The countdown to the New Year has begun, and we can’t wait to help market our clients in 2020 so they can reach even more new patients and grow their practice. This is also a time to reflect on what we can do different, or improve upon so that marketing processes and plans run more effectively. One common occurrence we notice is that dental practices start to plan in late November to do something special for the holidays. Most likely, they are not aware that as a marketing agency we work months in advance on projects and they should too. Here’s how your practice can plan properly for effective marketing next year.
Plan In Advance
While you may not be thinking of a holiday promotion for your practice until you see Christmas decorations going up in mid November, it’s best to start planning campaigns 2 or 3 months in advance.
Contacting your marketing agency or trying to do it yourself in a couple weeks doesn’t leave you much time to create an effective marketing campaign. There are many moving parts (and people) that go into a marketing campaign such as strategy, writing the copy, design, imagery, posting to Facebook, scheduling an email, adding content to your website, writing a blog-you get the idea.
A great way to help you stay aware of when to start planning is by keeping a simple content calendar. It doesn’t have to be digital, but use one that is easily accessible to you or someone in your office that helps you coordinate your marketing. For holiday campaigns, make a note in September or October to either contact your marketing agency or start mapping out a strategy on your own. This same process goes for other times of the year when you want to run specials or when you know you’ll be introducing a new service to your practice. You don’t need to plan 6 months in advance, but giving yourself more than a few weeks will help you execute a marketing campaign that will get you results.
