Summer is made for vacations, holiday party season starts in early December and springtime means flowers are in bloom. Did you also know there are peak times you should be reaching out to your patients?
Three specific times of the year are optimal to encourage your patients to schedule an appointment. Step up your marketing efforts and send email blasts and postcards around these times:
- Back to school for pediatric offices (end of July or beginning of August, depending on the local school schedule)
- End of the year insurance (first mailing in September and second in mid-October)
- New Year’s resolutions (early January or mid-February, depending on the message)
Too few dentists take advantage of email marketing for their patients. Don’t be afraid of coming off as too “salesy.” Remember, your patients are busy and want to maintain their dental health – they just forget. The majority will be grateful for your email reminders, especially during these ideal times.
When school is out for summer, “back to school” always arrives faster than expected. Create your marketing plan early on to prevent a missed opportunity. Also make note of when to send reminders for the end of year insurance and around New Year’s so you can adequately prepare.
Below are sample templates to help get you started. Emails are great because patients can reply directly to the email with an appointment time request in YAPI. You can use this same message for those who prefer postcard communication.
For Back to School:
End of the Year Insurance:
New Year’s Resolutions:
Many patients are waiting for an email just like this as a reminder to schedule an appointment for themselves and their families. It’s already on their mind that they need to come in and this is that extra push!
You might think of additional times that are appropriate for your practice. Maybe you want to send emails for “spring cleaning” or National Children’s Dental Health Month. You can extend your efforts to your social media pages with cute but relevant posts. For example, post a celebratory New Year’s image with the text: Make your New Year’s resolution about your teeth. Schedule your next dental cleaning today!
Sending patient email reminders is inviting and shows you care. They might not even realize their insurance benefits are ending soon and will thank you when they come in. Be sure to mark these three important times on your calendar now! Your patients will be glad you did.
