By Mark Wright, OD, FCOVD,
and Carole Burns, OD, FCOVD
Nov. 14, 2018
In two short weeks, if it isn’t happening already where you live, Christmas, Hanukkah and winter wonderland decorations will arrive. What is your own office planning? This is an opportunity to offer special seasonal promotions, and reward your staff with a holiday party. Here are ideas for making the holiday season count for your practice.
Taking staff to a nice dinner over the holiday season – some practices wait until January to do this because the holiday season so busy – is a very nice thing to do. But there are other activities that you can do with your staff to show them that you appreciate them, and at the same time, further develop your team bonding. Here are five ideas to consider:
1) Cooking class
2) Painting class
3) Escape room
4) Segway tour
5) Volunteering to help the less fortunate
You want your practice to look new and fresh every time patients enter. Changing your office decorations seasonally gives your office a new appearance, and that makes patients look. “How to Create an Attractive Visual Store Display” gives guidance in how to make sure you are making attractive displays that draw your patients’ eyes where you want them to look.
Here are two examples of decorations you can use to draw patients to look at a particular frame line:
This next idea is easily copied across different pictures, and can be used to highlight a particular frame or frame line:
Left: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/c3/3c/2c/c33c2cd7d906688943c39165024bd766–christmas-displays-ideas-for-christmas.jpg; Center: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/e6/6e/86/e66e860e9c93ec75baaf96a830d23a71–happy-holidays-cards-holiday-cards.jpg; Right: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/65/d3/e9/65d3e9adf3e5dae72660ecc51b9eaddb.jpg
Office signage is also important. Here are two ideas based on the eye chart to consider:
Left: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/2d/1e/c0/2d1ec0011dec65fad7b6a86b145d076c.jpg; Right: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/fb/b7/16/fbb716792f3271a0ee7c2cebe37486ea–healthy-eyes-urgent-care.jpg
Another way to use signage is to use humor. (Be careful not to alienate anyone with humor.) Here’s an example of a fun use of humor:
The holiday season is the time people think about giving to others. It’s the perfect time to create a marketing campaign based on “Give the gift of sight this holiday season.” Here are two examples of signage that could be used in your internal and external marketing:
Left: http://metroeye.biz/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/met_gos2013_post-02.jpg; Right: https://www.peepersoptical.net/wp-content/uploads/Give-the-gift-of-vision-this-Holiday-Season-1.png
With a little thought you can keep your office looking fresh, interesting, creative, and, with a little strategic planning, you can direct your patients where to look. By directing your patients where to look, you are taking the first step in becoming a master marketer.
References
https://www.thebalancesmb.com/creating-attractive-displays-2890497
