New patients and dental collections are key to the success of your practice. And, the holidays are approaching! So, now is the best time to draw new patients in and collect. Why? Well, celebrations make people feel good. The nostalgia of Christmas morning and the sunshine freedom of summer motivate people to make purchases that are out of the norm. Consider Black Friday for a moment. If it is not the 70% off signs that motivate people it is sure to be the excitement around the holiday of giving (or buying). Don’t waste another holiday season with old hat promotions. Review these 4 tips on how to increase new patients and dental collections through Thanksgiving promotions.
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Decorate
If your lobby, op rooms, and back office are not decorated for Thanksgiving, get out the garland and decor pumpkins. This does not have to be an elaborate feat. If your decorating budget is low, make a quick stop at the dollar store. Another option is to encourage staff to bring in a decoration to add festivity to the office. Setting the mood for the season is the first step toward a successful Thanksgiving promotion to improve the overall patient experience. Sharing your holiday decorations on social media can draw in new patients, which means more dental collections!
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Tell your Patients
One big reason creative ideas fail is that the dental office does not inform enough patients about the promotion. If you plan to run a ½ off whitening special for Thanksgiving, but you post once or twice on social media, then you may not meet the level of expected participation. Most often, offices need to increase their promotion which leads to higher dental collections. If you feel that you are promoting too much, double your promotion effort.
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Start with logical
Before you leave this blog and spend hours on creating a catchy headline for your promotion, begin with a plan. Pick a beginning and end date, define promotion rules, choose the promotion, and decide on the best forms of communication. A few ideas to communicate your message is through email, text, social media, in-office flyers, and word of mouth through staff. Once the logistics have been a focus on the creative side of the promotion.
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Tackle Creative
Your patients are exposed to thousands of advertisements per day, and a promotion, even if it is ½ dental whitening, can get lost in the noise. Stand out by using a creative photo or a catchy attention-getter. Connect with the patient by referencing a common thought such as, “whiten your teeth for the holidays”. Another option is to be creative with words such as, “Wake-up & Whiten this Winter”. Whichever path you choose, be different and stand-out to your patients. The more creative your promotion is, the more likely new patients will come to your practice. Again, new patients = more dental collections!
Improve Patient Experience
Build relationships with your patients over this Thanksgiving season. How does your practice celebrate the holidays? Write your experiences in the comments!