The Christmas adverts are flooding our TV screens and our local coffee shop now has the long-awaited salted caramel, gingerbread mocha-choccy-ato in the festive red cups, whether we want to face it or not: “the holidays are coming”. It is a good idea to get on the bandwagon and make sure you’re taking full advantage of the festivities for your dental business.

For the festive period this year, make the most of the season and create opportunities to enhance your dental business. There are many little things you can do that will make a big difference to your practice, here are my top three:

Celebrate Your Staff

Take advantage of the season of giving, surprise your staff members with a well-deserved treat. I spoke with Senior Accountant, Simon, to make sure that treating your staff won’t cost you any unnecessary tax, he said:

“Before splashing out on expensive hampers, there are some tax pitfalls to avoid. The good news is, however, that HMRC allows up to £150 per head to be spent on staff parties throughout the year (provided all staff are invited!) without any adverse tax charges.

Whilst it is nice to give gifts to staff, these can actually constitute a taxable benefit on the employee. To avoid this, gifts should be ‘trivial’. “Helpfully”, HMRC provides no definition of a trivial benefit however they do suggest a box of chocolates or an ‘ordinary’ bottle of wine is acceptable (and specifically state a hamper to not be trivial). In any case, gifts should be less than £50 in value and should not be cash or vouchers. Although these gifts are trivial for tax purposes, they won’t be trivial to your staff.

And remember: if you want to give cash or a bonus, this should be included in your payroll.”

A small gift will not only boost morale but strengthen your working relationship and will go further than you think. The age-old saying is true: it’s the thought that counts.

Think Ahead to 2016

Everywhere you look this holiday you’ll see offers and promotions, so why would that not include the dentist?  I asked our Digital Designer, Karl, what he suggests:

“Create some promotions to either attract new patients or to help up-sell treatments to current patients. There are now plenty of ways you can advertise these offers such as; a Facebook campaign to reach people in the local area, an email to your database of patients or some banners on the homepage of your website.

One of the most important things to do when you’re setting up a promotion and you want people to contact you for more information; is to create a specific landing page on your website which includes your phone number and a contact form. Using this method (along with Google Analytics) allows you to easily track where people have come from.

Don’t forget to publicise the promotions within the practice to the patients you’re seeing on a day to day basis and make sure everything is on brand!”

Personally, I think a teeth whitening kit or a bundle of products makes an excellent gift.

Be a Scrooge- Bah, Humbug!

I’m not suggesting you make your staff work Christmas day. I mean, you don’t need to spend lots of money to promote your festive spirit. I asked Marketer, Lucy, how to use social media to showcase your practice this season. She said:

“Often the most popular posts on Facebook are the ones that include team news and photographs. A festive picture of your surgery all decked up or staff in their Christmas jumpers are a few suggestions. Don’t forget to promote all of your competitions to back up the content on your website. Encourage your patients to share and like your posts to increase each posts’ reach.

It’s also important not to let your social media accounts go quiet during the holidays, I recommend using a social media management tool such as Hootsuite. Hootsuite will allow you to schedule posts for the time you’re out of the surgery but be sure to keep an eye on any interactions from patients so you don’t end up ignoring anyone!

Finally, I suggest pinning a post to the top of your news feeds that includes your seasonal opening hours, also an emergency contact number to ensure patients know you are still available in a dental emergency.”

If you want to go ‘old school’ and make your existing patients feel really special, thank them by sending a greetings card. It will thank them for their clientele for the year passed and welcome them for the year ahead. My Tip: Include a voucher or offer for 2016 to incentivise them to book for the New Year.

If you have any questions about expenses, marketing your practice or how to put these festive ideas into practice call 01872 300232 or email us at hello@hivebusiness.co.uk.