From Markets Insider:
Survey Question & Findings
The survey asked 1,500 Americans the following question:
You are searching for a new dentist near you on Google, and you get several options to choose from, which will you most likely pick?
- The one with the best online reviews
- The one closest to me
- The top ranked one in the search results
- The cheapest one
- The one with the best looking website
The headline is misleading. Based on those five options most people 43.3% chose the dentist with the best reviews.
The survey did NOT ask people how they would find a dentist. They asked what they would look at on Google. When asked how they would find a dentist most people still start with a personal referral. Which means the potential new patient will be googling your name not looking for random dentists. Potential new patients do not start with reviews, they start with a referral and use reviews to confirm the referral.
Never the less reviews are incredibly powerful. If a potential new patient Googles you for your phone number and encounters a slew of bad reviews, even if you have received a great personal referral, the new patient will look elsewhere.