rater8 is a leader in healthcare reputation management. Pulse 2.0 interviewed rater8 founder and CEO Evan Steele to learn more about the company.
Evan Steele’s Background
What is Evan Steele’s background? Steele said:
“My career in healthcare technology spans 25 years. I was a practice administrator for an ophthalmology group for nine years before founding SRS Health, an electronic health records company focused on specialty physician practices. I’ve always held a personal passion for delivering phenomenal customer service, ergonomic software design, and the effective implementation of technology to improve patient care. I was the CEO at SRS for 15 years and ultimately sold the company in 2012. In 2015, I founded rater8, and I work hard to maintain the same standards of excellence today as I did in my SRS days.”
Formation Of rater8
How did the idea for the company come together? Steele shared:
“My wife and I had a frustrating customer service experience, and there was no quick or easy way to provide the individual with feedback. I was disappointed with the lack of avenues to express my feelings about the situation, and that’s what planted the seed for the idea that would ultimately grow into rater8. Our platform initially focused on rating people, including doctors and front desk staff. It later evolved to encompass the full patient experience, offering a quick and seamless way for medical practices to simultaneously bolster their online reputations and foster practice improvement.”
Favorite Memory
What has been Steele’s favorite memory with the company so far? Steele reflected:
“Getting our first client live on the platform is my favorite rater8 memory. It was like watching the launch of a rocket.”
“Also, becoming the top-rated software out of hundreds on Capterra and G2 was super exciting. It was validating to earn rewards from third parties based on all the hard work rater8’ers put in to make our clients happy.”
“And our annual company-wide, in-person event, dubbed ‘IRL,’ is my favorite day of each year. rater8 has been a fully remote company since day one, so it’s a special treat to get to see everyone in real life and do some team building.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Steele explained:
“While reputation management is at the heart of what we do, rater8 is really a unified patient feedback platform. By this I mean, we automate the collection of both external feedback in the form of online reviews and internal feedback in the form of satisfaction survey responses.”
““Because the best time to ask patients for feedback is right after their appointments when the experience is still fresh in their minds, rater8 automatically sends a survey or review request via text or email immediately after checkout. We achieve this through real-time integrations with all leading EHR and practice management systems.”
“When patients agree to leave a review, our review-building algorithm, pollin8, automatically redirects them to the review sites where the practice or physician needs the most attention. As pollin8™ intelligently cultivates reviews across Google, Healthgrades, Vitals, and WebMD, the disparity between platforms is eliminated, ensuring a balanced online reputation.”
“Our ergonomic micro-surveys collect feedback on the aspects of the practice and operations that matter most to the client. They select from a bank of 100+ healthcare-specific questions, and we automatically randomize and rotate the questions, allowing no more than five per patient survey while ensuring a wide range of data is captured. Their short and anonymous nature means our surveys see an average 29% response rate.”
“All internal and external feedback is aggregated in rater8’s centralized dashboard, allowing for detailed analysis and operational insights. Not only can users see every review for each physician and office location, but they can also respond to Google reviews directly from the dashboard using a collection of pre-written, HIPAA-compliant responses. For Google ratings without a comment, our platform responds automatically and appropriately.”
“Within the rater8 dashboard, clients can benchmark their performance against over 16 million data points collected via our satisfaction surveys. They can compare their organization to other top performers by state, region, and specialty, and they can even benchmark providers, locations, and departments internally to easily identify strengths and weaknesses.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges have Steele and the team faced in building the company? Steele acknowledged:
“Our small marketing budget makes it hard to compete with larger companies. We have overcome this by focusing on innovation and providing exceptional customer support. This strategy helps us stand out and win business.”
Evolution Of rater8’s Technology
How has rater8’s technology evolved since launching? Steele noted:
“With the onboarding of more health systems, we’ve greatly expanded our enterprise capabilities. Our dashboard includes an organizational unit subsystem that allows our enterprise clients to provide user access controls by office department, location, or provider. Further, our benchmarking capabilities allow enterprise clients to compare the performance of their portfolio practices to one another. They can even go more granular by comparing similar departments and operations at different practices.”
“In 2023, we joined forces with Tableau to create brand-new data visualizations for our clients, giving them even more reporting options.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Steele cited:
“In December, we achieved a significant milestone, sending out a record-breaking 100,000 surveys in a single day and setting the pace for us to reach millions of patients annually.”
“We also recently closed a strategic growth funding round with Elsewhere Partners to accelerate our expansion. We’re thrilled at the opportunity to expand our market reach while continuing to build out our team, deepen industry partnerships, and enhance our solutions.”
Customer Success Stories
After asking Steele about customer success stories, he highlighted:
“Campbell Clinic Orthopaedics, based in Memphis, TN, adopted rater8 as their reputation management platform in 2020. Prior to that, they’d been using a non-healthcare-focused vendor that just couldn’t meet their needs as an orthopedic practice. As a result, the group ended up with an online reputation that, while respectable, didn’t align with their award-winning, real-world one. In their first year with us, Campbell Clinic cultivated 7,823 new online reviews, a 443% increase compared to their last year without rater8. The constant influx of high-quality reviews promoted greater visibility in search results, in turn driving more patients to view their online listings. In the past year with rater8, Campbell Clinic has seen a 45% increase in online reviews, correlating to an 84% increase in Google listings views.”
“Located in Shelbyville, IN, Major Health Partners (MHP) has faced the same challenge for decades: competing with the sprawling hospitals and healthcare systems in metropolitan Indianapolis. Prior to adopting rater8, MHP had an average star-rating of only 3.6 across all of their Google Business Profile listings, allowing their big-city competitors to consistently outrank them in search results. Therefore, patients searching for healthcare services near Shelbyville were being directed by search engines toward hospitals and practices in Indianapolis and surrounding counties, rather than to their local providers at MHP. In their first year with rater8, MHP amassed 3,359 new patient reviews and increased their 5-star reviews by 9,097%, resulting in an excellent 4.87 overall star-rating. Where MHP used to struggle to appear in online search results, the hospital now consistently dominates.”
Funding
When asking Steele about the company’s funding details, he revealed:
“In addition to recently closing Series A funding from Elsewhere Partners to expand our market reach, grow our team, and further enhance our solutions, we’ve also experienced a 60% revenue growth each year over the past two years.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Steele assessed:
“In healthcare, rater8 is helpful in every medical specialty and anywhere patients are seen. This includes medical practices, hospitals, urgent care centers, imaging centers, med spas, wellness centers, labs, and more.”
“Analysts expect the global online reputation management services market to top $746 million by 2031, as the importance of online health reviews has continued to climb, and positive online reviews are the top factor influencing consumers’ choice of providers.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Steele affirmed:
“What sets rater8 apart from the competition is not just one aspect, but rather a combination of dynamic features paired with award-winning customer service and dedication to optimizing our healthcare-exclusive solution. A recent survey yielded an impressive net promoter score of 92, a testament to the satisfaction of thousands of happy providers nationwide.”
“Here are some of the standout features that we believe make rater8 a cut above the rest:
- pollin8: Other review-building platforms leave it up to patients to choose where to leave a review, making it challenging, if not impossible, to build a balanced online reputation. Our pollin8 algorithm strategically directs patients to leave reviews where they’re needed most, ensuring a balanced online image.
- Hands-Free Activation: rater8’s activation process requires zero effort on the client’s part. Our award-winning activation team takes care of setup so clients can focus on what matters most — delivering exceptional patient care.
- White-Glove Customer Service: In an industry where support is paramount, rater8 sets itself apart from the rest by providing responsive assistance from our award-winning support team. Further, a dedicated account manager works directly with clients from day one, guiding them through onboarding, periodic strategy consultations, and beyond.
- Real-Time Patient Feedback: In addition to cultivating reviews, rater8 also helps practices gather internal feedback through automated patient satisfaction surveys. With an impressive 29% response rate, these micro-surveys offer real-time insights into the patient experience. Our healthcare-specific question bank features over 100 benchmarkable survey questions readily available, so organizations can get granular on the areas that matter most.
- Robust Reporting and Benchmarking: We equip our clients with actionable insights to support them in making informed decisions. Within the rater8 dashboard, clients have the ability to benchmark their performance against over 15 million data points collected via our satisfaction surveys. They can compare their organization’s performance to that of other groups by state, region, specialty, and more. Clients can also benchmark employees, locations, and departments internally to easily identify strengths and weaknesses.
- Healthcare-Specific Solutions: We don’t spread ourselves thin by trying to “do it all.” rater8 is committed to meeting the reputation management needs of healthcare organizations exclusively. Our entire platform is tailored to meet the unique daily needs of healthcare professionals and can accommodate organizations at every stage and size.
- Strategic Partnerships: Healthcare reputation management is rater8’s bread and butter, which is why we value the opportunity to partner with marketing agencies and give them the space to excel in their expertise. In addition to working in tandem with our clients’ agencies, we also form strategic partnerships to bring our clients even more value. Our partnership with CMS-approved CAHPS vendor, Research & Marketing Strategies, for example, ensures that our clients can both optimize their online reputations and efficiently fulfill their government-mandated requirements.
- 30-Day Free Trial: rater8 is proud to offer a 30-day free trial, with no upfront payment required. During this time, prospective clients can learn how seamlessly they can elevate their online reputations and increase their patient volume in perpetuity.“
Managing Patient Feedback
Why should better managing patient feedback be a priority for all practices and hospitals? Steele replied:
“There’s an H. James Harrington quote that reads, in part, ‘If you can’t measure something, you can’t improve it.’ That’s the core of rater8’s philosophy. If medical practices and hospitals can’t easily collect and manage patient feedback, then they can’t measure it. And if they can’t measure it, then they can’t understand or improve the patient experience.”
“Not only is feedback management crucial in offering the best possible experience for patients, it’s also marketing 101. Higher levels of patient satisfaction contribute to what we like to call the “trust cycle.” Satisfied patients won’t just keep coming back — they’ll also tell their family, friends, and even strangers online about their great experience. More online reviews and word-of-mouth referrals will result in more booked appointments, greater retention, and more revenue and profits.”
Reputation Management In Healthcare Consumerism
How has healthcare consumerism made reputation management part of the healthcare marketing mix? Steele emphasized:
“The patient journey is always shifting, and online resources have significantly impacted the beginning of that journey. Rather than going to their primary care physicians for referral to a specialist, today’s patients simply open an internet browser and start searching. It’s like online shopping with higher stakes. Patients are taking matters into their own hands and conducting a lot of careful research to ensure they’re choosing the best possible provider for themselves or their loved ones. Think of it this way: if you wouldn’t eat at a 3-star restaurant, would you want to see a 3-star doctor?”
“Patients are replacing doctor referrals with online searches for healthcare providers. They heavily scrutinize ratings and reviews, making a strong online reputation vital. Google’s 3-Pack prominently features top-rated providers. To appear there, practices need frequent, positive reviews and active responses. This visibility boost is crucial for attracting new patients.”
Future Of The Healthcare Landscape
How do you see the healthcare landscape and patient feedback management evolving in the coming years? Steele predicts:
“Healthcare is becoming increasingly tech-driven to meet the demands of younger, tech-savvy patients. Practices must adapt to this trend to stay competitive. Online reputation management and patient feedback systems will be key for increasing transparency, improving the overall patient journey, and providing the convenience these patients expect.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future goals? Steele concluded:
“Our number-one goal is to become the go-to vendor for healthcare reputation management and patient feedback.”
