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We thrive on feedback. “Feedback is the breakfast of champions”, we say. When it is positive, it is like a gentle tap on the shoulder, encouraging you to continue on your current path. When it is negative, it helps you correct. Client feedback is one of the most valuable sources of feedback for any business. Anyone can handle positive feedback. However, it is equally important (if not more important) to learn how to handle negative feedback from clients appropriately. Negative feedback is a client’s disapproval or criticism of your service or quality of care. Nevertheless, negative feedback can be useful in improving a business process for the benefit of clients, staff and the overall business outfit. In this article, we identify 10 ways to handle negative feedback. We’ve also highlighted common mistakes to avoid with client’s feedback. The overall message is that you can turn negative feedback into positive changes for your business. This article outlines how.

How To Handle Negative Feedback – The 10 Key Steps

How to handle negative feedback Expect negative feedbackRealise that negative feedback is nothing personalBegin with the end in viewListen carefully to understandEmpathise with your customersRespond politelyInvestigate thoroughlyTake charge of the situationRespectfully correct clients if their feedback is wrongAsk for a testimonial when the problem has been rectifiedCommon mistakes to avoid with clients’ feedback

How To Handle Negative Feedback – Preparation

Expect negative feedback A plane is said to be off its course more than 99% of its journey (See Brian Tracy). The pilot and/or its computer keeps correcting and correcting. And you what? Of the estimated 150,000 daily flights worldwide, more than 99.99% reach their destination. That’s the power in embracing negative feedback. An excellent start to handling negative feedback well in business is to expect it. Too many times, businesses get too caught up in “serving” the client. They rarely, if at all, take a step back to check if they are meeting the client’s needs and expectations. The only way to know if you are meeting the customer’s needs is through feedback. In that case, as much as every business owner wants positive reviews, they must also expect negative ones. This helps you prepare for and respond to it appropriately. Besides, you must understand that every information you get from your clients is an indication of their individual experiences. Thus, no two reviews will ever be alike. Furthermore, you must understand that your client’s needs and demands are unique. As a result of this unique client’s needs and expectations, it is only natural that some will be happy, while others not so. When you expect negative feedback, it opens your mind to the reality that you do not know everything. Moreover, it helps you realise that your expectation of customer experience and what it is, in reality, are different. Thus, expecting negative feedback is the first step any practice should take on how to handle negative feedback. Realise that negative feedback is nothing personal To truly understand how to handle negative feedback, you must realise that negative feedback is nothing personal. You may think that negative feedback from a client means that you are sloppy in your job. As much as nobody wants their clinic labelled inadequate, you must realise that negative feedback is nothing personal. Agreed, negative feedback from a client could be demoralising, but you must learn to manage your emotions. Your client’s negative opinion about your clinic does not make you a bad person. The best way to handle negative feedback is to remain calm. Remind yourself that you are making an impact on the lives and health of the majority of the people you serve. Accept your client’s feedback and use it to modify your processes. Begin with the end in view The objective of any business venture must be to maximise client’s satisfaction. The quality of services you offer should make your clients/patients want to come back to your practice. Hence, they would expect to receive a better quality of care when they return. That’s your end goal. Allow clients to express their views about their experiences – positive or negative. Then, take measures to convert dissatisfaction into satisfaction by improving the quality of your services. This needs you to be proactive. Ask the difficult questions and take action. Moreso, there is no better feeling for a business owner than making a client satisfied with your services. To begin with the end in view means having the right mindset and determination to make your clients happy, regardless of the kind of feedback they may give. Learning how to handle negative feedback could be difficult at first, but it does help to focus on the end goal.

How To Handle Negative Feedback – When Receiving the Feedback

Listen carefully to understand One of the best ways to handle negative feedback is to listen carefully to understand what your clients are saying. Then, properly address the client’s concerns. Often some clients may be emotional and make all sorts of outbursts while giving their feedback. The best way to handle this is to listen carefully to understand. This may involve reading their body language or asking further questions for clarification. Furthermore, do not interrupt the client no matter how they sound or what they say. You may try to repeat their exact words back to them as a way to verify what they mean. If you listen carefully to understand, you will be able to get your client’s exact feelings and feedback. Also, you will be able to proffer precise solutions to those problems. Empathise with your customers “It takes months to find a customer and moments to lose one.” – Vincent Lombardi This is another incentive for business owners/managers must learn how to handle negative feedback from clients. To achieve this, you will have to empathise with your customers. Customers are the lifeline of any business, so their opinions, even if negative, must be taken seriously. To empathise with your customers, understand and share in their negative feelings. It is an effective way to handle negative feedback, as you learn to place yourself in their shoes. Besides, it makes you identify with them and whatever negative responses they express. Perhaps thinking about all the effort you have put in to get that client will help you to empathise with them. Moreover, negative feedback might cost you not just one, but many clients. Hence, it is in your best interest to empathise with the client. Your empathy must be clear to them, in the form of words and/or non-verbal expressions. Respond politely Another way to handle negative feedback is to respond politely, even though your client may be upset about how he or she was treated. You must remember that they are the reason you are in business in the first place. Moreover, clients have the right to convey their grievances. To respond politely, you should first of all, apologise for whatever inconvenience was caused. However, do not apologise excessively. You may want to ask questions to gather more information on the matter. Alternatively, the questions may be to inquire if there are other complaints the client may wish to communicate. Furthermore, a gentle response will always turn away anger. Showing your clients that you know how to handle negative feedback will go a long way to allay their grievances. Do not be rash in your reactions, instead respond politely, keeping in mind that the client may choose to share your response to the public. Your response will show whether you are worth transacting business with in the future or not. Often, poor communication could generate negative feedback for your practice. If that’s the case, use chatbots to engage with your client better.

How To Handle Negative Feedback – Taking Action

Investigate thoroughly When you receive negative feedback, investigate thoroughly. Find out how many reviews are similar to it. If you find that you have been receiving multiple negative feedback on the same matter, you should review the entire process and identify any quality issues along the line. Furthermore, investigating thoroughly helps you detect the fault in your systems. It also enables you to check if the negative response has been recurring. Have other clients been saying something similar? If so, follow up properly to get more information. This may involve asking for a private chat with the clients involved to get to the root of the matter. More so, a thorough investigation will prevent future occurrence. If you find out that customer reviews about your quality of care have been negative, it may mean that you do not care about your clients or listen to them. Hence, a thorough investigation is crucial in setting your processes on how to handle negative feedback.   Take charge of the situation To handle negative feedback, you have to take charge of the situation. You must address the issues raised by your customers. Furthermore, clients must see that you are proactive in handling their complaints. Besides, you must take charge of the situation and take responsibility for every concern raised. When you take charge of the situation, it is clear to your clients that you know how to handle negative feedback. Also, it makes your clients confident, knowing that you are addressing their complains and feedback. Respectfully correct clients if their feedback is wrong There is always a tendency to think that “the customer is always right”. Nonetheless, there are times when they are not. There will be times when their negative experience may be as a result of something that they did not do correctly. Some negative feedback from clients may be based on wrong assumptions. How do you handle the situation? Respectfully correct clients if their feedback is wrong. However, to do so, you must tread carefully. First of all, you must thoroughly assess the situation. Then, satisfactorily ascertain that it was not the client is wrong. Next, you must patiently explain to the clients why their negative feedback is wrong. Carefully point out what the customer failed to do correctly. This will not only give your clients extra information about your business but will also show that you know what you are doing. To understand how to handle negative feedback correctly, you must take this step seriously. Ask for a testimonial when the problem has been rectified There is nothing more fulfilling for a business than to realise that their client’s complaints have been resolved. This singular act proves that you are deliberate and understand how to handle negative feedback. Hence, it would be right for you to ask for a testimonial when the problem has been solved. Ask your client to go ahead and share his new experience with others. This could be done by word of mouth, or on social media as social proof. Remember that your goal is to ensure that your clients are happy and satisfied. Furthermore, since you have taken steps to ensure your client is happy, it is alright to ask them to share a testimonial. Your client’s testimonial will help to build your brand. Also, it will give a positive image to your business, and your clinic will be much better for it. You can learn more about how to grow your practice rapidly here.

Common mistakes to avoid with clients’ feedback

Not monitoring feedback One of the common mistakes to avoid with client’s feedback is not monitoring feedback platforms. If you do not know what your clients are saying about your practice, you cannot effectively respond to their feedback. By so doing, you show your clients that you do not know how to handle negative feedback. Therefore, you must adequately monitor your feedback platforms. In the case where they are offline, such as a complaint/suggestion box, a staff should be responsible for receiving or tracking the feedback. On the other hand, if you get feedback online, you must put a mechanism in place to alert your practice when there is a new feedback. Ignoring positive feedback Another common mistake to avoid with clients’ feedback is ignoring positive feedback. When you get feedback from clients, you present them with the opportunity of serving them better. Whether you receive a positive or negative feedback, you must respond in the same manner to all feedback. Unfortunately, most practices ignore positive feedback, and only respond to the negative ones. However, it is essential to note that clients want to identify with brands that listen and talk back to them. Besides, ignoring positive feedback may lead you clients to think that you do not value their views. Late response to feedback More so, late responses to feedback is another common mistake to avoid with clients’ feedback. Although not as bad as not responding at all, responding to feedback late is, nonetheless, a bad practice. It is wrong to respond weeks or months after a client has complained about a problem. When you do not respond to your client’s feedback on time, they will not take you seriously. This is far from demonstrating that you know how to handle negative feedback. Responding on a different platform It is best to respond to feedback on the same platform on that you received the feedback. For instance, if your client gives a feedback on a public platform like social media, you should respond to them on the same platform. (Learn more about social media strategies for practice growth.) This is because it is crucial for other people observing the conversation to know that the discussion has continued on a private space. Otherwise, they may assume that you never responded, or you are yet to do so.

Conclusion

Google My Business (GMB) is a free Google tool that helps businesses gain visibility on Google Maps and Google search. Thus, you must optimise Google My Business if you want to improve your local SEO ranking. GMB is like a mini-website for your business hosted by Google. It usually shows your business information such as business name, address, contact details, photos and your updates.

Why optimise Google My Business?

Health clinics/hospitals, like every other local business, need to optimise Google My Business. This is to allow patients searching for their services on Google to find them easily. Thus, GMB gives you excellent online visibility. Your clients will not only find you but also learn about what you do – before they even meet you. By so doing, your patients will know, like and trust you. Health clinics/hospitals can also take advantage of GMB to increase their Google ranking and drive traffic to their websites. If a patient is satisfied with your services and reviews your business with a good rating, it increases your SEO ranking. This action can, in turn, drive even more traffic to your website. Therefore, for any business operating from a local address, the need to optimise GMB cannot be overemphasised. Therefore, this article helps you:

Optimise Google My Business (GMB) Claim your business on Google My Business Provide complete and accurate information about your practiceGet Google reviews for your clinic/hospitalLearn what to post on your GMB profileUse GMB insights to track your progressIdentify common GMB mistakes and fix them You may also be interested in How to Grow Your Health Practice Rapidly. Or, you can download the 13 Simple Tactics for Rapid Health Practice Growth.

Claim your business on Google My Business

The first step to optimise Google My Business is to claim your business on GMB. Claiming your business entails following some simple steps. Firstly, sign in to your Google My Business account, or sign up if you haven’t created one. If you have logged into your Google account or Gmail, Google will redirect you. Next, search for your business name and address to ensure that no one else has verified the business. If your business has never been verified, click on ‘I’ve correctly entered the business’ or ‘No, these are not my businesses’. Then, you will be prompted to enter additional details about your business. Enter the exact address and phone number of your business, and click ‘Submit’. After the online process, wait for 3-5 working days. Google will send you a postcard to the address you provided with a verification code and further instructions for you to complete the claiming process. Once you’ve done this, you can begin to optimise your Google My Business profile to maximise your search ranking and attract more clients. Different scenarios to optimise GMB for clinics/hospitals For health practices, there are three scenarios we need to consider. Single practitioner The first scenario is for a single practitioner practice. If you are the only health professional managing your medical practice, you will need a single GMB listing. It could be in this form: medical practice: practitioner’s name. For example, General practitioner, Kate Mark M.D. Individual doctors should create their listing, as long as they can be contacted directly in the location during the hours stated. They must not have multiple listings. They may simply use their names and speciality as the title, without including the name of the hospital. Multiple practitioners The second scenario is for multiple practitioner practice. In this case, a health practice may provide a variety of medical services which operate at different times. For example, immunisations, specialist clinics, operation theatre, etc. To claim this type of business on GMB correctly, the hospital/clinic will need to create separate listings for its various locations. Multiple practitioners with multiple locations The third scenario is multi-practitioner and multi-location practices. In this case, multiple practitioners work in a hospital/clinic at different locations. To claim a GMB listing in this kind of scenario, Google allows separate listings for each service and location. However, this kind of listing is mostly discouraged. It creates confusion for Google users. You may be better off sticking with the second option.

Provide complete and accurate information about your practice

To optimise Google My Business for better local Google ranking, you need to provide complete and accurate information about your practice. For example, the name of your business, address of the business location, and if you deliver goods and service to customers. You will also need to specify your service area, and choose a business category from a dropdown list. Furthermore, you will need to add a phone number and website URL, and complete your GMB verification. Name, address and phone number (NAP) You must provide complete and accurate information about your practice, especially the name, address and phone number (NAP). Bear in mind that any inconsistencies will reduce your local SEO ranking. Your practice NAP should be consistent throughout the internet. This is so important that if you want optimise Google My Business for better ranking. More on this in the section on getting citations (below). Photos and videos Include high-quality images in your GMB profile. For instance, your logo, personal headshots, and photos of your hospital/clinic. You may also include videos in your profile as this makes you stand out from other practices. However, avoid using stock photos/videos on your GMB profile. See below for more on what to post on your GMB profile. Working hours Next, add hours that you are open for business. Google allows you to select specific hours you work each day of the week. Note that changes to your working hours may take up to 3 days to update. So, make sure you enter the correct times to avoid confusing visitors.   Business category Include your business category. Google My Business allows you to select up to 10 business categories. The first category is considered your primary category, so it should be very specific to your practice. For example, instead of selecting ‘doctor’, select something more specific like “dentist” or “chiropractic” or “neurosurgeon”. Also, describe each of your services. If appropriate, provide your prices as well. The more complete your profile is, the better optimised your GMB profile is and the better your chances of ranking higher on Google Maps. Business description Provide a compelling business description on your GMB profile. However, do not include URLs or HTML codes. Feel free to engage potential patients. Tell them what distinguishes you from other practices and why they should patronise you. Then, add the URL for your hospital/clinic’s website in the place provided. Google also allows you to provide a specific link for visitors to book an appointment with you. Ensure that your links are up-to-date. Avoid including URLs that redirect potential clients to your social media pages. Learn more about what to post on social media and get a lot of people to follow your business social media pages.

Post on your GMB profile

Posting on your GMB profile is a simple way to optimise Google My Business to improve local search ranking. Besides increasing your ranking, posting on your GMB profile can attract more patients to your hospital/clinic. Posting on your GMB profile is as simple as blogging. Besides, providing potential clients with valuable information is a great way to position yourself as an authority. What to post on your GMB profile? Announcements: For example, if you are hosting an event, you can publish the date, time and venue of the event. Anyone searching for you will immediately know about it. News: GMB allows you to post news about your business on your profile. You can seize the opportunity to tell your patients what new services you offer at your clinic/hospital. Specials: You can use posts on your GMB profile to inform them about special opening hours, offers, and change of business location.Answers to FAQs: Moreover, you can post answers to frequently asked questions as well as relevant healthcare topics on your GMB profile. Although GMB posts expire after every 6/7 days, it allows you to include a call to action. Therefore, include ‘Learn more’, ‘Sign up’, ‘Reserve’ or ‘Get offer’ to redirect potential clients to your website or email list. Each post has a ‘Share’ button so patients can share your GMB posts on their social media timelines. Posting on your GMB profile gives you an exceptional competitive advantage. Seize it!

Get Google reviews for maximum optimisation

The next step would be to get Google reviews for your clinic/hospital. Positive reviews of your clinic/ hospital help to optimise your Google My Business for better SEO ranking. In addition, research has shown that 90% of clients searching for businesses online make a decision based on business reviews. Four ways to get Google reviews for your clinic/hospital from patients Ask your visitors: You can directly ask your patients to write a review of their experience in your clinic/ hospital. Your patients may not know that they can leave reviews of your hospital online. Among those who know they can, only those who are not happy with your services are usually motivated enough to write a review. They may be the minority, but if they are the only ones writing a review, your practice will look very bad in the eyes of visitors and Google ranking algorithms. Hence, invite all of your patients/clients to leave a review on Google. Ask via follow-up email or SMS: This is a great way of getting Google reviews for your clinic/hospital. Send a follow-up email/SMS to your patients after an examination or consultation. In the email/SMS, thank them for patronising you, then ask them about their experience during their visit. You can take it a step further by asking them to leave an online review. You can achieve this by including a link to your GMB profile in the email/SMS. Request via social media: Today, almost everyone has an account on social media. Hence, it has become a great marketing tool for businesses. Besides using your business accounts and pages for marketing, you can use them to get reviews for your clinic. When your clients engage on your posts with positive feedback, reply with a link to your GMB profile, asking them to leave their review there.Your website: You can get great reviews for your clinic/hospital by linking your GMB listing to your website. Insert clickable links and images on your websites that redirect visitors to your GMB listing. There are other methods of getting reviews, but sticking to the above should be more than enough for a clinic/hospital. Remember that Google reviews and ratings are essential components to optimise Google My Business for better local SEO ranking.

Get citations to optimise Google My Business even better

Citations on GMB simply refer to the number of places your business is mentioned throughout the internet. The key to a successful citation campaign is to make sure your business details, especially your business name, address and phone number (NAP), are consistent with you GMB listing in all citations. How many citations do you need? Well, the answer is not the same for everyone. It depends on your location, industry, niche and local competition. However, below is a list of websites commonly used by clinics/hospitals to get citations and effectively compete for local Google ranking: www.yellowpages.com www.yelp.com www.dexknows.com www.comcast.com www.local.yahoo.com www.allconnect.com If you would like to know which websites you need to get citations from to optimise your GMB, submit your details to us. We will run a deep analysis of your website and send you a list for your unique location, with actionable suggestions. It is a free service – our way of giving back to health professionals.

Use GMB Insights to track progress and optimise GMB

Posting on your GMB profile is one thing, but monitoring the impact of your efforts is a different kettle of fish. GBM Insights show how your post is performing with metrics from how your audience interacts with your posts. For example, it shows how clients/patients find your listing and their location. GMB Insights also shows the actions your patients take, and how many of them view your post. You can use GMB Insights to track your progress and evaluate your posts. To track your progress using GMB Insights, click on the Insights tab on your GMB dashboard. Although you can adjust the time window, GMB Insights only shows statistics for the past three months. It does not retain data history for more than a quarter. If you would like to track your progress for over three months, you may need to consider using Google Analytics. Metrics to monitor on GMB Insights Using GMB insights to track your progress helps you optimise Google My Business for better SEO ranking. You would want to concentrate on monitoring the following key metrics: Website visitsNumber of people asking for directionsNumber of phone callsGoogle service customers use to find your businessKeywords people search to find your clinic/hospital Number of people calling your hospital/clinic via GoogleNumber of business photos’ views Finally, use your GMB Insights like a mirror to find areas where you can improve.

Common GMB optimisation mistakes and how to fix them

We have mentioned that having a GMB listing is crucial to optimise your SEO ranking. However, there are many areas where things can get wrong. In this section, we highlight common GMB mistakes and how to avoid them. Mistake #1 – Poor images One of the most common GMB mistakes people make is using low-quality photos for their GMB listing. Your visuals are the first impressions potential clients have about your business. Thus, the quality of your photos affects your GMB impressions. High-quality photos are attractive and attention-grabbing. As such, these kinds of pictures will entice your audience and keep them clicking. More clicks will send positive signals to Google and help to optimise your Google My Business for better ranking. Mistake #2 – Poor categorisation of your business Another common GMB mistake to avoid is category confusion. GMB category confusion leads to angry clients, negative reviews, and poor rankings. To prevent this, ensure that your primary category tallies as much as possible with the type of practice you have. By so doing, your customers will be able to find you and leave you good reviews. Choosing the right category for your business on GMB can be very dicey and confusing. However, getting it right is a great way to optimise your Google My Business for better search ranking. So, it is worth taking the time to find the correct category for your clinic/hospital. GMB categories help to give your business the right focus, helping your target audience find you. No matter the type of practice you have, GMB has a wide range of categories to cover your needs. Mistake #3 – Duplicate listing or inconsistent information Furthermore, avoid duplicate listings and inconsistent information on your GMB listing. Duplicate listings can adversely affect your web presence and could get you penalised. We’ve mentioned this before, but it is worth repeating here. Ensure that all information about you on the website is consistent with your GMB listing, especially your NAP. It is so important if you want to optimise Google My Business and improve your client’s experience.

Conclusion