“It’s beginning to look a lot like the fourth quarter, everywhere you go.”
The holiday season appears to start earlier each year, and with it comes the rush to make the most of the final months of 2024. Success in this critical period demands thoughtful planning and a comprehensive checklist to ensure every aspect of your practice is fine-tuned. Specifically, this checklist presents ideas for improving customer communication and maintaining positive staff morale. It’s only fitting in October that we focus on actions that prevent anything from sneaking up on us.
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The #EBOpticalChecklist is breaking out of each issue with a digital episode to our social channels. Join optical pro Sheena Taff as she applies these checklist items to real-world scenarios. Watch on EB’s Instagram and TikTok.
1. Set the fourth-quarter marketing and advertising budget. Prior to mapping out the spending breakdown by platform, review last year’s performance metrics and recent campaigns to ensure spending is allocated to the avenues that provide the best ROI.
2. Try a fresh and seasonal marketing idea. Give away reflector bracelets, stickers, or glow sticks for Halloween. This helps keep trick-or-treaters safe, has a vision theme, and is a low-cost way to get your name out in the neighborhood.
3. Tailor recalls to client demographics to improve success. Text messaging is quick and effective for most demographics, especially younger patients. Include a link to book an appointment. Phone calls can be personalized and effective for older patients or those who prefer a human touch. Email is useful for detailed reminders but can get lost in the spam folder.
4. Begin creating holiday social media posts. Schedule posts for important dates, such as Thanksgiving closures, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday sales. Having a dossier of posts ready to go is strategic when the season gets busy and sales are diverting your attention from social media.
5. Start curating a holiday gift and sundry selection. Order branded cases, cleaning kits, and gift certificates. Have a selection of top-selling sunwear styles and consider bringing in a few pairs of smart glasses (likely to be a big seller for the holidays). Offer gift wrapping and promote items by sending out a gift guide by e-blast.
6. If you offer intense pulsed light, radio frequency, or specialized dry-eye treatments or you’re considering adding the services, schedule an intro or skills-enhancement workshop for the whole team. Equipping everyone with the knowledge to speak about the benefits boosts confidence and increases expertise.
7. Set your holiday hours and any office closures through the end of the year. Update Google and your site. Share with your team and communicate any blackout dates for time-off requests. This ensures everyone is in the know and can make seasonal plans.
8. Reach out to your vendor partners and inquire about new or seasonal point-of-purchase materials. Choose the one(s) that best fits the aesthetics of your practice and plan additional elements to coordinate with the provided materials to create an eye-catching holiday window display.
9. With flu season in mind, keep your staff and patients healthy and the business running free of short-staffing obstacles by reviewing sanitization procedures. Put out accessible hand sanitizer and confirm a frame and surface cleaning schedule.
10. Host a webinar or live Q&A about eye health topics. Subjects can include what eye exams entail and what they can discover, myopia intel, or tips for choosing the right frames or lenses. This attracts potential new patients, positions you as an eyecare expert, and costs only a little of your time.
