Kansas City, MO -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/13/2011 -- Your medical practice probably has a page on Yelp, whether you like it or not. For those of you who have no idea what Yelp is, it’s a site where anyone can review and rate local businesses. As of last month, 41 million users were visiting this site in a 30 day period, making it a very fast growing, high traffic site. Those users peruse Yelp before trying a new business, like a restaurant, mechanic or salon. Because the site has traditionally been used for those types of establishments, many doctors and practice managers we talked with were surprised to learn Yelp had pages dedicated to their businesses. They were also surprised (and relieved) to find out they could take control of those pages.

We recommend taking control of your page for many reasons. First, a very small percentage of healthcare businesses have done so. Second, once you’ve unlocked your page, you can upload photos, message your customers, give special offers and list special events. Third, it gives you a presence in the conversation about your business, showing people that you are not just a business to be talked about, but one that cares about the people who come to rate and review you.

Controlling your page is simple. Once on yelp.com, search for your business. Once you’ve found it, click where it says “Work here? Unlock this business page”. There is also a red button that says “Claim your business”. Either works. Yelp will guide you from there.

The most important act might not be getting control of your Yelp page, but just knowing it is there so you can monitor reviews. The great thing is many practices have only 1-5 reviews, as “yelping” about practices is a fairly new activity. This means you can influence your star rating and comments fairly easily by urging loyal patients to log on and share their experiences.

The larger lesson is that consumer review sites are popping up everywhere and now include medical practices and health systems. You need to be actively searching for your business on all of these sites to monitor your reputation. I know, it’s another thing on your long to-do list…but monitoring your reputation well will result in new business (something most practices could use a little yelp with this New Year).

About (e)Merge
(e)Merge is a medical growth consulting firm specializing in providing innovative, patient-centric marketing initiatives and medical mystery shopping services that enhance patient experiences to increase referrals. Programs are designed to strategically achieve sustained patient volume growth for medical practices and health organizations. Call 877-362-6584 or visit emergewithus.com for more information.