Perhaps you recall our piece on advertising during the high-demand summer months. With the expiration of dental health month, we move into the holiday season and the absolute nadir of demand for services, especially for the specialists in the field.
The reason for this is simple: most people have limited incomes and limited time. That income and time generally turns toward holiday purchases and getting everything organized for the season – searching for gifts, preparing meals, attending parties, etc. Unless there’s an emergency of some kind, you generally don’t see people trying to fit appointments into their schedule. If they’ve waited this long to get started with treatment, another couple of months cannot possibly hurt, right?
And, on the money side, not only do you see people spending money on gifts, food, etc., but you also see these type of situations: “I budgeted $200 for gifts for the kids, but I spent $1,000 on them. Where’s the nearest lottery?’ Those types of situations add even more stress to an already stressful time of year. Even the most favorable economic offer can seem like an additional burden.
So, how should you handle this time of year? Here are some tips:
Slow down your own spending
As we’ve alluded to in previous posts, the smallest percentage of your marketing budget should be allocated to the fourth quarter. Even within the quarter, most of that spending should be allocated to October. Not only is it a good month in terms of people wanted to get started with treatment before running into those holiday bills, but you also get a little boost from the national marketing done by organizations like the American Association of Orthodontists and American Dental Association.
In November and December, demand seriously declines. A number of practices will try to be the ones that bring new patients in when no one else is chasing them. That’s a good idea, but don’t try to create something that’s not there. That something is demand for services. If 10,000 people are looking for orthodontic services in your market in July (to be split among all the doctors in the market), that number may be 1,000 in December. Given the forces of the season, it will be very difficult to increase that demand. It’s generally not worth it.
Rather, temper your spending and your expectations for the period. Within the quarter, I’d suggest putting 60% of your expected spending into October, 30% into November and 10% into December. That December spending should be shaded toward the beginning of the month. Those aren’t hard and fast percentages, but gives you a general feel for the ratios of spending to demand.
One other reason to cut back in the fourth quarter: those businesses that do benefit from or rely upon the holiday season will pour money into advertising channels during this time of year. Advertising rates across the board increase as a result. For you, that means spending more to chase less.
Finally, you may want to consider shutting things down during the last 2 weeks of the year. Some clients of ours have made a hard push to do business during the weekend between Christmas and New Year’s Day, but keep in mind that people are returning gifts, finishing up visits with relatives, traveling and engaging in other activities that do not involve your business.
One possible exception here: a number of folks want to get their teeth looking as fresh as possible before attending parties, taking photos or kissing Aunt Edna so if you get to them early enough, there is a holidays season opportunity for things like cleanings and whitenings. In fact, we’ve had a few general dental clients who established themselves within the community because they built up this business during the holiday season.
Make your calls-to-action very strong
Obviously, money is a big deal at this time of year. If you do want to run a promotion, the price side needs to be strong enough to work through the noise of the season make potential patients take notice. This has to be stronger than the old 25% off normal fees. Here are a couple of suggestions:
- No payments until 2014 – Here, you provide an incentive to start treatment while removing the stress that comes with “Oh my God, I planned to buy my son a Furby and got him an iPad instead.” You might want to give that relief at least until February. If you do that, you have the patient in treatment when tax refunds start coming in. That creates a much more relaxed financial environment for them and more of an ability to make payments on time.
- A risk free treatment program – Patient, you start treatment and if, for any reason, you cannot make payments, we stop treatment (remove any appliances or braces or whatever) and we both go our separate ways. No additional funds are due or pursued. Yes, there is a risk, but you are giving an offer that relieves the I-can’t-afford-that stress of season. If the patient can’t pay, no big deal. This is similar to the marketing offer that Hyundai made during the height of the recession a few years ago. Car sales jumped as a result.
Fortunately for you, in this day and age, you can push these offers through social media for the low, low price of nothing.
Work your referrals
The strongest potential patient base out there comes from the group that you will actually get to be in front of during the holiday season: your existing patients. If you have special offers, promotions or whatever, you have a glorious opportunity to let your patient know about it. Don’t know what you get your next door neighbor? How about this special, exclusive, referral only coupon for a free cleaning?
Also, tis the season for entertaining so do some of your own. Referring doctors, businesses, best patients or whatever. Invite them to stop by for a quick bite or after-work drink to toast the holidays. It doesn’t have to be anything major and doesn’t need to be integrated with your own office’s holiday party. You don’t necessarily need to pitch them anything here. Just let them know that they are appreciated face-to-face. This gives you a chance to do something more personalized than simply sending them a ham. You can still give them a ham, but if it’s done with a handshake, a cocktail and a nice thank you, it leaves much more of an impression.
Also keep in mind that with weak demand during the holiday season conspires with additional cash outflows – payment of property tax, holiday parties, holiday gifts, bonuses, etc.—to create some fairly unmerry results for the quarter. We'll certainly discuss this more in the future, but if you want to talk about anything now, please don't hesitate to contact us. We're listening.
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