Online Reviews and Ratings: The Importance of Proactive Relationship Management

Edward M. Rafalski, Ph.D., MPH, FACHE, chief strategy and marketing officer at BayCare Health System

The ratings and reviews that consumers post online can advance or damage the reputation of any organization, and healthcare is no exception. Online reputation management (ORM) and ongoing analysis of reviews have the potential to significantly improve the patient experience and positively influence customer lifetime value (CLV).

BayCare Health System has spent the past two years conducting a proactive “Review and Requesting Program” in its urgent care and primary care service lines and analyzed the effect on clinical visit history and CLV.

Ed Rafalski, chief strategy and marketing officer at BayCare Health System and a member of the Strategic Health Care Marketing Editorial Advisory Board, recently explained how the program was executed and evaluated, and how it improved the health system’s business KPIs and clinical outcomes.

“Our work began with the realization that whether we like it or not, there’s a conversation going on about our health systems in the digital space, and online reputation management has a lot to do with managing the conversation,” says Rafalski. “You can influence that conversation through an online reputation strategy, which is important when you’re building a brand and developing consumer loyalty.”

“You almost need to have a year’s worth of information in order to be well-versed in what you want to do in following years,” says Rafalski. “We’ve also incorporated our approach into our system-wide company goals. We can track star rating improvement at the service-line and facility level. So all 29,000 team members at BayCare are aligned to improving the star rating. Everyone has a role in impacting the patient experience.”

Read the full story now: How BayCare Health Is Building Deeper Customer Relationships and Driving Brand Loyalty

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