dental patient appreciation gifts

Dental Office Tips and Ideas for Marketing to Retirees and Seniors
by

Dental Office Tips and Ideas for Marketing to Retirees and Seniors

Hello Friends,

Do your marketing efforts include marketing to seniors and retirees? Marketing to seniors typically isn’t a priority for most dentists. However, since advancing age doesn’t mean seniors cannot keep their teeth for a lifetime, why not take advantage of the opportunity to reach out to this generation? Help them to see they’re not destined to lose their teeth. Not only are there many preventive services available to them there are also many cosmetic dental treatment options to help them smile with confidence.   

dental marketing ideas for seniors betty hayden consulting dental coach

A few ways to reach out to Senior Citizens and Retirees:

  • Senior/(Retirees) Appreciation Day (In-office)
  • Senior Health & Wellness Expo
  • Direct Mail Marketing to Senior Living Communities
  • On-site Dental Health Education Presentations for Seniors & Caregivers
  • Website & Social Media Sites

Today, I’m going to focus on ideas for you to use at a community senior health & wellness fair/expo. However, many of the ideas for talking points, presentation and giveaways may be used in the other forms of marketing mentioned above.

Quick Tip: In-House Savings / Membership Plans – Loss of dental insurance may have prevented some people from seeking dental care.  Do you offer an in-house savings plan? If yes, be sure to include that in your marketing materials and posts on your office social media pages and website.

Back to health fairs… they can be challenging for a couple of different reasons.

One, there are a lot of vendors and booths/displays so you’re going to want to make sure that your display table stands out. That it draws the attention of the guests.

Two, most people are there for something free. But, I guess that doesn’t really count as a challenge. It’s an opportunity for you to make sure they won’t leave your display empty-handed. You’ll have many freebies to give away that include your office information.

Many wonder what they should talk about and what sort of items should they give away?

How about these ideas…

Service Talking Points ~

  • Denture/Partial Maintenance & Repair
  • Bad Breath
  • Gum Disease
  • Xerostomia 
  • Teeth Whitening
  • Orthodontics
  • Implants
  • Oral Cancer (On-site screenings)
  • Oral Systemic Health Link
  • Smile Makeover

Presentation / Demonstration ~

  • PowerPoint/Video presentation on a laptop/tablet/LARGE monitor with before and after photos and/or information about your services.
  • How To Demonstrations: Proper Brushing & Flossing Techniques

Display ~

  • Table Cloth
  • Banner (Office Name and Website address)
  • Brochures
  • Business Cards
  • Use nice baskets, containers, and frames to display your items.

Keep your table neat but attractive – too much information and “stuff” will be overwhelming in that setting.

Include a Big Call to Action with a deadline: You could hand out a sheet of paper that has a special offer on it: Complimentary Oral Cancer Screening, New Patient Special or Teeth Whitening Offer. On that sheet include some of the other services you offer. Also, include your social media sites and of course all your office contact info.

Make certain that you’ll have the ability to schedule complimentary consultations and New Patient Hygiene visits right there on the spot. (Access to your schedule…at the very least a copy of the schedule for the next 2 weeks.)

Very Important:  Your display table must include friendly, smiling, approachable and outgoing team members (also wearing, professional & clean attire).

Other things you can do to attract people to your table…

  • Prize Wheel
  • Gift Basket Drawing/Raffle

Lots of FREE stuff! Which brings us to…

Giveaways ~

  • Bottled Water / Reusable Waterbottles
  • Healthy Snacks
  • Xylitol Products- Gum/Mints
  • Sample dental health products with a sticker or tag attached showing that a “refill” may be purchased at your office.
  • Imprinted Toothbrushes
  • Toothpaste
  • Floss / Imprinted Floss Cards
  • Imprinted Pens
  • Magnets
  • My favorite idea for a quick & inexpensive freebie is Lip Balm- (my go-to; http://www.lipbalmexpress)
  • Reusable Bags with your Office Information on them is a handy giveaway, one that allows them to carry their free gifts in and advertise your office for you.

If you’re not looking to spend a lot of money on bags, please consider using small imprinted plastic bags so no one is fumbling with their gifts.

Raffle / Drawing ~

  • Electric Toothbrush
  • Whitening Pen
  • Gift Cards
  • Gift Baskets ( Themes: Dental Health, Gardening, Seasonal items, Spa, Etc. – don’t hesitate to team up with local businesses for basket items)
  • Free Teeth Whitening and or $ off Dental Treatment ( NOTE: they can either check the box for which one or all that they are hoping to win. Use a full sheet of paper with prize options and large space for them to fill out their name, email, address & phone (to be used later to send nice to meet you cards).

Should you decide to use a Prize Wheel instead of Raffle/Drawing be sure to find another way to capture their information so you can follow-up with a “pleasure to meet you” thank you card after the event.

Another Quick Tip: Include the Caregivers – be sure to have information on hand and give-aways for the care-givers. Especially because it’s often the care-givers that are the decision-makers.

Encourage attendees to “like” your office Facebook page and “follow” your office on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Perhaps you can offer some type of incentive/reward for visiting your social media sites.

Take a few minutes before and after the event to briefly introduce yourself to the other vendors and businesses at the expo. Give them a gift some of your office freebies. This is a great opportunity to build relationships within your community.

So many ways for you to have a fun and successful senior health and wellness fair. Do you have any other ideas that have worked well for you? Please, share them with me.

If you enjoy the complimentary ideas that I share each month, I would love and truly appreciate for you to please take a minute to leave me a review here on GOOGLE and/or FACEBOOK

Are you receiving my free dental marketing and practice management ideas every month to your email? If not, PLEASE take a second and follow today or send me your email address to bhaydenconsulting@gmail.com and I will send you an invitation to follow. This way, you won’t miss a single idea. Feel free to share my website with your dental friends.

Yours for Greater Success,

~Betty – Dental Coach

P.S. Please stop by and say hello to me on  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest

Please follow and like us:
error
Gift and Give Away Ideas for your Dental Patients
by

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 Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest

Please follow and like us:
error