Preparing for the Holiday Season in Your Practice

Prepare for the Holidays Early!

It’s almost upon us! The most wonderful and exciting time of the year is peaking over the horizon! Soon you and your loved ones will gather round to eat pumpkin pie, drink marshmallow hot chocolate, exchange gifts and sit cozily by the fire… or a television screen displaying a crackling fire. (Hey, we’re based in Florida, after all!)  BUT even more, your practice’s business will boom as patients and potential patients want to glam up and look and feel their best while they celebrate the season.

So, because it can and WILL (let’s be honest!) get busy amongst you and your staff, we truly advise you to begin planning and strategizing now (yes, in September). Here are some tips to begin planning and already discussing with your team:

Office Events

Are you going to have any holiday events in your office this upcoming season? If so, start planning items such as your theme, what products or services you will sample or provide to guests, what marketing materials will promote your event, such as your e-newsletter and social media posts, and also prepare a photography consent that guests can sign to allow permission for their photos to be taken AND be posted onto your social media channels. Planning events can take time so doing this ahead of time will make things so much smoother and easier to execute.

Gift Certificates

What better gift to give to a loved one than the opportunity to receive a nice treatment, procedure or skincare product from your practice! Gift certificates/gift cards are great items to offer to your patients as they will make their loved ones very happy and will also benefit your practice’s business by increasing your patient base number as well as your profits.

Specials and Promotions

Planning which specials you will offer NOW ahead of time will make things so much easier for your team to implement and roll out when it comes  time to promote them. Your team will not run around stressed or overwhelmed, wondering who, what, when, where and how.  Instead they will already know exactly which specials you’ll be offering, which marketing materials to post or send to your patients, where to post them and when. Optimally, we suggest planning your sales and promotions through the end of the year.

Employee PTO

This one is very important. Your staff will be wanting to take days off to spend time with their loved ones, and therefore you need to begin planning and organizing accordingly so everyone does not take off at the same time and you have enough coverage. In addition, you want to make sure you create a fair rotation so everyone has a chance to spend time with their family and friends.

Open/Close Times

Something important you want to begin solidifying are your office hours. Your patients will certainly want to know your hours of operations during the holidays as they begin to make plans for visiting family, vacationing, attending parties etc. Your staff will also need to know which days/holidays they’ll be working and which days the practice will be closed.  Pro tip: don’t forget to make adjustments on your social media profiles, website and Google My Business profile!

Influx of Insurance-based business

We’re aware that about 40-50% of our cosmetic/aesthetic medical practice clients take insurance for their patients’ procedures. If you’re a practice accepting insurance from patients,  you’re more than likely going to get a lot of insurance-based business at the end of the year. Start planning how you will manage this end of the year influx while still making time and keeping slots for your coveted cash-based patients.  Be sure to not only note this in your practice management electronic system, but with your Director of First Impressions (i.e. your receptionist) as well!

Influencer Marketing Campaign

The holidays can be one of the most lucrative and competitive times for business. If you are planning on partnering with an influencer to get your brand noticed during the holidays, you must plan your collaboration months  in advance. With the holiday sales and promotions coming up, many influencers will be very busy. That’s why it’s crucial to get a head start and start planning things such as the goal of your holiday campaign, your budget, what service you’ll be promoting, and most importantly, which influencer you’ll be partnering with!  (Most influencers shoot their holiday content over the summer!)

 If you’re anticipating a hectic and busy season we’re so happy to come to your rescue and bring you relief! Read our blog: “How to Turn the Holiday Season Around” for tips and strategies to have a joyful and stress-free time with your patients and staff this holiday season.