A Feast of November Marketing Tips... Delish!
Much to Be Thankful For
We've got some scrumptious items laid out this month, but before you gobble them up, we'd like to take a moment to address the season. For many of us, Thanksgiving time and the end of the year remind us to feel and express especial gratitude for the people and things that enrich our lives. Here at Practice Cafe, we have much to be thankful for.
To our clients, whether we are just getting started on your first campaign or we’ve been working with you for years, we want to let you know how much we appreciate you. Your business, trust, and marketing success help make Practice Cafe the growing company that it is. We are truly grateful for the opportunity to partner with you in your success, and it’s a pleasure to work and grow with you. Additionally, our “Thank You” wouldn’t be complete without a shout out to all of you who have referred colleagues to us! Y’all are the best! To vendors and friends who have joined with us in our efforts, thanks for all the good energy you’ve brought to our lives and the assistance you’ve provided along the way. We hope you feel that we’ve returned the favor.
Other Ways To Say “Thank You!”
In addition to considering a year-end letter to prompt your patients to schedule that last checkup of the year before insurance benefits turn over, have you thought about sending a note just to say “Thank You”? There are many ways to say “Thanks for being a great patient!” and though it may seem like a small gesture, it can make a big difference in how valued your patients feel. Cards, letters, or even personalized emails let your patients know that you really care about them and have their best interests at heart.
While you’re at it, why not spread the Thanksgiving feeling to your staff, too? A token of gratitude for all their hard work, dedication, and support like a staff party is just one way to celebrate Thanksgiving while having a little fun with your team.
No Direct Mail? No Problem!
Just because the middle of November marks the beginning of dental direct mail “off-season,” it doesn’t mean that the rest of your marketing should be napping on the couch like Uncle Ernie after too much Thanksgiving turkey. In fact, the latter months of the year are a great time for an internal marketing push. Professional, attractive internals can fit into almost any advertising budget in one way or another. Here are a handful of our most popular and effective internal marketing projects, listed in order of the least expensive to more long-term investments:
Perforated Business/Referral Cards. This piece packs a powerful punch, working double duty as an appointment reminder and tear-off referral card. It’s not only practical and affordable, but for dentists who feel nervous about handing out business cards or staff members who feel intimidated about asking for referrals, perf cards are an easy and natural way to get the word out.
Promotional Boards. Interested in a versatile marketing tool that can serve as a way to increase top-of-mind awareness of a specific service? Promo boards can do just that! They also work well in conjunction with other marketing methods (such as letters and postcards) to announce a move, a grand opening or open house, new staff members, or an additional location. Rotating a series of seasonal or themed promo boards and/or using them as a sort of “menu” of your services works well, too.
Referral Brochure. This 8 1/2” X 11” tri-fold brochure has a classic shape and feel, and is perfect for networking with other health professionals near you and even businesses like salons. This piece is also ideal for including in holiday gift baskets as you further your goodwill and professional relationships with businesses near you.
Everyone Needs a Website! Though it’s a longer-term investment than other internal marketing projects, a user-friendly and attractive website can do wonders for your practice—especially in today’s technology-filled society! For more on the importance of having a professional web presence, check out our page about websites.
SEO. For clients who we’ve done a website for in the past, consider having us update the search engine optimization of your site’s code. An affordable web update can work to increase your optimization, significantly up your chances in the searches, and better maximize your investment in marketing.
Some things taste good straight out of a can—cranberry sauce, anyone?—but when it comes to dental marketing, our motto is, the fresher the better! Contact us today so our team can answer any questions you may have regarding Dixie's tips, your dental practice and advertising goals, or dental marketing in general. We think you'll be thankful you did, and we’ll be grateful to hear from you!
A Recipe for STUFFING a New Dental Office With Patients
8-10 c. Forward Thinking & Planning (Best when Opportune Timing is also included)
1 lb. Good Office Location
1/2 c. Savvy Budget Allocation
2-3 c. Efficient & Effective Office Systems
2 measures (at least) of Capable & Friendly Office Staff
1/2 t. Distinctive Custom Logo
1/2 t. User-Friendly, Attractive Website
1 1/2 T. Excellent Direct Mail Piece with a dash of Well-Staged & Well-Taken Photos
Fresh Mailing List to Taste
3-4 Mail Drops
1 1/2 T. Consistency & Patience until Marketing Momentum Builds
1-2 c. Exceptional Customer Service to Retain New Patients
1/3 c. Evaluation & Repetition
Begin preparing your marketing plans from day one, making sure to assign sufficient budget funds to first-year marketing. (Please note: “Leftover” monies are not enough for smart marketing.) Combine good office location with efficient, effective office systems and capable, friendly office staff. Mix well. Stir in excellent customer service, sprinkling additional amenities to achieve desired level of patient experience. Should be competitive with other offices in your area. Working with Practice Cafe, lightly fold your desired practice name, image, and tagline into a distinctive custom logo. Put remaining advertising efforts into a user-friendly, attractive website and 11X17 direct mailer. Cover a 3-7 mile radius around your office, or the distance to reach approximately 10,000 households with the desired parameters, and drop 3-4 times 8-10 weeks apart. After frequency, consistency, and patience have been applied, prepare for your new dental office to be STUFFED with new patients! Garnish with job satisfaction and happiness!
A Cornucopia of Fascinating November Facts
- Election Day is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, every four years. At Practice Cafe, we are proud to be in America and grateful for the freedoms we enjoy here.
- Another important day in America falls on November 11th, and that’s Veterans Day. On that day in 1918, also known as Armistice Day, the brutal fighting of World War I ceased on all fronts. Veterans Day became an official national holiday on June 4, 1926, when President Eisenhower signed the resolution. The day celebrates all those who fought and/or gave their lives for the United States. We’re thankful for the sacrifices of all those who serve and protect our country.
- On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address, a relatively short speech that managed to evoke empathy, solidarity, and hope in a country bitterly divided by the American Civil War. In a lesser known speech that he delivered on October 3rd of the same year, Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday, inviting his fellow citizens and people all over the world to take the last Thursday of each November to give thanks and affirmations for “peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.”
- Now, Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, set by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939 and officially approved by Congress in 1941. The change was because sometimes the last Thursday is a fifth Thursday, leaving businesses less than a month to keep up with the two big holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Regardless of timing, Thanksgiving commemorates the Pilgrim Fathers’ first harvest. We hope you’ve had a good harvest this year!
- Turkey Time! Each year, approximately 90% of American homes have turkey on Thanksgiving Day. The most popular use of leftover turkey? Sandwiches, casseroles, stews, and salads.
- Female turkeys are called hens, and male turkeys are known as toms. But if you get a bunch of them together, plug your ears! A flock of gobbling turkeys can be heard from up to a mile away.
- Benjamin Franklin proposed that the turkey be named the official bird of the United States. Sounds fair enough, Ben, but could you fit a turkey on a quarter?
- Each year, the President of the United States pardons a lucky turkey (or couple of turkeys), who is spared the tragic fate of its peers and allowed to live out the rest of its gobbling life on a historical farm. 2006's celebturkeys Flyer and Fryer were even taken to Disneyland, where they served as "honorary grand marshals" and were given a permanent home on a Disneyland ranch. Turkeys living the high life in the happiest place on earth? Now that's a happy Thanksgiving.
Thanks for joining us for this month's tips! Bundle up and be sure to check back in December, when Dixie will be blowing through with a flurry of new tips.