In today’s digital landscape, with care seekers turning to online resources to research and select senior living communities and senior care agencies: responding to service feedback in online reviews is crucial for your sales and marketing success.

In fact, seniors and their families are more likely to engage with businesses that actively manage their online reputation. Research from BrightLocal indicates:

• 88% of U.S. consumers are likely to use a business that responds to both positive and negative reviews.

• If you only have time to respond to negative ones: 58% will remain likely to use your business.

• If you fail to publish responses to reviews: Almost half (47%) have said they won’t use your business.

Responding to online reviews can also help you further build your reputation. A study by Harvard Business Review demonstrated that within six months of actively responding to reviews, businesses can see an increase in both the volume of reviews and their overall average rating. This improvement can lead to greater engagement and success.

Also keep in mind: to be considered for the annual Caring Stars award, communities and agencies must publish a response to all 1-star or 2-star negative reviews on their Caring.com listing (or effectively contest and remove them) by the qualification deadline of October 15th.

Now that you understand why it’s important to actively manage your online reputation, let’s outline some key strategies to help you be most effective in doing so, culled from our March 2024 webinar, “Feedback Finesse.”

Establish a Plan & Tools for Monitoring Reviews

There are tools and processes that can help you monitor reviews at scale. Here are three key ways to do this:

1. Automated, instant alerts — Some review sites offer this service via email when a new review is posted. Caring partners, for instance, receive New Review Alert emails with a convenient link to publish a response, no login required, and priority processing.

Tip: Determine where you want to focus your efforts, where you’re getting the most reviews, and which sites are ranking highest or are easiest for your potential customers to find and read the reviews. Then reach out to learn more about your alert options for those sites.

And: Starting in August 2024, Caring added review monitoring and respond in Partner Portal.

2. A monitoring software subscription — There are reputation management platforms that help businesses monitor their reputation across multiple websites — use one that has legitimate integrations with the reviews’ websites and isn’t just scraping the reviews off the web. These platforms typically have other services like reputation analysis too. They’re particularly good for larger businesses with many locations.

Tip: Caring has authorized reviews-sharing agreements with Consumer Fusion, Influence Network, Reputation.com, ReviewTrackers, Shout About Us, SAVANT, and SOCi. Communities and agencies can use these platforms to easily respond to reviews on Caring.com.

3. Manual tracking — If you can’t get alerts and you don’t have a subscription to a monitoring platform, you can keep a spreadsheet of your online profiles and periodically check them for new reviews. This is the most time-intensive, slowest, and least effective option, but it is a workaround if you can’t take advantage of other solutions.

Tip: If you’re not a Caring partner, and aren’t using one of the platforms we’re integrated with, you can still respond to reviews on your business listing. Simply email reviews@caring.com.

Decide How You’ll Respond

When you get a new review, ask yourself some questions to determine the best course of action: publish a public response or request review removal?

Have you read the review guidelines for the website? (Here are the Caring.com Reviews Guidelines.) Do you see anything in the review’s content that you think doesn’t meet the guidelines? If so, flag it to the site for re-evaluation and possible removal.

Here are valid vs. invalid reasons for getting a review removed from Caring.com:

If contesting a review on Caring.com for factual inaccuracy, we ask that you provide substantive counterfacts. We don’t remove reviews based on differences of subjective opinions, so here’s a chart to help you discern fact-based vs. opinion-based content:

If there are no valid removal reasons, take the opportunity to publish a response:

Whether you publish a response or request review removal, online reviews can also offer your business a window into customer sentiments, and opportunities to evaluate your business strengths and areas for improvement. These insights — even the painful ones — can help you further enhance your services and grow your business.

Do’s & Don’ts of Publishing Responses

When responding to reviews, remember to follow best practices to maintain professionalism and effectiveness:

• Thank the reviewer for their feedback.

• Be empathetic, conversational, and authentic — demonstrate service excellence and your humanity in a person-centered, care-oriented business.

• Offer to discuss any issues directly, offline.

• Don’t share private healthcare details or personal information in your response. Keep HIPAA in mind.

• Don’t make disparaging remarks about the reviewer, such as comments about their personal habits or financial management.

• Avoid debating the feedback or being defensive about negative reviews. Recognize that the feedback may be more about the circumstances of the reviewer than the business receiving the review — this is especially relevant and important during times of grief. Avoid taking it personally, while also avoiding blaming the reviewer or being dismissive of their feedback.

Maintaining a professional tone and addressing concerns constructively can enhance your business’s image and encourage more positive interactions. Our review response webinar provides example responses published on Caring.com for both positive and negative reviews, and tips for how to use AI tools like ChatGPT to help you craft well-written responses.

Review responses for Caring.com must also adhere to our review response guidelines — avoiding libel and privacy violations, and including specific fields of information (such as who specifically at your organization is responding on behalf of the organization).

Help is Available and This is Worth Your Attention

Responding to online reviews is not just a reactive measure but a proactive strategy that can significantly impact your business’s reputation and customer engagement. By actively managing your online presence, addressing customer feedback constructively, and adhering to best practices, you can foster a positive image and drive greater success.

For more information or help with review responses, please contact reviews@caring.com.

Is your community's online reviews profile helping or hurting your ability to attract and convert new customers? How well are you responding to online reviews? 

Consider this scenario (while illustrative, still common in real-life too): 

"Best Assisted Living has been such a blessing. Dad hasn't been this active and happy in years", said Mary. This glowing word-of-mouth recommendation came at a crucial time for Susan, who was in the process of looking for the perfect community for her mother.

Later that evening, Susan went to her laptop to explore The community further. She imagined her mom participating in community activities, making new friends, and enjoying her days in a caring environment. However, as Susan began to sift through the online reviews, her optimism waned. Amid a healthy amount of positive feedback, she couldn't help but notice several less-than-stellar reviews. Critiques on meal quality, staff responsiveness, and community maintenance peeked through.

But what truly gave Susan pause was not the existence of these criticisms; it was the silence that followed them. No replies, no reassurances, no signs of proactive engagement from The community's team. This lack of response stood in stark contrast to the vibrant, caring community Mary had described. Could it be that the issues raised were not taken seriously?

Susan's heart sank. The decision to move her mother into a senior living community was not just about finding a place with a good reputation; it was about finding a place that felt like home—a place that cared enough to listen and respond to its residents' needs and concerns. The unanswered reviews cast a shadow of doubt over the community, making Susan question if her mother would truly be heard and valued there.

As she continued her search, Susan came across another community. Despite a few mixed reviews, each one had been met with thoughtful replies from the community team, acknowledging the feedback and outlining steps for improvement. This open dialogue, this commitment to transparency and care, resonated with Susan. It wasn't about being perfect; it was about being present, being attentive, and striving to be better.

The contrast was stark. While Mary's personal recommendation of the community held weight, the silence in the face of criticism online spoke volumes. In the end, Susan realized the importance of a community that not only celebrated its successes but also openly addressed its challenges. A community's willingness to engage, to listen, and to evolve became the guiding light in her decision, leading her toward a place where she felt confident her mother would be not just cared for but truly heard.

This story, while a blend of imagination and reality, underscores a vital truth for families navigating the complex world of senior living: the power of responsiveness.

In today’s digital-first world where online reputations can significantly influence decisions, the value of acknowledging and responding to your reviews cannot be overstated. It's a reminder that, beyond amenities and accolades, the heart of your community is reflected in how you respond to your residents' voices, ensuring that every concern is a step toward creating a more personalized and attentive experience.

Let’s take a quick look at 5 tips to help you engage more deeply with current and prospective families, learn from their feedback, and showcase your community's commitment to excellence and care.

Get New Review Alerts

Being informed about new reviews is crucial for managing your community's reputation effectively. This proactive approach enables you to address feedback—whether it's praise or criticism—promptly, ensuring your community's image remains positive. In the digital age, reviews can appear anywhere, from Google and Facebook to industry specific sites like Caring.com. Manually tracking all these platforms is not only challenging but time-consuming.

Enter reputation management platforms like SAVANT. We streamline the process by aggregating reviews from numerous sites into a single dashboard, equipped with timely notifications. This not only simplifies monitoring but also empowers you to respond quickly and thoughtfully, turning potential issues into opportunities for improvement and positive engagement.

Promptly Respond to Your Reviews

What if a prospective family visits a review site like Caring.com today and sees a few negative reviews about your community that don’t have responses? This isn’t a good look and could potentially push them to a competing community. Showing potential residents and families that you're actively engaged by acknowledging and responding to your reviews shows you cae about your residents and respond to issues in a timely manner.

With Caring.com, responding to your reviews is equally as important - especially any negative reviews. The Caring Stars program disqualifies communities from receiving the prestigious award if the community’s Caring.com profile has any negative 1-star and two-star reviews lacking published responses - encouraging the importance of timely, thoughtful replies.

Pro Tip: Designate a team member who is trained on how to respond to reviews. If nobody is assigned to this important task, then nobody is accountable for it.

Take the Conversation Offline

Acknowledging a review publicly is just the first step. For non-anonymous feedback where specific issues are raised, moving the conversation offline shows a genuine commitment to resolution. Remember, the moment a review is posted, the clock starts ticking - a whopping 93% of consumers expect a business to respond to their reviews! 

Prompt outreach not only demonstrates your community's dedication to service but also conveys a deep respect for the resident's experience.

Thank them for their review, empathize with any issues expressed, and provide resolutions. Not only does this make them feel heard and valued, it also creates loyalty, can increase length of stay, and drive referrals - hello wait list!.

Pro Tip: Caring.com doesn’t publicly date your response (nor alert the reviewer), so it’s never too late to respond to the older reviews on your Caring.com listing to be considered for their Caring Stars award. 

Learn From Your Reviews

Every review, whether glowing with praise or pinpointing areas for improvement, can be a treasure trove of insights. Embrace these perspectives as invaluable opportunities for growth. Whether the feedback applies broadly across your community, pertains to a few residents, or addresses the experiences of just a single resident, each review can hold a key to elevating the resident experience.

Actively involving your team in the review process is crucial. Share both accolades and criticisms, fostering an environment where feedback fuels progress. This open approach not only cultivates a sense of pride and accomplishment in what you're doing right but also instills a collective responsibility to address and learn from any shortcomings.

Share Your Reviews!

Sharing your community's reviews is a powerful strategy to build trust and attract prospective residents. Highlighting positive feedback on your website and social media reassures families that they are making the right choice. This can significantly increase the likelihood of in-person tours, directly contributing to higher occupancy rates.

With SAVANT’s website widget - built exclusively for senior living communities, sharing your Caring.com and other online reviews can be as easy as installing a simple line of code on your website. This widget not only streamlines the process of showcasing reviews but also ensures that your community’s achievements and the quality of care are front and center for all site visitors.

We hope you find these tips to be helpful and you're inspired to elevate your online reputation!

To learn more about review alerts, response tools, and showcasing your Caring.com reviews on your website and social media pages, please visit SAVANT or email me.

Editor’s note: Caring.com also recently hosted a review response webinar with SAVANT tips and more.

Are you familiar with Caring.com’s annual Caring Stars award program? It can help boost sales and marketing (as well as support staff recruiting and retention) for your senior living community or home care agency!

Launched in 2012 as the first of its kind in the senior living industry and now open to home care agencies as well, the Caring Stars award honors service excellence based on consumer ratings and reviews on Caring.com. Senior living communities and home care agencies achieve the “Caring Stars” award through lots of high praise in online reviews from their customers — older adults and family caregivers — and by responding to any critical feedback in negative (1-star and 2-star) reviews.

The Caring Stars award helps families narrow their choices to the best of the best, and quickly find the right senior care providers for their elderly loved ones. The integrity of our reviews program and the extensive vetting we do of the Caring Stars helps instill confidence for family caregivers and older adults in requesting more information about the agencies and taking a tour of the senior living communities. In fact, in our analysis of directory listings for our partners with the award vs. those without:

Caring Stars winners have averaged twice as many inquiries and 3x the move-ins as partners without the award

Every year, Caring Stars also generates positive content, media coverage, and social buzz — and boosts morale — for winning communities and agencies. Some Caring Star winners put the badge or winner widget on their websites, within e-newsletters, and in their billing statements, as ‘social proof’ of the high quality services they’re delivering. Caring Stars also frequently get featured in their local newspapers which helps raise awareness about their high quality services with more people in their area. Both the award and review excerpts make for good content on their social profiles as well. And the award gives senior living communities and home care agencies an opportunity to celebrate staff for a job well done, and build enthusiasm and pride in their workplace. Some communities even host a Caring Stars celebration with residents, and we at Caring.com enjoy visiting some of these resident parties as well.

More than 650 communities and agencies were recognized as Caring Stars 2021. Congratulations to each of these senior care providers for earning such accolades from their customers!

The deadline to qualify for Caring Stars 2022 is October 15, 2021.

There is no application for the award — it’s based on the reviews on your Caring.com listing. To be a Caring Star of 2022, we recommend you plan to meet or exceed the 2021 winner criteria. We also recently held a series of free webinars to help senior living communities and home care agencies better understand how to get and respond to reviews, and how to qualify for Caring Stars 2022:

• June 2021 – Senior Living: How to Optimize Your Online Reputation: Peruse the slides — slide 41 has specific goals for communities; or watch the webinar recording

• June 2021 – Home Care: How to Optimize Your Online Reputation: Peruse the slides – slide 42 has specific goals for agencies, or watch the webinar recording

• July 2021 – How the Major Reviews Websites Vary, presented with ReviewTrackers: Peruse the slides, or watch the webinar recording

• August 2021 – How to Ask for Reviews, presented with Consumer Fusion: Peruse the slides, or watch the webinar recording

Have questions? Please contact our reviews team at reviews@caring.com or (650) 762-8190.

***

SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT CARING POSTCARDS: We moved our postcard processing operations to Charlotte, North Carolina in 2019, and then sunsetted the reviews-by-postcard program in 2021 (blank card distribution ceased in March 2021, and the postage permit on return cards expires 9/30/21). We now offer a review call-in line. Contact reviews@caring.com for assistance in using this free service for partners only.

Editor’s note: This article is published each year with updated dates and info.