dark. You will solidify your reputation on what others say about you; so shine the light proudly on your achievements and superior service!

Claudio Gormaz, along with business partner Steve Cox, are medical marketing strategists. They have worked with the medical community for over 2 decades. Many prominent practices in the country have benefited from their promotional strategies, developed fruitful and predictable advertising messages, as well as creating solid branding platforms while elevating their resident expert status. They are also highly accomplished business storytellers converting the complex into memorable narratives. They can be contacted via 530-492-9971, StevenVonLoren Marketing Strategists, or their personal emails: gormazca@gmail.com and stevenvonloren@gmail.com.

Internet marketing agency Rosemont Media — the founding Alliance Partner of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) — has announced that CEO Keith Humes will be leading a CME course on plastic surgeon reputation management at The Aesthetic Meeting 2017, which is being held at the San Diego Convention Center from April 27th-May 2nd. The locally-based firm will also be unveiling new products at Booth 706 during exhibit hours, as well as hosting a cocktail party for ASAPS 2017 attendees at Roy’s San Diego Waterfront from 6:30-8:00pm on Sunday, April 30th.

Titled, “Taking Control of Your Online Reputation,” Humes’ CME marketing course (#516) is scheduled to take place on Sunday, April 30th from 4:30-6:30pm. Prior registration with ASAPS is required, and doctors who attend will earn 2 CME credits. Throughout the presentation, Humes will discuss effective ways plastic surgeons can manage the online perception of their practice and successfully compete for top search results under their own name. Key talking points of the lecture include:

• Building a robust social media profile
• Pinpointing the most advantageous social media networks for plastic surgeons
• Correctly optimizing websites for improved search engine rankings
• Distinguishing credible online reputation monitoring options, both free and paid
• Maximizing online reputation management endeavors with business citations

Read the full article at finance.yahoo.com/news/