In this episode of Marketing Chairside we speak to Shireen Firouzian of Firouzian Dentistry about online reviews and how to get more of them!
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Transcript
Jonathan Fashbaugh:
Hi, everybody. Welcome to Marketing Chairside by Pro Impressions Marketing group. We’re having a good time talking with dental professionals about various things marketing-related. The goal is always to help you get new patients online and stop wasting time and money on marketing. And today, we’re going to be talking about online reviews and specifically how to get more of them by asking for them. And today, I am just so thankful to be joined by Shireen Firouzian from Firouzian Dentistry. Shireen, how are you doing?
Shireen Firouzian:
Doing great. How are you?
Jonathan Fashbaugh:
I am doing great. Thank you so much for jumping online here. Folks, I didn’t even give Shireen a chance to prepare for this. I just said, “Hey, jump online with me. We’re going to do this.”
Shireen Firouzian:
I’m happy to help. Anything that helps the cause for Jonathan. Always happy to help.
Jonathan Fashbaugh:
Thank you so much. That’s great. So one of the things that I have found that sets you apart from a lot of other offices is that you get involved with patients in a dialogue. And I think that’s the piece that a lot of offices are missing. They’ll use various tools to send out review requests, and some are better than others, in my opinion. But the big piece, the missing piece that I think a lot of offices miss out on is asking for the reviews. And so Shireen, would it be okay if we could kind of role-play that?
Shireen Firouzian:
Yeah, go right ahead.
Jonathan Fashbaugh:
So I’m going to be the dental office and you’re going to be the patient. And then what I want you guys at home to do is just kind of watch what I do and what I say and kind of the interplay there. So Shireen, you’re coming out of your appointment here and I’m going to say, “Hey, Shireen, thanks so much for coming in. Hey, would you help me with something?”
Shireen Firouzian:
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. What can I do for you?
Jonathan Fashbaugh:
Thank you. Would it be okay if I sent you a text message?
Shireen Firouzian:
Sure. What is it about?
Jonathan Fashbaugh:
So it’s just going to have a link in there. And if you would just click on that and provide us your feedback in the form of an online review, that would really help me out. Would you be willing to do that?
Shireen Firouzian:
I’m not really one of those people to do a lot of online reviews. Do I have to?
Jonathan Fashbaugh:
You absolutely don’t have to. And if it’s any sort of imposition, don’t worry about that. It just helps us because a lot of other people don’t understand that we’re not like other dental offices and that dentistry doesn’t have to be scary. And your smile is just looking so great that I’d love to get your story out there.
Shireen Firouzian:
In that case, then I’ll really make the effort. Yes, sure. Why don’t you go ahead and send it to me and I’ll do it.
Jonathan Fashbaugh:
Excellent. Hey, you challenged me there, too. Good job.
Shireen Firouzian:
It’s just sometimes hard because you never know are you going to get a yes or no. And so you’ve got to be prepared for that no, right?
Jonathan Fashbaugh:
That is so true. That is so true. And I think that offices need to kind of role-play themselves, just like you and I did, so that they’re ready for those types of things that come up. But I think the big thing is so many offices will just use their tool, especially the ones that automate, and just blast them out there. And then it hits the user’s cell phone or their inbox, if they use email, and because they’re not expecting it, it just either gets deleted, ignored, or even maybe marked as spam. And that can cause all sorts of problems.
Jonathan Fashbaugh:
So Shireen, I’m just going to bring up my screen here real quick because I’m using our tool, ProView Analytics, to look at your online reputation and you are just killing it. I mean, in January you got, let’s see here, 18 reviews, and you already have some for February. And so that is just phenomenal. Can you tell us a little bit about your process?
Shireen Firouzian:
Absolutely. So we have this system where every day I have to go and get a wellness check for every patient that’s in the office for COVID. I keep a copy of that and then go through the next day 24 hours later. It’s my way of doing checks and balances. So I check every patient that actually came in the office and I look at their notes to see how well did that appointment go. If it went well, that’s a patient from the day before that I’m going to submit a link for. I’ll send every single patient a link. And in that link, it’s just an automatic link that takes them straight to Google pages. But I also send a little blurb that I actually compose and I’ve adjusted it from time to time. I initially did it for COVID, related to COVID precautions we take so they can specifically talk to that. Then I’ve adjusted it just to talk about the services and helping get the word out for Dr. Mike.
Shireen Firouzian:
Anything you message a patient has to have a call to action. So the link in itself is absolutely critical because it takes them directly to where you want them to go. But the message itself is the compelling part that’s specific to us, to our style, to the relationship we’ve built with that patient. And if it’s a patient that is a unique treatment that we did that I really want to compel them, I’ll actually take a step out as they’re walking out the door and I’ll ask them how it went. Are they happy with their smile? Are they happy with the situation? If it’s a sleep patient, I actually take the time and say, “How are you sleeping? Are you doing better? Would you recommend this to a patient? Well, you know what? Your case has really changed your life. Do you mind sharing it so that you can actually help somebody else like yourself?”
Jonathan Fashbaugh:
I love that. I got goosebumps.
Shireen Firouzian:
So you have to have a call to action. Yeah, I mean, if you don’t have a compelling reason for somebody to take the time to, in their crazy busy day with everything else that’s in their life, with kids and car tire that has to be replaced and everything else from A to Z, to take the time to think about you and what you did for them, there’s no reason that they’re going to make the effort. And if they do, you see a lot of the ones that we have in our reviews are five star with no words attached or a five star [inaudible 00:06:30] generally. “Oh, everybody’s wonderful.” Those are the ones that we didn’t get a chance to do a compelling touch and ask them specifically what to share. They’re going to be complimentary, but there’s nothing specific that they share.
Shireen Firouzian:
So the ones that are very tainted to the kind of customized service that they received, those are the ones that somebody compelled them to share their story. And one of the number one reasons why they will take the time to share their story, I think, is when we have the initial consultation, whether it’s complimentary or physically touching them and meeting with them and getting their story and sharing it with a doctor or the team, transitionary handoff style, is asking them how they found you. Well, if they found you through reviews, then you have that somewhere in your notations. And at the end of that treatment, because I’m the one sending those out, I’m the one monitoring who I’m sending it out to, when they first come in and they’re just beginning the baseline appointments and they still have a whole bunch of appointments and implants and whatever going on, I don’t send them that message. Because if I send them five messages over the five weeks they’re with us, it’s going to be ignored.
Shireen Firouzian:
So I hold back and I monitor when I’m going to send it. And I do a little touch before they leave. “Wow, look at how far we’ve come for you. Do you remember when you first found us? Now, would you think about referring us to your friends and family? Because that’s really the only way people find out about us. We’re not an Aspen Dental or a [inaudible 00:07:59] Dental. We’re Firouzian Dentistry. We’re very unique and we just don’t have the budget to do a huge amount of marketing. But your words will make the difference in someone’s life, just like it made in yours. Would you mind sharing that?”
Jonathan Fashbaugh:
That is tremendous and like evil genius kind of, not really evil, because you’re not actually compelling anyone to do anything. You’re just making an emotionally compelling request. And I love the idea of looking at if they came through reviews, making sure you focus on that patient, because they know how to do it.
Shireen Firouzian:
Because just like a lot of people who are just kind of, what is it, the ghost of Facebooking, they’re on Facebook but they don’t comment, you have a lot of these people who will look at reviews and act on the reviews that they read, but never offer and generate one themselves. So that’s the person that is going to take a very long time to write an amazing review with lots details that will make the difference for like someone today who drove here from Pennsylvania for a consultation. So that’s the kind of stuff that really makes the difference for us.
Shireen Firouzian:
At the end of it, when I receive that review, and I use this occasionally for millennials, not that I don’t love millennials, I have two of them myself, but for millennials specifically, I sometimes say, “You know what? If I can send you a text for you to share your experience with us, you’ve been here with us since you were in a car seat and now you’re going off to conquer the world. Would you share your experience? And you know what, when I get that review, I’ll send you a little thank you. You’ll be surprised to get it, but remember us and know that we appreciate getting that review.” So that’s the call to action for millennials. They need to have something come for them taking the time to share.
Jonathan Fashbaugh:
That is just wonderful.
Shireen Firouzian:
Hopefully that [inaudible 00:09:47] for everybody else.
Jonathan Fashbaugh:
Yeah, no. I mean, the big takeaway that I want everyone watching to get is that there is engagement that gets results. It almost doesn’t matter what tool you use, as long as you’re actually using the tool and kind of personalizing that, because the automation just doesn’t get the job done. So whatever tool you’re using, make sure, I highly recommend just a verbal dialogue like Shireen and I role-played there, or like you just, Shireen, did the one with the millennial. That’s fantastic. But work together as a team to do that and make sure that that’s part of your process for every day. Which patients are we going to talk to. And then, as a team, review results. So, Shireen, thank you so much for your time, being with us today.
Shireen Firouzian:
Be good. Absolutely. [crosstalk 00:10:43].
Jonathan Fashbaugh:
And thanks for everybody for watching. We appreciate it.
Shireen Firouzian:
Thank you, guys. Good luck. Okay.
Jonathan Fashbaugh:
Bye.
Shireen Firouzian:
Bye.
[end transcript]
Find out more about Firouzian Dentistry: https://www.columbuscosmeticdental.com (614) 848-5001
