Customer feedback systems and software products are quickly becoming a must-have for organizations of all sizes and across all industries.

And for good reason: if you’re hoping to deliver customer experiences that delight in ways that make a positive impact on the bottom line, you must be able to effectively manage customer feedback.

Defining customer feedback

Using a traditional definition, customer feedback is any information that comes directly from your company’s customers. This information can convey these customers’ thoughts, feelings, satisfaction levels, or opinions about your product, service, or brand.

Technology has expanded the ways in which feedback is generated, captured, and collected. Now, customers can share their feedback using various platforms and channels, such as:

• Online reviews and ratings

• Social media comments

• Customer satisfaction surveys

• Emails and phone calls

• Comment cards

• Focus group discussions

• Customer interviews and roundtables

• Usability tests

Customer Feedback System

A customer feedback system — which these days usually takes the form of a software product or application — helps business organizations manage what customers are saying on multiple feedback platforms and channels, as well as gain valuable data-driven insights essential to improving overall customer experience.

Customer feedback software can also helps organizations, from the C-suite to frontline employees, understand their customers better and therefore more easily measure (and improve) customer satisfaction and loyalty.

What a customer feedback system does

While products vary, there are several key features that can be found in most of today’s customer feedback software applications or systems.

Social media listening and feedback monitoring and response. Customers often share their feedback even if the business hasn’t asked for it.

That’s why a number of customer feedback systems make the ability to monitor online reviews, social media comments, star ratings, and other forms of third-party feedback a key functional component. Some systems also provide its business customers the ability to respond to internal and external feedback.  

Text analytics and sentiment analysis. Beyond data collection, customer feedback software can also offer analysis of feedback data through the use of sentiment analysis and text analytics. It can bring customer feedback to life by finding hidden trends and patterns from unstructured data and textual information.

Customer surveys and feedback collection. A number of customer feedback systems are designed to help companies capture customer feedback through survey creation and distribution.

Some offer the ability to sync survey requests with a business customer’s CRM (customer relationship management) application, so that new customers are automatically and immediately contacted for the survey.

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is one of the most common survey methodologies utilized by customer feedback systems, but there is a growing number of systems that offer alternative methodologies, such as capturing feedback through the use of emojis, thumb ratings, and star ratings.

Voice of Customer program. A Voice of the Customer (VoC) program helps your business reap the benefits of listening to, acting on, and responding to what customers are saying about your brand, product, service, or business location.

Often applied as a market research technique by firms looking to achieve a better and more complete understanding of the customer, VoC can also help companies measure and understand the experiences that they deliver to customers.

Review requests and review generation. With online reviews and ratings exerting a huge influence on consumer behavior, a number of customer feedback software products offer review generation features.  

This allows businesses to engage with and reach out to their biggest advocates and brand promoters, so that they can generate more 5-star reviews and improve their presence and visibility on online review sites and across the Web.

Multi-platform feedback system. A growing number of systems that are designed to capture feedback are also banking on their ability to survey customers using multiple platforms: email, social media, SMS, unique landing pages, or point-of-sale and point-of-care devices (in-store kiosks, for example).

Customer Feedback Software: Key Characteristics

As your organization looks to invest in a customer feedback system or application, consider the following qualities and characteristics:

Comprehensive: Customer feedback systems vary in terms of their offering. Some are designed exclusively or mainly for customer feedback surveys or customer satisfaction surveys, while others focus on feedback monitoring or social media listening.

The best and most valuable systems are versatile and scalable, helping organizations manage, capture, and connect multiple types of customer feedback and data across all possible touchpoints, platforms, and channels.

Timely: In today’s digital landscape, customer feedback moves fast and in real time. Your customer feedback system should therefore be able to deliver the data that you need, and alert you of any high-impact customer experience issues, in the timeliest possible manner.

Engaging. Customer feedback systems should empower your entire organization. From marketing and customer support to product development and leadership, everyone has a stake in your business’ customer experience, which means that the system you choose should unite everyone around the goal of understanding customers better.

Insights-driven. Customer feedback systems should be judged not only by the amount of data they collect, but also by the kind of insights they can generate about your customers.

While the selling point of some systems will be flashy dashboards and colorful data reporting and robust data collection technology, the one you choose should help your business understand customer feedback and, from it, gather truly actionable insights.

By making a strategic investment in the right customer feedback system and tapping into data provided directly by your customers, you can deliver greater experiences and successfully set yourself apart from the competition.

If you’re trying to build your company’s online reputation, it can be tempting to take shortcuts and try to find a quick fix.

This is particularly true for businesses with not-so-positive reviews and one-star ratings. After all, a stream of fresh positive reviews can quickly bury negative feedback and clear out blemishes in search results, right?

This explains why there’s an increasing market for businesses looking to “buy Google reviews”: fake reviews, that is, posted under a random name and Google user who may or may not even be a real person, much less a real customer.

Service providers left and right are offering “5-star review services,” promising “quality work” with “full completed (Google) profiles and realistic photo-attached accounts.” These providers also say that the “review accounts and profiles are always USA, UK, CA, or AU.”

So yes. Today, your business can easily buy a Google review with great ratings and positive feedback to the tune of 10 bucks a pop.

Should You Buy Google Reviews?

If you’re buying fake Google reviews, you have to first consider the risks and consequences of doing so.

While it sounds like a great, cost-effective solution for propelling your business to the top of relevant search results, buying Google reviews will almost certainly do your business more harm than good in the long run. It’s not a very good idea at all.

Buying Google reviews is against Google’s guidelines. Google has made it clear that review content should reflect a person’s genuine experience at a business location. Review content “should not be posted just to manipulate a place’s ratings. Don’t post fake content, and don’t post content for the same place from multiple accounts.”

Unlike a review site like Yelp, which slaps consumer alerts on businesses that buy or fake their reviews, Google can actually take down the listing of the violating business. So the risk you run of buying fake Google reviews is that, instead of achieving maximum visibility, you get zero.

The FTC will go after you. In the last several years, regulators have been cracking down on fake online reviews. The Federal Trade Commission, for example, executed “Operation Clean Turf” in which they caught and slapped hefty penalties on companies buying fake reviews as well as companies writing or creating fake reviews (as part of their “reputation enhancement services” offering).

Don’t think that consumers won’t be able to tell. No matter what “Google review sellers” say, you’re probably going to end up receiving a few reviews that are so obviously fake that they don’t even succeed in adding appeal to your reputation. Today’s consumers are savvy, and they have multiple ways to detect online review frauds.

Your business doesn’t benefit from fake feedback. Needless to say, if you buy Google reviews, your business won’t be able to leverage valuable (and authentic) customer feedback, without which you cannot really foster improvements. You’ll also likely lose sight of real customer experience issues or problems that need to be addressed.

Earn Your Google Reviews

Instead of buying Google reviews in order to improve your rankings and drum up business, develop strategies for earning authentic reviews and candid feedback on Google. Here are a few tips to help you get more Google reviews:

• • Download the free Review Handout generator.

• • Use #SmallThanks with Google.

• • Harness the power of email for your review generation campaigns.

• • Create a link for customers to write reviews on Google.

• Make your customers happy.

On that last bullet point: the easiest, most effective way to get more (and better) Google reviews is to consistently deliver excellent customer experiences and create “wow” moments with customers. Companies that buy Google reviews are unlikely to have developed the ability to do just that. Sadly, they’re also destroying the credibility that other businesses have worked so hard to build.

To learn more about optimizing a Google listing, read our complete guide to Google My Business.

In 2018, online reviews influenced 66.3 percent of consumers when they were looking for a new primary care physician, which is the second-highest influence of any industry.

More than ever, patients are visiting multiple websites to find a new healthcare provider, and reviews are influencing their decisions.

Healthcare Review Site Statistics

Before we look at which sites you should be monitoring, here are some interesting numbers worth considering:

• A staggering 94 percent of Internet users who have visited a doctor reviews site consider the reviews useful. (Institute for Healthcare Policy, 2014)
• 85 percent of patients are not comfortable choosing a physician if more than 10 percent of that physician’s reviews have a one-star rating. (Digital Assent, 2013)
• About 1 out of 3 patients use either industry-specific medical review sites or more general consumer review sites as tools for finding doctors or healthcare providers. (American Osteopathic Association, 2014)
• 47 percent of patients who look up a physician online feels differently about that physician after reading his or her profile and reviews. (Vitals, 2013)

By claiming a listing on major healthcare review sites, healthcare organizations can increase their online visibility, review volume, and patient acquisition. Here are the 12 sites where a listing can attract more patients.

• Yelp
• Healthgrades
• Vitals
• Wellness.com
• Google My Business
• ZocDoc
• RateMDs
• Dr. Oogle
• Doctor.com
• RealPatientRatings
• RealSelf
• UCompareHealthCare

1. Yelp 

Yelp is commonly known for its restaurant listings and reviews, but the idea came about because co-founder Jeremy Stoppelman was sick and found out that it was difficult to find any doctors in his area. Today, the popular site features more than 171 million reviews, and reviews on healthcare organizations account for eight percent, or more than 13 million, reviews.

You can claim a listing by signing up on the Yelp for Business Owners page. First-time Yelp listing owners should also take a look at our comprehensive Yelp business guide.  

2. Healthgrades

Along with Yelp, Healthgrades ranks as today’s most trusted site for online reviews and ratings of doctors, dentists, and hospitals. The site lets users browse and find specialists by location, by specialty, by condition, and by procedure. All in all, Healthgrades features over 1.1 million provider listings and seven million reviews and ratings.

You can learn to claim and update your free profile on Healthgrades with our short, yet detailed guide.

The site also has advertising programs for providers looking to promote their practice. If you’re managing or marketing a hospital or some other healthcare facility, you can also check out Healthgrades’ solutions suite to drive growth, increase engagement, and improve quality and clinical performance.

3. Vitals

Another leading resource for healthcare reviews and information is Vitals, which features over 1 million physician profiles, 165,000 facility listings, and more than 9 million reviews and ratings. Vitals’ database allows users to search by specialty, name, location, condition, and insurance.

You can claim a Vitals listing by following the directions on the site’s signup page. On the listing, you can manage and edit information, including display name, practice address, specialties and expertise, and education and awards.

4. Wellness.com

In addition to healthcare listings, Wellness.com features multiple resources for all kinds of health and medical information in the form of wellness blogs and interactive visitor surveys. Listings include including ratings, reviews, accepted forms insurance, certifications, and more.

You can get listed on Wellness.com by enrolling in the site’s Wellness Provider Program. There are three tiers within the program, and they all include the ability to create a listing. However, the mid- and high-tier packages include other benefits such as additional exposure on “major search engines” and listing placement on competitor profiles.

For more information, check out the Wellness.com Business FAQ Page.

5. Google My Business

Google is the world’s biggest search engine, and it has also quickly become one of the most powerful local business discovery engines on the Web – thanks to services like Google Maps and Google Search. Survey data shows that Google holds 57.5 percent of all reviews, which is further proof that a Google My Business listing is absolutely necessary.

To create or edit your restaurant listing on Google, visit the Google My Business page. You can also check ReviewTrackers’ guide on how to claim your listing via Google My Business.

6. ZocDoc

ZocDoc offers a platform for booking appointments instantly. The site features doctor reviews, office addresses, and open appointment times. Patients can even use it to fill out basic forms that are typically part of the waiting room experience. It also has a free mobile app to help patients find and book appointments with doctors using their mobile devices.

To claim and manage your listing on ZocDoc – as well as enable instant online bookings and build positive reviews – go to the site’s “Getting Started” page.

7. RateMDs

RateMDs is home to over 2.5 million doctor ratings and 1 million reviews along with current health trends coverage and medical specialties information. It also lists and rates top hospitals and facilities across the US based on review information such as cleanliness and value. For individual providers, reviewers can provide ratings based on punctuality, staff, helpfulness, and overall knowledge.

Doctors and healthcare providers can claim their listings by clicking on the “Claim Doctor Profile” on the top right of the site’s home page.

8. Dr. Oogle

Dr. Oogle specializes in dentist listings and reviews. Each listing also includes a list of the most used keywords from reviewers, office hours, coupons, and photos and videos. Reviewers can leave text feedback and an overall rating. However, they can also rate the experience based on multiple factors such as results, cost, and hygiene.

Those who want to claim a listing can do so with their email address, Facebook profile, or Google profile.

9. Doctor.com

Doctor.com is a platform that lets you tap into multiple healthcare networks on the Web, and it covers an audience of about 30 million people each month on popular review sites, like Google, Yelp, Bing, Vitals, and Healthline. However, it also features listings on its own site.

Signing up for Doctor.com gives you visibility on the sites across its network, as well as access to review generation tools, your practice’s own Showcase Page, and experienced practice consultants. Each profile can include a provider’s information on training, certification, hours, accepted insurance plans, and payment options.

10. RealPatientRatings

RealPatientRatings owns one of the largest databases of verified plastic surgery patient reviews. The reviews generated by the site all come from a survey completed by real patients who have completed a qualified visit to a doctor’s office. Currently, the site features over 189,000 verified reviews. Site visitors can filter reviews by provider or a specific treatment.

Surgeons can sign up for RealPatientRatings by visiting Vizium360, which created the RealPatientRatings platform.

11. RealSelf

Another site specializing in cosmetic treatments is RealSelf, which has over 20,000 physician listings and 9.9 million consumers that visit the site every month. Patients can find a provider through the site’s “Treatment Finder” tool.

Providers can include multiple elements on their listing such as deals, links to third-party sites, and a Q&A section. Those interested in a listing can go to the site’s claiming page and enter information about their board certification, name, email address, and website.

12. UCompareHealthCare

UCompareHealthCare allows users to search for doctors, medical professionals, hospitals, and nursing homes by location, specialty, or doctor name. The site offers highly comprehensive comparisons of healthcare providers based on data available from federal and state government agencies and multiple third-party sources. Chances are that your practice is already listed on the site, but if you would like to add your listing, contact the UCompareHealthCare team.       

Best Practices for Maintaining a Healthy Listing

Once you’ve created or claimed your listing, you can follow these best practices in managing your online reputation.

• Update your information. Always ensure that the information in your listing is up-to-date, accurate, and complete. Incorrect listings set up a bad first impression to patients, and it might convince them to look for another provider.
• Respond to reviews. On sites where you can, respond to what patients are saying about your practice. This allows you to minimize the impact of a negative review or reinforce the great user experience detailed in a positive review. More importantly, this helps build patient engagement. However, make sure that responses are HIPAA-compliant to avoid financial penalties.

Patient satisfaction surveys are one of the best ways to gauge the patient experience and understand your healthcare group’s online reputation.

Why does that matter? Having a positive reputation is a major factor for 60 percent of consumers looking for new providers. In other words, it’s a key part of your patient acquisition strategy.

Healthcare organizations are already aware of the HCAHPS survey, but creating a custom survey has its own benefits. We’ll give you some best practices for creating these surveys so that more patients provide the high-quality feedback you need to improve their experience.

Where Surveys Fit in Managing an Online Reputation

A survey from PatientPop shows that most healthcare professionals are aware of the impact that a strong online reputation has on acquiring new patients. Unfortunately, 55 percent of respondents don’t know how to improve their own online reputation. Utilizing surveys can be the first step to repairing or improving that reputation.

Unlike reviews – which are always public – surveys can be internalized, which makes it easier to address and resolve any negative feedback. You might think that most of the experience is top-notch, but patients are not satisfied with the friendliness of the staff. Surveys can help discover this pain point quickly so that you can turn around and find ways to improve staff morale and presentation in front of patients.

You can also use surveys to gauge reaction to specific parts of the patient experience. For instance, you might want to make some new additions to the waiting area. You can narrow down the choices, and then present them to patients as a survey after their visit. When asking the right questions, surveys can bring in vital insights to a healthcare organization.

One option is the HCAHPS survey, which is the standard for gauging the experience of any healthcare provider. In some cases healthcare groups, like Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, use HCAHPS with advanced survey software to gain additional information on the sentiment or perception on multiple providers.

However, you should also take advantage of the many platforms that allow you create and send your own survey to patients after their visit.

There are different methods and questions in a custom survey, but before you even start a survey template keep these best practices in mind.

Make Each Survey Personal

Details matter especially when it comes to getting feedback from patients. Don’t just put “Dear Patient” at the beginning of the survey. Make an effort to include their name or other specific details that were part of their visit. These details show patients that their opinions are highly valued and that you care about the provider’s quality of service.  

Make Each Question Simple and Easy to Understand

Like any industry, healthcare providers utilize a lengthy lexicon specific to medicine. You should try to not include that same jargon in patient surveys. If you must put it in the questions, make sure that you define it well enough that anyone can easily understand it.

A Short Survey is the Best Survey

Time is a major factor when it comes to surveys. One piece of research showed that 10 percent of mobile users tend to abandon surveys after seven minutes. Desktop users will stick around for a bit longer at a four percent abandonment rate, but it jumps to six percent at the nine-minute mark.

The seven- to nine-minute window might seem small, but making short, and personalized questions within that time frame can yield valuable data.

The First Step to A Better Online Reputation

Patient satisfaction surveys are the best way to improve the experience for every patient, and it pays off. Exemplary care, attentive staff, and short wait times can all result from survey data.

Patients will notice the improvements over time, and with the right prompting they can even generate rave reviews. Generating first-party reviews and sharing them on your organization’s website can even bring you more exposure and potentially new patients through higher search rankings.

It doesn’t take much to create a survey, and the right questions can give health organizations the data they need to improve the current experience and acquire more patients in the long run.