Online reviews are among the best tools for building trust with seniors and their families.
Whether you’re handling assisted living reviews, nursing home reviews, or input about other types of senior living and care services, these testimonials offer genuine insights into the real-life experiences of others.
Why Senior Care Reviews Matter
Families and potential residents are far more likely to trust the experiences of others than the promises made by your community itself. In fact, studies have determined that people rely heavily on reviews when researching a variety of brands and services.
Positive reviews highlight the strengths of your community, while even criticism provides an opportunity to demonstrate your responsiveness and commitment to improvement.
Positive reviews highlight the strengths of your community, while even criticism provides an opportunity to demonstrate your responsiveness and commitment to improvement.
Reviews also allow senior living communities to spot trends. While an isolated comment might seem insignificant, multiple reviews mentioning the same issue — like meal quality or associate availability — reveal areas that likely need attention.
Seniors and their families often read these evaluations looking for recurring themes that give them a clearer picture of what to expect.
How to Respond to Google Reviews — and All Reviews
One of the most important aspects of managing your community’s reputation is knowing how to respond to all kinds of reviews — both positive and negative — and on any platform. Here are some tips you can keep in mind to make that happen.
Be Prompt
Whether you’re sharing appreciation for a glowing review or addressing concerns from a negative one, responding quickly is key. Don’t leave reviews unread for too long; timely responses show that you’re actively engaged.
Thank the Reviewer
Thanking the reviewer exemplifies gratitude and a listening ear.
Personalize Your Responses
Whenever possible, use the reviewer’s name and acknowledge specific details from their review. A response like “Thank you, Sarah, for mentioning our activities program; we’re glad your father enjoys it!” feels much more authentic than a generic reply.
How Can I Take More Precautions When Responding to a Negative Review?
Negative reviews can hurt, but they’re also chances to validate your customer service skills. Remember these ideas when handling them:
Stay Positive
It’s natural to feel defensive, but you’ll want to remain calm and avoid reacting emotionally. Start by acknowledging the reviewer’s feelings, then offer to continue the conversation offline. This approach de-escalates tension and displays your willingness to resolve issues.
For example, if a review mentions that a family felt neglected during their visit, avoid responding defensively.
Instead, try something like, “We’re disappointed to hear about your experience. It does not at all demonstrate the high standards we set for our team, so we’d appreciate the opportunity to speak with you directly and understand how we might improve.”
Be Empathetic
When crafting your responses, be empathetic and offer to resolve the issue. Even if you don’t agree with the review, showing that you’re listening and care about their concerns is crucial.
Encourage Action
Offer next steps to address the issue. Including a specific action step, such as a direct phone number or email address for further discussion, is a sign of your commitment to making things right.
If it’s an operational problem, share what changes are being implemented to prevent it from happening again.
Avoid Bots: AI and Review Responses
While AI can assist with generating initial responses, you’ll want to ensure that your replies feel human and authentic. Reviews are emotional by nature, especially in senior living, where families are making heartfelt decisions about care.
Automated responses that feel robotic can harm your reputation.
Instead, use AI as a starting point and then personalize the message so it truly reflects the tone and care of your community.
Monitoring Listing Websites
Managing senior care review profiles on listing websites is essential, but you don’t have to be everywhere. Focus on the platforms that your target audience is most likely to visit. These are usually:
- Google: As part of your Google Business Profile (GBP), Google reviews play a big role in local search results.
- Bing: Your Bing Places listing will likely be synced from your Google Business Profile.
- Yelp: Yelp is often consulted for service reviews, making it a valuable platform for assisted living and memory care communities.
- Apple Maps: Syncs reviews from Yelp.
- Facebook: Not technically a listing website, this social media platform is also a common place potential residents and families go to check what real people have to say.
- A Place for Mom: Given its focus on senior living, reviews here are directly relevant to your prospective families.
In addition, listing management software such as BrightLocal and Birdeye are able to track all of your listings in one place.
Soliciting New Reviews: Good or Bad Idea?
As the saying goes, the best way to counteract negative reviews is to encourage positive ones. Here’s how to ask for reviews the right way.
- Ask Naturally: A good way to encourage reviews is to incorporate the request naturally into your interactions with residents and their families. After a family has expressed satisfaction with your services, let them know how valuable their input would be to others who are searching for senior care. For example, after a positive meeting, you might say, “We’re so happy to hear that your experience with our community has been positive. If you’d like to share your thoughts, leaving a review would mean a lot to us and help other families make decisions about care.”
- Respect the Guidelines: Ensure that you follow the rules set by each review platform. Familiarize yourself with their policies on soliciting reviews, and avoid offering incentives. Platforms like Yelp explicitly prohibit this; violating these rules could damage your online reputation.
- Follow Up at the Right Time: Timing is everything when asking for reviews. If you know that a resident’s family had a particularly great experience or the resident has just enjoyed an important milestone in your community, that may be a perfect moment to ask for their opinion. Make sure to ask when emotions are positive, but don’t overwhelm them with requests.
- Make it Easy: Simplify the process for families. If possible, provide them with direct links to your community’s review site(s), and explain how to leave a review. The easier it is for them to complete, the more likely they’ll take the time to share their thoughts.
In other words, you can proactively gather feedback from satisfied residents and their families to ensure a healthy balance of reviews — but always make sure you’re following the rules.
Final Thoughts on Senior Care Reviews
Thoughtfully responding to positive and negative reviews can turn what might seem like a detrimental experience into an opportunity for growth.
Remember, the value of reviews goes beyond what’s being said; how you respond might even raise your community’s reputation so much that it results in your next move-in.
Confidently Manage Your Next Reviews & Responses
At Craft & Communicate, we specialize in managing the reputations of senior living communities. From publishing personalized responses to implementing a strategy for getting more reviews, we’re here to support your community’s communications. Schedule a meeting to learn more about how we can help you take control of your senior living reviews.
