Marketing is about convincing your target market that they need what you’ve got, and one of the easiest and cheapest way is through patient testimonials.

Not a very long time ago, testimonial was a kind of formal statement for which the author will give his/her approval for its use as part of practice’s marketing literature seen in website homepage, end of the email, flyers, and poster. Now, testimonials can be seen almost everywhere with the advent of access of patient to social media and online world such as Facebook Page, forums, and comments.

A testimonial consists of a person’s written or spoken statement expressing delight over the virtue of a product or service. The term “testimonial” most commonly applies to the pitches attributed by ordinary citizens, whereas the word “endorsement” usually applies to pitches by the celebrities or prominent person which is another topic to be discussed.¹

A good testimonial incites them to your practice or purchase your products. These testimonials tell people that your services or products are not only legitimate but also a proof that other people are seeing great results from it. In multiple studies, they indicated that 53% of consumers look at information from forums, social accounts and company websites before a purchase.^2,3 Therefore, social media via reviews and testimonials, can be successfully used as advertisement for your practice.

Benefits of patient testimonials

There have been case studies done highlighting the importance and impact of patient testimonials.^4,5

1. Serve as social proof of your product

A social proof is a psychological concept based around the idea that we are more likely to follow actions of others before us because we assume that those actions reflect the correct behavior. Think of it like this: if you see that many people recommend a certain aesthetic procedure done to him/her, you’re going to trust those recommendations, right? Maybe you’ll even purchase it. The testimonial instantly validates the product for you.

Patients are willing to purchase your services if they know that other patients who had purchased have had a positive experience.⁶ Real people trust real people, patient wants reassurance from other peers that they have made the right decision in purchasing your product or services. These testimonial influences other patient’s decision-making.

2. Build trust and credibility

You’ve heard this cliché a million times: actions speak louder than words. In relation to practice, patient’s words can speak louder than your actions and words. Testimonials from your patients can convince your target market that you provide on what the person says you can. According to study done by Vendasta, 68% of consumers trust businesses more after reading positive reviews about them.

3. Overcome objections

When we see a product or service that looks like it works well, we sometimes think: “great, but it probably won’t work for me because of (any trait or condition)”. We build objections to any marketing pitch we see, and testimonials help to overcome those by showing us that “yes, this product does work for people just like us.”

4. Increase conversion

Customer testimonials are known for being an effective way to increase your website conversions. Despite low priced items enjoying high conversion rates in general, expensive items that were given customer reviews saw a 380% increase in conversion rate, compared to a 190% increase in conversion rate for the lower priced items.⁷

Now that we have seen the possible big impact of patient testimonials to our own practice, how can we then maximize this potential?

1. Keep it authentic
Authentic testimonials make it more trustworthy and credible. Don’t make it look spammy. Spammy reviews looks scripted and composed of flowery words. Make sure the one who will give you testimonials have profile photo too.

2. Keep the negative reviews
To keep the authenticity, testimonials should include both positive and negative reviews. A practice with only positive reviews immediately arouses suspicion amongst visitors. Seriously, not all negative reviews are actually negative. It may be a plus for a second customer.

3. Respond to negative reviews
Responding to negative review will let other visitor know how you respond to a bad comment. Address the complaint, say sorry(saying sorry is not claiming the fault), and lead them to a private conversation.

4. Ask for it
Begging for testimonials will make your patients feel like it is more of a number and that you want it for marketing purposes. Ask for testimonials in proper time and subtle way, with this, if you properly asked for it they will think and feel that it will help them grow your practice.

Wait until the patient shows gratitude and thanks, usually after treatment session, when you asked them afterwards, or when you followed them up. It is at that time that you should kindly ask the patient if they’d be willing to provide a formal testimonial. The advantage of this is that it is more natural and at more ease to ask them because of their heightened emotions. Also, because of the law of reciprocation is inbred within all of us and when we have a positive experience we want to return the favor.

When they said yes and are okay to put on a testimonial, asked not just the treatment outcome but also consider how they experienced their patient journey. This includes, but not limited to, how the initial enquiry was handled (whether this be by phone, email, or face to face); the ambience of your clinic; friendliness of the team; the assessment and treatment processes; comfort of the procedure; the treatment itself; the anticipated results obtained and follow-up care.

5. Ask from the right set of people

Best testimonials don’t come from just anyone. Most of the time, they come from a very specific slice of your customer base. Here’s how to find this group:

• Start with your best customers. They are your biggest fans and your VIP segment. Find them thru your statistics: number of purchases or visits, or length of customer relationships. You know they love you, so reach out to them and ask for testimonials explaining why they’ve become such big supporters of your practice.

• Reach out on social media to patients who’ve posted good things about your practice. These happy patients who’ve shared praise about your practice are already acting as brand evangelist for you, so you should spotlight these organic testimonials on your social media too.

• Connect with “promoters” from your Net Promoter Score survey. NPS surveys help practice gauge patient satisfaction and loyalty by asking customers the question: “how likely is it that would you recommend our product to a friend?”

6. Ask for it ASAP

It is imperative that you ask for the favor to be returned as soon as the patient recognizes that they have benefitted. The longer you leave your request for a testimonial (i.e more than a week), generally the less conversions you will have for your testimonial request.

7. Find time to ask and pool testimonials, make it a priority in your content calendar

If you have time curating for your social media and website content, make sure to have time on how to pool testimonials too. According to a report released by Demand Gen Report on 2014, customer testimonials are the most effective form of content, coming in at an 89% effectiveness rating compared to other content types.⁸ Customers trust reviews from other customers too. These testimonials should be seen in every platform (website and social media). 61% of buyers said it is more important than the company information itself.

8. Generate different types of testimonials

Sprinkle them throughout your accounts and don’t limit testimonials to one page. Make different formats of testimonials, such as written or video, and choose the platform, such as Google reviews or social media channels because your patients prefer specific format and platform over the other and depends on their accessibility, and time.

Different formats can be curated such as using a template document on which the patients write testimonial based on set of questions as guidelines or they can fill in. Another format which is making a video testimonial, is quite uncomfortable to most of the patients and difficult to carry on.

Contents can be in the form of stories or case studies. Stories are the personal journey of the patient from the impact of their concern on their lives and how the treatment provided has been beneficial and how your practice helped him/her. Case studies, on the other hand, is more for your professional peers, but can be adapted for patients too. This will be in the format of before and after images accompanied by text on how you achieved the results, what materials were used, your injection technique, and anything you would have done differently. This can also be supplemented with patients’ comments. The above forms of testimonials can be published anywhere and everywhere, such as newsletters, websites, social media channels and around the clinic.

9. Put your testimonials on different platforms

Make sure to distribute your testimonials in platforms that will be visible and accessible to your target market. Don’t make your target market search for them when on product or service pages. Let them be seen everywhere. These are the following platforms:

• Social Media: Facebook reviews, LinkedIn recommendations, YouTube Video reviews
• Website • Local search directories. If you have a local business, then you probably already understand this. Sites like Google Business profiles and Yelp allow members of their networks to write reviews about local business
• Niche review sites Realself, Practo
• Hardcopy: Brochure, flyers, before & after books
• Emails

Potential Limitations

Don’t make up testimonials by buying a testimonial or making dummy accounts just to increase your numbers up. Secondly, you will need to obtain express consent from the patient for the use of testimonial for promotional material. This is critical for data protection and patient privacy. Check your country’s laws for patient data protection. Make sure that the patient is aware of where the testimonial could possibly be published or playing.

References
1. G Belch, ‘Advertising and Promotion, An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective’, Facts 101, Cram101 Text Book Reviews 10(2016).
2. Forbes, LP & Vespoli, EM, ‘Does social media influence consumer buying behavior? An investigation of recommendations and purchases’, Journal of Business & Economics Research, 11(2013) pp.107-111.
3. Vinerean S, Cetina I, & Tichindelean M, ‘The effects of social media marketing on online consumer behavior’, International Journal of Business & Management, 8(2013), p.66. 4. Medical Decision Making, The Inclusion of Patient Testimonials in Decision Aids, (2016), http://mdm.sagepub.com/content/21/1/60.short
5. Robert Alan Bonakdar, Herbal Cancer Cures on the Web: Noncompliance With the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, (2002) http://umass.stfm.org/fmhub/fm2002/july02/awardpaper4.pdf
6. LD Pruitt, LA Zoellner, NC Feeny, D Caldwell, R Hansona, The Effects of Positive Patient Testimonials on PTSD Treatment Choice, Behav Res Ther, (2012) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3519362
7. From Reviews to Revenue, A Northwestern Study Volume 1 (2015), https://www.powerreviews.com/insights/from-reviews-to-revenue-nwu/