Dentist Office Marketing, Leadership, and Management Tips and Ideas for October 2020

Dentist Office Marketing, Leadership, and Management Tips and Ideas for October 2020

Hello Friends,

Well, here we are at the start of your final quarter for the year. It is my goal to give you ideas and strategies that will help you end the year strong. Ideas that when implemented will keep things fresh and fun in your office. More importantly, they will exceed your current patients and potential patients’ expectations which will allow you to focus on doing what you do best, helping your patients achieve healthy and beautiful smiles.

Dental Leadership, Management, and Marketing Tips and Ideas for October 2020 

Leadership Tips & Ideas:

Employee Appreciation – National Massage Therapy Week: 25th – 31st – Treat your employees with gift cards for a massage. Or if possible, bring in a massage therapist to the office.

Customer Service Week: 5th – 9th – Discuss with your team strategies and goals to ensure that your customer service and patient care are in harmony with your core values and vision for your practice.

Boss’s Day: October 16th – Plan now to make this a special day for your boss(es).

Doctors, if you would like to grow and improve your dental practice and have wondered what it might be like to work with me and what coaching is all about… please feel free to reach out to me to schedule a complimentary, no-obligation coaching call at bhaydenconsulting@gmail.com.

Practice Management Tips & Ideas: 

Insurance Use it or Lose it Reminders – Did you get your end of year insurance dental benefit use it or lose it reminder letters/emails/texts/calls out?  

Dental Office Insurance Renewal Reminders Betty Hayden Consulting

Friends, how do your hygiene schedules look for October & November? Do you know how many of your active patients have a future appointment and how many do not? Do you know how many new patients you are welcoming into the practice AND how many patients you’re losing each month?  To help you get that data quickly, like within minutes – if your PMS is either Dentrix, Eaglesoft, or Open Dental you can request a complimentary, no-obligation practice data snapshot here: Game-Changing Awareness from Dental Intelligence  – Within minutes we’ll identify your practice’s strengths and uncover hidden opportunities.  I am happy to assist you with this at no charge and with absolutely no obligation to do anything further with me. 

Marketing Tips & Ideas: 

Exceed Expectations for your current patients and the potential new patients that you engage with in your community. 

October is National Dental Hygiene Month –  

All month-long share posts and short videos on your social media platforms regarding the importance of regular preventive dental visits to the dentist.

National Dental Hygiene Month Betty Hayden Consulting

National Orthodontic Health Month – See some ideas here: https://bettyhaydenconsulting.com/2020/09/15/tips-and-ideas-for-octobers-national-orthodontic-health-month/

Apple Month – See more ideas here: https://bettyhaydenconsulting.com/2020/09/15/tips-and-ideas-for-octobers-national-orthodontic-health-month/

Patient Appreciation Gift Idea: October is National Popcorn Poppin‘ Month – Give your patients a bag of microwave popcorn or little bags filled w/flavored popcorn with a tag attached that says: “You make us POP with Appreciation” or “Your Referrals are POPPIN’ – Thank you!

Patient & Community Dental Health Education Idea: 

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month – See more ideas here: https://bettyhaydenconsulting.com/2020/09/24/dentist-office-ideas-for-octobers-breast-cancer-awareness-month/

Social Media Post Ideas to Improve Engagement during the Month of October ~ 

Spinach Lovers Month

Betty Hayden Dental Social Media Contact Spinach Day

World Smile Day: 2nd

National Taco Day: 4th

National Kick Butt Day: 12th

National Chocolate Day: 28th

There you have it some fun and effective tips and ideas to help you have the best October ever!

Do you enjoy the dental leadership, management, and marketing tips and ideas that I share each month?   I would love and truly appreciate for you to please leave a review/recommendation for me here on GOOGLE and/or FACEBOOK

Have you signed up to receive my complimentary dental marketing and practice management ideas that are sent right to your email inbox each month? If not, take a second and sign up. Or send me your email address (bhaydenconsulting@gmail.com) and I will send you an invite to follow. This way, you won’t miss a single idea

Yours for Greater Success,

~Betty (Dental Coach)

P.S. Please stop by and say hello to me on  FacebookTwitterInstagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest

Dental Office Tips and Ideas for October’s National Apple Month

Dental Office Tips and Ideas for October’s National Apple Month

Hello Friends,

“You are the sunshine of my life That’s why I’ll always be around, You are the apple of my eye, Forever you’ll stay in my heart.” – Stevie Wonder

This post isn’t about songs with the word apple in them, it is, however, about planting dental marketing seeds during October’s National Apple Month. We’re going to use apples as our dental marketing seeds.

Do you enjoy the dental leadership, management, and marketing tips and ideas that I share each month?   I would love and truly appreciate for you to please leave a review/recommendation for me here on GOOGLE and/or FACEBOOK

Ready to celebrate apple month? Here are some dental tips and ideas to help you do just that…

fall dental marketing ideas

Exceed Patient Expectations –

Give-Away – Set out a nice bowl/basket of apples to give to your patients’ and visitors to the office.

dental office tips and ideas for apple month betty hayden

Gift Basket Drawing – Make an Apple tree and every time a patient comes in for an appointment during the month you add an apple with their first name on it (full name on the back) and use it for a drawing to win an apple-themed gift basket filled with goodies.

You could even promote that via your social media sites. (Perhaps extend the drawing to new office Facebook likes.)

Events in the Community – Create a hand-out for your patients listing the best local cider mills and apple orchards. Include any fall-themed events taking place in your community. You can also post local fall-themed community events to your office Facebook page.

Relationship Building /  Marketing to local businesses ~

Who will you visit in the community?

  • Schools
  • Salons
  • City Hall / Police Station / Fire Department
  • Library

And anywhere else you think might be a good place to bring in new patients from. At the very least, you’ll be building healthy & fun relationships with the folks in your community.

What will you bring?

  • Basket of Apples
  • Donuts and Apple Cider
  • Apple Pie
  • Toothbrush or Lip Balm attached to an apple-shaped gift tag.

Be sure that when you deliver these items, your office information is visible. Maybe include some sort of call to action special offer.

Visit my Pinterest Apple board for more ideas.

An apple a day won’t keep your dental office away!

Marketing via your Social Media Sites: Here are just a few ways to utilize your social media sites during apple season.

Facebook –  

Post the dental health benefits of apples, apple recipes, & craft ideas to your office Facebook page. Solicit comments, likes, and shares.

dental office facebook content apple month betty hayden

Invite your patients to:

post a picture of themselves apple picking or at a cider mill onto your office Facebook page.

(Have your team members do this as well.)

Team Building Activity – Get your team together to make apple sauce, apple pie filling, caramel sauce, or an apple/cinnamon sugar scrub. Put it in little jars with a ribbon and label with your office information. You can then give away as gifts to your new patients and or referring doctors/specialists. How fun is that?!

So many different ways to help exceed the expectations of your current patients and to hopefully, bring in many new patients just by planting little seeds every chance you get or create.

Have you signed up to receive my complimentary dental marketing and practice management ideas that are sent right to your email inbox each month? If not, take a second and sign up. Or send me your email address and I will send you an invite to follow. This way, you won’t miss a single idea

Yours for Greater Success,

~Betty

P.S. Please stop by and say hello to me on  FacebookTwitterInstagramLinkedIn and Pinterest

Gift and Give Away Ideas for your Dental Patients

Gift and Give Away Ideas for your Dental Patients

Hello Friends,

Are you looking for a fun way to thank your patients for their referrals and encourage your patients to tell their friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers about your office? A great and inexpensive way to do this is to present them with an unexpected gift at their appointment.

dental patient and referring doctors gift ideas

 

Here are a few ideas for you…

GIFTS for FALL:

* Apple Cider *

Warm or cold cider is a nice fall treat. You don’t need to give every patient their own jug of cider a small cup of cider will be well received and appreciated. Include a sign near the cider that says:

“You’re the Apple of Our Eye”

* S’mores Kit *

Pinterest has some neat ideas for inexpensive and fun s’more kits.

“We Need S’More Patients Like You!”

we need smore patients like you

Just a few of the creative ways you can exceed your patients’ expectations with this sweet treat… Thank you for sharing 🙂

 

GIFTS in WINTER:

* Tea *

Attach your business card or a special offer to green tea packets as a special give-away for your patients. Even if they don’t drink tea they can give it to a family member, friend, co-worker or a neighbor. Easy and inexpensive way to advertise your office and exceed your patients’ expectations. The label/tag may say:

“Our Patients are TEA-riffic!”

* Candle *

Mini candle jars make a nice gift. Attach a tag or label with your office info and one of these sayings:

“Our Patients Are Scentsational”

“Your Referrals Warm Our Hearts”

* Lotion *

Pass out little bottles of lotion. If they are not imprinted with your office name add a tag to the bottle with your office name and website with this saying…

“Hands Down We Have The Best Patients In Town!”

* Soup *

Here is a delicious gift idea for Winter: “Warm-Up Wednesday’s” Set up a slow cooker with soup or chili every Wednesday for your patients to enjoy. (Have recipe cards ready to share) Your patients will love the free food!

or this idea…

soup gift idea for your dental patients

Dr. Bruyere and the team are always coming up with thoughtful gifts for their patients!

 

* Apples *
This one is especially for the offices that are opposed to sharing sugary treats with their patients…

Basket of fresh Apples with a sign or stickers on the apples that say:

“Our Patients Are Awesome to The Core”

“You’re the Apple of our Eyes”

See my Apple-themed Dental Marketing Ideas for more apple ideas.

* FREE Food – Gift Certificates *

When in doubt, food is a great way to reach your patients’ hearts…especially, free food. This is also an opportunity to do some cross-marketing with local businesses. Ask them to donate gift cards for free food/drink. Or you can purchase gift certificates to give away to your patients on special days. Check out these ideas:

GIFTS for SPRING: (For awesome Spring gift ideas visit my Pinterest page HERE

* Flower/Herb/Veggie Seed Packets *

Flower Seed Packets w/a label and business card attached. Flower seed packets can be purchased at most Dollar Stores for around .20 a packet. Great deal! The labels you attach to the flower seed packets could say:

“Your referrals help grow our practice, Thank you! “

“Our Office Blooms Because of you! “

“Please enjoy these flowers growing as much as we enjoy your referrals growing our practice.”

* Honey *

Give your patients gifts of little jars of honey. Attach a tag saying:

“Thank You For BEE-ing Our Patient”

Check out what Dr. Bruyere’s office did…

thank you for being our patient

GIFTS for SUMMER:

* Mini Sunscreen *

Give away mini bottles of sunscreen. If you don’t have them imprinted with your office name, simply add a tag to the bottles.

* Free Ice Cream Cone Certificates *

Team up with local ice cream shop for donations of free ice cream cones

* Zucchini *

Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Night. (I’m serious, it’s a real day in August!) While you probably don’t want to visit your patient’s homes during the night you can easily have a basket of zucchini at the office for your patients to take. Wrap some ribbon and a business card with a zucchini recipe on it for your patients to sneak onto their neighbor’s porch during the night.

patient appreciation gift idea zucchini

Dr. Bruyere & Team celebrating “Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Night “

ANYTIME GIFTS

* Pens *

Purchase imprinted pens and add a tag to the pens that say:

“Take Note We Think You’re Awesome”

“Our Patients are just Write”

Tip: promostuff4u.com has a wonderful selection of pens and they offer exceptional customer service.

* Cookies *

Individually wrapped purchased or homemade cookies are a sweet treat. Add this label:

Thankful for Sweet Patients Like You”

* Flowers *
Fresh single stem flowers or Small potted flowers (ex: inexpensive gift would be a marigold in a small flower pot, you can get mini pots from the dollar store 4/$1.00)

“Your referrals help grow our practice, Thank you! “

“Our Office Blooms Because of you! “

* Xylitol Products *

Offer Xylitol samples of Gum, Mints, and Suckers

Tip: Also have these items available for purchase

* Donuts *

Who doesn’t enjoy a yummy donut occasionally? Display a platter of donuts at the front desk or at your patient beverage station with a sign that says:

Donut Know What We Would Do Without Wonderful Patients Like You!”

* Bath Salts/Sugar Scrubs *

Consider making bath salts or sugar scrubs as a team building activity. Give away as gifts to your patients.

Tip: Pinterest is loaded with recipes and super cute packaging ideas.

* Lip Balm *

Order imprinted lip balm and attach cute tags to the packaging with this saying…

“Our Patients are the Balm!”

Tip: www.lipbalmexpress.com is a great company to order imprinted, all natural, inexpensive lip balm. See also Pinterest for fun packaging ideas for your lip balm.

* Gift of Health Certificates *

Instead of just asking your patients to refer their friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers to your office, give them a gift of health certificate to share with their friends, family, neighbors & co-workers.

Here is a scripting idea:

Gift of Health Certificate

To: ______________________________________

From: ___________________________________

Your oral health affects your overall health!

This is your invitation to receive $25 toward dental treatment and a complimentary oral cancer screening from  __(office name__.

Please RSVP at __(office phone number).

We’ll give you a reason to smile!

Add here: Office address & website/social media sites

Note: You can do some seasonal gift of health certificates by changing the paper and envelope according to the current season.

These are just a few patient appreciation gift ideas. I’m sure you can come up with even more fun gift ideas. I would LOVE to hear all about what you come up with! Please share your stories and pictures with me on my Facebook page or via email. Thank you to all of you that have sent me messages and pictures of your gift ideas!!

Plan to make each month special for your patients with unexpected gifts of appreciation. Important Reminder: Whatever you decide to give away to your patients, include your office name and website on/with the gift whenever possible!!

Did you enjoy these tips and ideas?   I would love and truly appreciate for you to please leave a review/recommendation for me on GOOGLE and/or FACEBOOK

Don’t miss out on any of the ideas that I share each month! Are you receiving my complimentary Practice Management and Marketing Ideas in your email inbox each month? If not, please start following us today. If you prefer, send me your email address and I will send you an invitation to follow my blog. 

Yours for Greater Success,
~Betty

P.S. Please stop by and say hello to me on FacebookTwitterInstagramLinkedIn and Pinterest

Dental Tips and Ideas for National Apple Month

Dental Tips and Ideas for National Apple Month

Hello Friends,

Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” – Martin Luther

This post isn’t about planting apple trees, it is, however, about planting dental marketing seeds during October’s National Apple Month. We’re going to use apples as our dental marketing seeds.

Here are some dental tips and ideas to help your dental office celebrate apple month!

fall dental marketing ideas

 

Exceed Patient Expectations – 

Give-Away – Set out a nice bowl/basket of apples to give to your patients’ and delivery people.

Gift Basket Drawing – Make an Apple tree and every time a patient comes in for an appointment during the month you add an apple with their first name on it (full name on the back) and use it for a drawing to win an apple themed gift basket filled with goodies.

You could even promote that via your social media sites. (Perhaps extend the drawing to new office Facebook likes.)

Events in the Community – Create a hand-out for your patients listing the best local cider mills and apple orchards. Include any fall-themed events taking place in your community.

Marketing to local businesses –

Who will you visit in the community?

  • Schools
  • Salons
  • City Hall / Police Station / Fire Department
  • Library

And anywhere else you think might be a good place to bring in new patients from. At the very least, you’ll be building healthy & fun relationships with the folks in your community.

What will you bring?

  • Basket of Apples
  • Donuts and Apple Cider
  • Apple Pie
  • Toothbrush or Lip Balm attached to an apple-shaped gift tag.

Be sure that when you deliver these items, your office information is visible. Maybe include some sort of call to action special offer.

Visit my Pinterest Apple board for more ideas.

An apple a day won’t keep your dental office away!

Marketing via your Social Media Sites: Here are just a few ways to utilize your social media sites during apple season.

Facebook –  

Post the dental health benefits of apples, apple recipes, & craft ideas to your office Facebook page. Solicit comments, likes, and shares.

Invite your patients to:

to post a picture of them apple picking or at a cider mill onto your office Facebook page.

(Have your team members do this as well.)

Team Building Activity – Get your team together to make apple sauce, apple pie filling, caramel sauce, or an apple/cinnamon sugar scrub. Put it in little jars with a ribbon and label with your office information. You can then give away as gifts to your new patients and or referring doctors/specialists. How fun is that?!

So many different ways to help exceed the expectations of your current patients and to hopefully, bring in many new patients just by planting little seeds every chance you get or create.

Did you enjoy these tips and ideas?   I would love and truly appreciate for you to please leave a review/recommendation for me on GOOGLE and/or FACEBOOK

Have you signed up to receive my complimentary dental marketing and practice management ideas that are sent right to your email inbox each month? If not, take a second and sign up. Or send me your email address and I will send you an invite to follow. This way, you won’t miss a single idea

 Yours for Greater Success,

~Betty

P.S. Please stop by and say hello to me on  FacebookTwitterInstagramLinkedIn and Pinterest