When should I start planning my holiday marketing?

This is a great question. And to all my overachievers I would say to start planning the previous January. However, I know this is not a reality for most business owners. But waiting until all the Halloween candy has been given out will have you scrambling to create and implement your holiday marketing initiatives. Not to mention, your patient’s inbox will be filling up with offers from retailers that are competing for the same consumer dollars you are.

A New Bike for little Sarah…or a New Crown?

It’s important to remember that your competition is not only the doctor down the street, it’s every other bright and shiny thing your patient may want. A trip, a new kitchen, new clothes, gifts for their kids or grandkids, etc. Whatever it is that is catching their eye is your competition. This is true throughout the year, but at the holiday season, your competition grows exponentially.

Because healthcare, for the most part, is a need-based decision for the consumer it’s important to maximize your holiday marketing before they must make that decision between buying a new bike for little Sarah or a new crown on number nineteen.

The Window of Opportunity…

Whether you’re selling a retail product or healthcare, putting your message in front of the right people at the right time is key. I think the important thing is to find your window of opportunity.

When does your customer start planning their holiday buying? It may surprise you but that the time is NOW! According to Google Trends, consumers start searching for holiday gift-giving ideas in August. { https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=Christmas%20gift%20ideas}

So, if your patients are already thinking about gifts to give, you should already be thinking about your holiday strategy and campaigns.

• Encouraging them to schedule their appointments before their calendars are full of family dinners and holiday parties.
• Seizing the golden “use or lose your insurance dollars” initiative.
• Create value for your services “How to have a toothache free holiday”.
• Offer gift suggestions like whitening or a new electric toothbrush.

Campaigns like that will get your patients thinking about taking care of their needs now before they must decide between Black Friday deals and a root canal.

Speaking of Black Friday, building your holiday campaigns around retail marketing pillars like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday, and Small Business Saturday is a great way to leverage what your retail competition is doing by offering your own creative specials and seizing that window of opportunity.

Be Smart like Santa…

As the holidays draw closer, people are looking for last-minute deals, but you can’t wait until the last minute to decide what you will be offering or how you’re going to reach your customers. Even the age-old song shows us that Santa plans for his busy season.

“Making a list and checking it twice”

To answer your original question, “when should I plan my holiday marketing?” I say if it’s good enough for Santa, it’s good enough for us. So, plan now! We’d love to help you make that holiday marketing campaign list and check it twice to make sure your holiday marketing is the best it can be.

We want to build campaigns for you that will help you experience the greatest return on your investment and deliver great offers for your patients. And that takes time. Time to plan, time to build and time to implement.

Not a client yet? Interested in learning more about working with us? Have questions for one of our marketing experts? Call 800.639.1622 today! We have the marketing expertise you need to grow your business.