Reviewing services, businesses, and products is a giant industry. Professionally, film critics could make over $80,000 giving their opinion on upcoming blockbuster films. But there are also entire communities on Youtube and other video platforms devoted to assessing the latest technologies, cosmetic items, shows, etc.
In fact, over half of all Americans rank product reviews and ratings as the most crucial attribute of their shopping experience.
Although these popular rating websites, channels and communities wouldn’t exist unless people took the time to participate. Those who actually do are in the minority.
If you Google the phrase “review websites” you’ll reach billions of results. Scroll down a little bit from the search bar and you’ll get bombarded with blog posts that list these types of websites. They’re helpful, but they won’t help your endeavor. Most of them list 20 or more websites you can use.
The picture above shows the search results for a local doctor near our headquarters, Dr. Laura W. Meyer, DO. For her, you can immediately see that her patients are active across multiple different assessment websites. She’s even set up her Google My Business page, which gives important information on the right-hand side.
Even though she’d likely appreciate a review on any of these websites, the best place to leave one is where her patients are most active.
Choosing the right rating website ensures that what you submit gets viewed. Since you’re putting time in to come up with what you want to say, getting views is an added bonus.
So for this example, the best place to post anything about Dr. Laura W. Meyer would be with the majority.
This gives her patients two options.
First, although she has more than 31 votes on WebMD’s Physician Directory, there aren’t any written reviews. Posting a written one here would get a lot of views but yours would be the only one on that particular site.
Another option for her is on Vitals.com. Her patients are very active there as she has 29 votes and about five written submissions.
Once you’ve found the perfect place to post your review, it’s time to start the drafting process. This all starts with self-reflection. To make this process easier, imagine someone is sitting across from you, interviewing you about experiences you’ve had with your doctor.
Think about what you’d want to know if you were a new patient. If you’ve ever switched your doctor, you’ll remember how this task can get tedious. However, you’ll also know what factors you looked for during the evaluation stage.
Ask yourself reflective questions like…
What are the three qualities you like most about this doctor?
How long have you been going to them?
How does this doctor make you feel?
How is their bedside manner?
How much time do they give me to ask questions?
Do they answer each question in an understandable way?
Do they clearly explain symptoms, prescriptions and side-effects?
Have you ever mentioned to them getting a second opinion? How did they react?
Does anything about their appointment scheduling process stand out?
What’s your favorite part of the entire appointment experience?
How does their staff make you feel appreciated?
How easy was the payment process?
What you ask yourself isn’t limited to the questions above but record your answers. As you go through them you’ll naturally start to think of new topics to cover in your review.
Once you’ve finished step 2, you can use your answers to serve as an outline.
Have you ever looked up a restaurant, navigated to their reviews section and saw a bunch of generic ones? I’m referring to those that state, “Awesome food!!” with a 4-star rating. Although those may benefit the restaurant by serving as a boost if they have a lower rating, they don’t help anyone else. If she’s great, why only give a 4-star rating?
The doctor we mentioned earlier has a similar Google Review to what I’m talking about.
Of course, the graph shows that posts beyond that character range are also considered helpful but keep in mind that 2,000 words around 4 pages in length. That might take a little too much time out of your day to write.
When it comes to length, you’ll want to keep what you write detailed yet concise enough that the reader won’t feel as though you’re rambling. Stay on topic and keep your goal in mind.
Detail
Once you’ve determined how much you’re willing to write, it’s time to begin the drafting process. The good news is, you’ve framed the main topics to cover from the questionnaire outline you filled out in step 2.
Now it’s time to decide what personal anecdotes you want to add and how specific you want to get. Your health and the care you receive is personal information that’s protected by law. Your doctor can’t share that information without your permission. If they did, they’d face a HIPAA violation. But it’s ultimately up to you how personal and detailed you want to get.
Alternatively, if you wanted to err on the side of privacy you could still give a detailed, good evaluation anonymously. Either way, share what you’re comfortable with sharing.
Tone and Writing Style
While you’re writing your submission it’s important to keep in mind your tone of voice, writing style and storytelling.
First, what’s important to understand is that all reviews are somewhat subjective. There’s no real way around that. However, keeping that in mind while you’re writing will make it easier for you to point out anything you say that’s overly subjective. Thus, you’ll be able to steer it towards a more objective tone.
Second, your writing style should reflect your personality. After all, this is a first-hand account of your experiences with your doctor. That also means that the tense you use should reflect that as well. In other words, write in the first person.
Third, put an emphasis on storytelling. According to Wired.com, “Storytelling is a central to human existence.” That may sound a little over exaggerated but they have a point. Your ability to tell a story is the difference between just an okay assessment and one that people will use as a reference for years to come.
The first doctor sample we have for you comes from a local physician near our headquarters. There are a few big takeaways from this example.
First, it’s a Google Review from some who acquired the “Local Guide” title. Local Guides have precedent over other users because they’re enrolled in Google’s reward program for posting their thoughts.
Essentially, as they leave more helpful critiques on Google Reviews, they’ll receive tiered rewards. Receiving a submission from a Local Guide is great because they’re viewed as more trustworthy and usually go more in-depth.
Second, the content itself is very well written. You can immediately tell that the user spent time reflecting on their experience with this doctor. The result is a well-thought-out review discussing how this physician cares about his patients, even outside office hours.
Sample 2: New York Doctors Urgent Care
Our next example is unique, not only because of its format but also because the healthcare organization responded.
The evaluation itself is short and concise. It’s also written in a way that’s friendly to the reader. The user summarized his experience within the first few words while providing more detail within the subsequent sentences.
The healthcare organization sent a personalized response that’s also signed by one of their employees. This not only acknowledges the time and effort the user put into their review, but it also adds a human element to an otherwise digitized space.
