Holiday Campaigns That Will Make Your Patients Merry

Brilliant holiday dental campaign ideas can bring your office some holiday magic that lasts well into the new year: when executed well, they can move your patients to see your office not as any dental office, but as their favorite – and one they won't hesitate to visit in the months that follow.

‍Strapped for time this holiday season? Thinking of skipping that holiday greeting to your patients? You may want to think again.

Holidays are a priceless, once-a-year opportunity when it comes to making your patients feel like family – a key component to patient retention. When patients feel known and valued by you, they won’t feel the itch to look elsewhere for their dental care. So join in on the holiday spirit and send some warm fuzzies their way!

There are lots of ways to wish your patients a happy holiday. Here are just a few holiday dental campaign ideas to get you started.

Host a Holiday Open House

Getting your patients in the office for an upcoming appointment may seem next to impossible without some extra help. But a holiday open house? Get ready to see some foot traffic!

Overlooked on the list of holiday dental campaign ideas, a holiday open house can bring scores of patients and families into your office. And most importantly, it can leave patients with a sleigh full of holiday feels and warm memories.

So, what exactly does one do at a holiday open house? It's totally up to you, but here are some ideas to start with:

• Decorate the front of your office like a gingerbread house
• Hire a professional photographer to take pictures with Santa
• Make crafts, like mini gingerbread houses, simple tree ornaments, and coloring pages
• Provide hot chocolate and treats
• Do holiday story time with your dentist(s)
• Invite each patient to decorate the office tree
• Offer office tours and a staff meet-and-greet

And don't forget to promote the open house: send out an email blast or social media post inviting patients to the special time at your office.

Earn a Spot On the Mantel with a Holiday Postcard

Just like a holiday postcard for your family members, a postcard with photos of your staff and a warm holiday greeting will mean a whole lot to your patients. It might even make the holiday card display in your patients’ homes, which is a nice way to market to their visiting friends and family members!

You can take a number of different angles with this holiday dental campaign idea. There's the traditional route, with your staff snuggled around the tree. But there are also outside-the-box ideas if your team's up for it: maybe you create a postcard that imagines your team at the North Pole, or perhaps you include several photos of your staff working while an Elf on the Shelf keeps an eye on them.

Whichever option you choose, just make sure it shows off your office's unforgettable personality.

Stand Out like a Snowflake on Social Media

The big-time advantage of dental social media marketing is its versatility. With social, you can post photos, poll your followers, and even share video.

Used creatively, social media can turn your holiday dental campaign ideas into your patients' favorite holiday greeting of the season. Here are just a few easy-peasy options that will make your practice stand out:

• Snap a photo of your holiday office décor and ask patients to show you their festive home displays
• List four holiday movies and ask patients to guess which one is the doctor's favorite
• Post some fun holiday trivia
• Write out a favorite holiday recipe to share with patients and upload an image of your latest batch
• Share a video of your staff singing a Christmas carol or playing dreidel
• Ask patients to post a GIF in the comments of your Facebook post that represents their favorite movie or part of the holidays

Or if you’re a RevenueWell customer, just subscribe to the social media content stream to post holiday content on your behalf. Boom.

Warm Hearts with the Family Holiday Letter Approach

You know the kind of detailed letter you get from family with updates on their year? Nowadays, with all the email we receive, this type of holiday greeting really stands out – it's personal, tangible, and as warm as a fireplace on a snowy night. Your practice can use the same approach for your patients.

In your office's holiday letter, include some achievements from this year your office is thankful for, like the number of patients you treated, the number of cavities you banished, a new office space, or a well-attended charity event that patients took part in. Anything that shows how brilliant and productive your office is. End by wishing your patients the best of the season.

Wrap the Year Up with a Charming Email Newsletter

The holiday email newsletter can be as simple or elaborate as you wish! But the more personal your office's dental email marketing is, the better.

Just make sure your patients can hear your voice in the greeting (no copying and pasting from the internet!). Include a stock image or upload photos of your staff for an added visual element.

If you wanted to get super-creative, you could include articles like these in your email newsletter:

• A summary of the front office's accomplishments written from the point of view of Elf on the Shelf ("In all the hours I've spent perched on the file cabinet, I've never seen an office so focused!")
• An imaginary, funny Q&A between a doctor and Santa about how to make good oral-health decisions during the holiday season ("Santa: So, Doctor Thomas, I've done some research and discovered that eating three-dozen candy canes each day in December has some health benefits. Can you speak to that? Dr. Thomas: Actually, Santa, no, that's in no way true at all.")
• A list of oral-health gifts your family members would actually use and love, say an electric toothbrush or a package of whitening sessions
• A checklist of oral-health to-do's and milestones, like scheduling cleanings, treatments, or mouthguard fittings, for the new year
• A preview of practice technology that you're purchasing next year written as a Christmas list

Turn Your Waiting-Room TV into Your Own Holiday Channel

We all know the benefits of having a TV with quality content running in your operatory and waiting rooms: it can calm anxious patients and educate them about oral-health best practices.

But during the holiday season, it can also function as an outlet for your holiday dental campaign ideas.

For example, run a simple slide with a crisp image and some simple text wishing a happy holiday season. Using holiday-themed images in your newsletter or social media? Add those to your TV's content stream. Or go one step further and write a personal thank-you to patients for being part of your dental family.

Pro Tip: Craft Your Greeting Based on Your Audience

Holiday greetings are a bit like gifts: the more personalized, the more memorable they are.

Here are a couple creative options when it comes to tailoring your holiday dental campaign ideas for specific patient segments:

• Send one type of message to your older patients (postcard), another to your pediatric patients (postcard with age-appropriate graphics and simple text), or another to your tech-savvy in-between patients (a Facebook post with a GIF)
• Include a special message to patients who have visited in the last 12 months. Something like, “we were so blessed to have you visit us this year!”
• Have patients in your database who have never visited? Send them their own greeting – perhaps include a new patient incentive such as a free electric toothbrush, free teeth whitening, or a discounted service to help them schedule that first appointment

(If you choose to tailor your greetings based on the audience, just be sure not to have your filters overlap! You don’t want patients receiving multiple emails or postcards with slightly different wording.)

Something always is better than nothing when it comes to holiday greetings. From the simplest of holiday dental campaign ideas, like postcards, to the most extravagant, like a holiday open house, a little cheer will go a long way. No need to be perfect or do what the office next door is doing. Just be genuine and your patients will be grateful you’ve thought of them.

‍Learn more about how RevenueWell improves case acceptance and creates more close-knit relationships between dentists and their patients. Or subscribe to our blog for weekly tips and ideas like these and streamline your dental marketing and patient communication!