It seems that every year around the holidays your dental practice gets extra busy. Maybe it’s a reaction to all of the Halloween candy. Maybe everyone wants to look their best for the friends and family they’re going to see at events on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Or, maybe patients are trying to get the most out of their FSAs and HSAs (a use it or lose it philosophy). Whatever the reason, you can always count on an uptick of business during the last couple months of the year.
It’s not like you’re slow the rest of the year, so this increase in business can cause undue stress. Between handling your patient workload, managing your business operations and maintaining a marketing presence your available work hours will disappear quickly.
Don’t worry – we have a few tips to help you manage your workload during the holiday season. And they don’t involve giving up your precious sleep.
1. Think ahead. As your patients reach the end of the year they will begin thinking about the money they have left in their FSA or HSA accounts. Since it usually doesn’t rollover, most of your patients will want to spend it on something. Now is the time to write a blog and post on social media about the best way for them to use their spending accounts. Many of your patients won’t remember or realize that they can’t use their accounts for cosmetic procedures such as teeth whitening. Therefore, making it a great time to get your patients thinking about whiter teeth for holiday photos.
Patients can also use their accounts for procedures such as end of the year cleanings and fillings that they’ve been putting off for too long. Now is the time to be proactive and let patients know how to schedule and use their spending accounts before they lose their money at the end of the year.
2. Delegate tasks. This seems like a no-brainer. But smart, successful people often have difficulty putting projects in other people’s hands. To keep your practice running smoothly during very busy times of the year, it is always a good idea to use everyone’s strengths to the fullest.
As a brilliant dentist and savvy business person you have to decide where you, your staff’s and your business partners’ talents can offer your practice the greatest advantages. Obviously, as a dentist, you need to free your time so you can work with more patients. It wouldn’t serve your practice well for you to spend your time writing blogs, chatting on Facebook or buying ad space. Just like you have an office manager that you trust to keep your dental practice running smoothly, you need an Internet marketing company to maintain and enhance your brand with current patients while continuing to reach new ones.
3. Be Strategic. There are about five weeks until Thanksgiving and then 35 more days until the end of the year. Develop a plan to help your current and potential patients understand what this time crunch means to them and their health spending accounts. This tip may sound a bit like tip number one. That’s because planning ahead is important, and we’re practically in crunch time. A qualified Internet marketing company can help you devise a short-term social media communication plan that will help guide your patients through the end of the year. Bringing in an Internet marketing company will ensure that regular blogging, social media chat and SEO update deadlines are met.
The end of the year is an easy time to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of being busy. The goal of your practice shouldn’t be to be busy. The goal of your practice should be to be productive. This means building a patient base that is happy with their service as well as the procedures you provide. It also means creating a brand where your patients become your ambassadors. It starts in the office, but spreads out through Facebook, Instagram, blogs and other social media channels. The end of the year and the holiday season doesn’t have to mean that your practice will be extra busy. It could mean your practice is extra productive.
A qualified Internet marketing company can develop a plan, engage your patients and help you guide your patients through end-of-the-year questions and issues dealing with health care spending accounts. As experts in the dental profession, ProSites would be happy to give you a personal consultation. Simply call 888-932-3644 today.
