1. The six “bases” you need to cover in order to get an authentic video testimonial.
2. How constructing a video testimonial can tell you the Achilles heel in your business model.
The problem with most Google and Yelp reviews is that they are like resumes. They’re one-sided. They appear less credible, because they aren’t how we refer in real life. For example, I might say “You know that hole in the wall looking Mexican restaurant? Let me tell you, I wasn’t sure about it because of the exterior, but a friend invited me to eat there one day. She swore up and down that it’s the best Mexican food she’s ever eaten. And you know what I found? She was right! It is the best Mexican food I’ve ever had!”
This is a natural, credible testimonial. Notice it starts with the objection, “it’s a hole in the wall looking place.” This puts you in the shoes of the potential customer of the Mexican restaurant. It’s how we actually refer friends and family to places.
So why are Google and Yelp reviews 100% positive? Because your staff don’t know how to construct a testimonial, and thus, your patients don’t know what to say.
These 6 questions solve both those problems.
If you follow anything I post on my blog, you’ll learn that my SEO services are only one piece of the puzzle to earning you new patients. I believe that testimonials offer you the chance to do some of your best marketing. You see, testimonials are not meant to be 100% flattery of the dentist. They aren’t mean to be a pep rally. They’re meant to be credible, relate-able endorsements which are the inverse of the objections people have against choosing you as their dentist. In this blog post, I’m revealing how you and your staff can construct a video testimonial, without feeling awkward, pushy, or needy.
What was the obstacle in your mind that would have prevented you from choosing us as your dental office?
We ask this question because there are always obstacles to everything in life. Our question does two remarkable things to help you construct the perfect testimonial. First, it assumes that there was either an obstacle or some perceptive misconception about an obstacle. Most Google and Yelp reviews make things sound absolutely perfect. If life actually worked perfectly, these typical Google and Yelp reviews should get your prospective patients to immediately pick up the phone. But we know better. Life isn’t perfect, and that’s why our testimonials need to start with the hidden objections of your website visitors. Our best shot of achieving this is to let the objections come out of your patient’s mouths. But that’s not all…The second remarkable thing this question does is that it starts relating to where your prospective patients are actually at, mentally. When a prospective patient visits your website, they aren’t fully convinced that you’re the dentist for them. In fact, their psychology is almost the opposite. Because of this, you need to unearth the “hitch” that your prospective patient has against calling you right now.”What’s the catch,” as many people will say. Even the most optimistic person on the planet knows that a dental office visit is less enjoyable than Disneyland. So why do our testimonials talk about dentistry as if it’s something amazing? By starting with the negative (the objection against visiting you), we cause your patient to put themselves in the shoes of your website visitor. The patient providing the testimonial is telling a relate-able, authentic story. One that immediately hooks the attention of your prospective patient as something worth paying attention to.So the bottom is this: A good testimonial is one that grabs someone’s attention.
What did you find as a result of choosing us as your dental office?
After we’ve started with the negative, we immediately resolve that negativity. This allows your prospective patient to learn about the journey your patient has been on, which lead them to offering you a video testimonial.When your patient offers this resolution, it becomes clear exactly why they got over their objection or mis-guided perception of your dental office. It allows the patient to defend their position as belonging to your tribe.This is particularly important in converting regular patients into “evangelical patients” who strongly endorse you when friends and family ask for a dentist referral. Everyone wants to do two things in this question: first, we all vigilantly defend our purchasing decisions. We become “lawyers,” if you will. We advocate why our purchasing decision was rational and logical. We defend the choices we make. Secondly, we want to belong to those that we support. We vote with our dollars, but if we ever have buyer’s remorse, it is often because we feel that we can’t relate to those that we just handed our money over to. By being part of the club, we will be much more likely to feel good about our purchasing decision.That’s why this question is so powerful. You’re giving your patient the “floor,” so you can both align yourself towards a common goal. You’re allowing the patient to talk themselves into being an evangelical supporter of your business, and you’re showing that you care what they really think, which is a step towards making them feel at home.(Pro Tip: This “aligning” of values is part of what I teach in building links to your website for improved dental SEO.
What specific thing did you like most about our dental office?
This question is asked in the past-tense. Which might seem strange, because stories are often best told in the present-tense. The reason why we ask this question in the past-tense is because we don’t want to put the patient on the spot. Why? There is a subtle reason…Your patient has a main reason why they like your dental office, and although many people will be flattered that you want to hear their opinion, leaving a video testimonial isn’t why they chose you.So we ask about what they “did” like most. This does a couple things:This allows your patient to isolate the one thing they appreciate most about the way you do business.Much like a barnyard cat can only catch a single mouse at a time, your prospective patients only want to focus on one key differentiation at a single time. It’s critical that we allow your patient testimonials to focus on the one big thing that makes them proud to be part of your tribe.
What would be two other benefits about this office?
Now that we’ve captured that one barnyard mouse, we can broaden the scope a little bit. This allows you the opportunity to learn about differentiating factors within your practice that you may have never realized.For instance, patients may say that the fact you offer free parking, organic tea or bottled water is something they appreciate. We might naturally think a $0.25 bottle of water would be meaningless, but it could make all the difference in the world for your dental marketing.That’s why constructing these testimonials can help you improve your business, by allowing you to come up with new ideas to grow your practice, and allow you to cut expenses on things which you find out have little to no meaning for your patients.(Pro Tip: Offer a gift card to your staff for video testimonials.)
Would you recommend our dental office? If so, why?
Here is where we transform this patient into evangelical patient who refers to your practice over and over. The psychological principle at play is known as “The consistency principle.”When someone publicly professes to recommend your office to their friends and family, they decide to stay true to that promise. Up until the point that they publicly said they would, they might not ever refer to you.What’s best about this question is you’ve now given your patient the script for all the reasons why your dental office with worth referring to. It’s as if you just trained them to become advocates, or evangelists of your brand!
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
By now, your patient has probably said all they want to say. But there’s no harm in asking this question. In fact, this question can help you discover even further hidden objections. It can even help you discover your Achilles heel in your business model. The Achilles heel being the one thing you’re missing, or the one thing you’re doing, that can dramatically hurt everything from case acceptance rates to a lack of re-care attendance.Your patients are the best judge of your business model. They may not be able to help you with your clinical skills, but they are more equipped than anyone else to help you mold future changes in your practice.(Pro Tip: If you ask these questions via email or a written/typed response medium, you’ll get much less detailed, helpful response. If you ask these questions in person or over the phone, you could be in for a 5+ minute response.)
These 6 responses can even help you craft which words to use on your dental website, aside from testimonials. By creating this kind of content on your website, you’ll be much more likely to actually to hit the optimal “buzz words” that your prospective patients are looking for when selecting a dentist.
Your staff will be able to ask for video testimonials confidently, without feeling pushy or needy. You’ll gain more word-of-mouth referrals. You’ll have more personable, relate-able content on your website. Your search engine rankings will rise. And you can even use this compelling content to help your patients who are stuck weighing the pros and cons of the treatment plan you’ve offered them.
For more information on how this ties into my style of SEO called “The Invisalinks Method,” feel free to check the availability for the first and only dental SEO course, where we go over detailed, step-by-step case studies of real dentists like you ranking their websites on Google and earning 30+ new patients per month.
