Beat the Back-to-School Rush: An Easy Campaign Action Plan for Families
By Dr. Greg Grillo
The long days of summer are slipping away, and school is sneaking up on families faster than expected. Across the country, kids start going back to school through August and into September. This year, back-to-school will look more different than ever, with predictable routines and crowded hallways giving way to new modes of operation in every community.
The uncertainty around school schedules may be consuming the attention of many families. Dental check-ups get pushed to the back burner during the best of summers. But during this stretch of history, dental care could move further down the priority list. Parents and teachers still value oral health, but they need a little help to take care of themselves.
Most dental offices expect calls from parents trying to schedule last-minute appointments for kids right before school begins. This back-to-school rush can be a disappointment for parents and a missed opportunity for your practice. A similar pattern occurs around Thanksgiving or Christmas. College kids returning for the holidays may want a cleaning, but it’s too late to get them scheduled.
You can’t call every patient and remind them to get their kids in during their school breaks, so what can you do?
Go On A Campaign
Well-timed marketing campaigns build awareness for patients and help your practice efficiently reach an entire demographic. Campaigns take many forms, and you may combine various strategies to nudge families to look ahead for their care.
Here’s how you can get started:
Use Legwork Campaigns to stir the back-to-school pot before kids head out with their backpacks. We offer a full library of non-clinical, patient-friendly content that covers every specialty so you can:
- Pick an article to post on your blog that discusses a topic related to children’s dental health.
- Write a brief email introduction that reminds patients the new school year is coming. Encourage parents to contact your office for check-ups if they haven’t been in for a while.
- Include a link to a blog article you’ve selected from your website.
- Choose an email list filtered for delivery to households with kids, and send the email to the list.
- Post a link to the article on your Facebook page with a similar reminder to families. You’ll reach a few more parents, and you’ll bring traffic back to your website when they click the link.
BONUS: Don’t forget you boost your site’s SEO every time you pull visitors back, and the time they spend there bolsters your ranking.
Consider modifying this campaign technique to reach families a month before the winter holidays, or the start of summer break. A general awareness campaign sent to your entire database at crucial times in the year can nudge overdue patients. Don’t forget to mix in social media posts that give the same reminders.
Be A Resource Families Love
Busy parents face more distractions than ever in today’s complicated world. With timely, thoughtful communications, your dental practice can help patients take care of their loved ones. Legwork Campaigns gives you the tools to create customized connections with the right patients at the right times. Design mini-campaigns to create value for your patients and take advantage of the tools we put at your fingertips!