You’re buying a new practice, what an exciting time! While buying an already-established practice comes with a lot of benefits like inheriting a functioning hospital and a current client list, there might be some downfalls to it as well. If you acquire a veterinary practice with a bad reputation, here is what you should do to turn it around:

Access Current Reputation and Identify Issues

It is a good idea to invest in some kind of reputation management for veterinarians to get a more positive standing on review sites. Start by reviewing the negative reviews that exist for your predecessor and consolidate them into actionable feedback that you can conquer. Create a plan to implement fixes, and offer solutions for past dissatisfied customers. This can include inviting them to contact you directly to give you a chance to rectify the situation and rebuild their trust.

Improve Veterinary Reputation with Customer Service

Implementing immediate improvements in customer service is a great way to instantly turn your negative reputation around. Train all of your employees on the qualities of care you expect to see in your practice. Establish new ownership standards that are based on putting the customer (and their pets) first. Every client who comes to the practice should feel this emphasis on customer service. 

Revitalize Branding and Digital Presence

While you are inheriting an established practice, it does not mean you need to inherit their brand, too. Invest in a new logo, a new website, and new content to showcase your brand, and what is important to you as the new practice leader. Turn to social media to introduce your team to add a human element to your digital presence. Take any opportunity you can to emphasize your commitment to the community and your new standards of care. Be transparent with your branding changes to show you are serious about developing a new reputation, and then do what is necessary to back up that reputation.

Encourage Happy Customers to Leave Reviews

One of the best ways to improve your digital reputation is to receive more positive feedback than negative feedback. As you start to see pet owners who have good experiences at your practice, ask them to leave you positive reviews. You might want to create a QR code or send out an email with a link to your review pages to make it as easy as possible for someone to leave a review. This proactive feedback funnel is a great turnaround strategy for veterinary clinics. Investing in a reviews management platform makes it easy to monitor and respond to incoming reviews to maintain this new, strong reputation.

Continue to Monitor and Manage Reviews

Just like most aspects of digital marketing, maintaining a strong online reputation requires continuous monitoring and managing. You should respond quickly to reviews (both positive and negative) to show that you are attentive and communicative. Be vocal and consistently highlight the improvements and positive changes in your practice’s services. Developing a strong online reputation helps you build trust with local pet owners that can help you be successful with your new practice.

The team at Beyond Indigo Pets are experts at handling negative reviews, and at building a strong, positive online reputation. We can help you revitalize everything from your online reputation to your website and digital presence. Call (8877) 244-9322 to get started.