Halloween: Tricks for dental offices to consider next week
By Nicole Giesey, RDH, MSPTE
Halloween is upon us. The leaves are already falling, and the children are getting super excited about dressing in their favorite costumes. There are so many dentist jokes out there about Halloween. Correlation to the holiday and cavities is an all-time classic. This is an opportunity for your office to take that long running message and turn it into some marketing magic.
Goodie bags—The schools are so eager to have access to dental supplies and also eager to have a community connection to its students. A good way to market your office and provide an oral health service would be to utilize the candy craze and put together some goodie bags with the office logo and literature inside the goodie bag for the parents. A cute poem about Halloween and an intro letter from the office to include what items are in the bag would be good. Maybe also include a free exam coupon or a free fluoride coupon with cleaning coupon in the goodie gift bag as well. The coupons would serve as a good invitation to visit the office.
Oral health programs—Even though children’s oral health month is in February, hygienists and assistants can still go into the school and put on a small program for the students. What better time of year than around the nation’s largest candy holiday? Reinforcing the students to keep in mind to brush and take care of their teeth. The demo of brushing, tongue scrapping, flossing and rinsing would be fun on the oversized teeth or the animals with the oversized typodont and oversized toothbrushes. Kids love these programs and teachers like the time off too.
Again, your office could pass out bags filled with marketing to attract potential families. Make it super fun so the kids are sure to talk about it at home. The sillier yet educational it is, the better. Do not stop at the elementary schools. Reach out to all the school levels in the district. As the kids get older, the school designed programs are not as abundant.
Teenagers plus hormones plus lack or good oral hygiene is a perfect gingivitis storm. Rethink the program and change it up for their level. Educational school programs are a great way to reach many kids at one time and if your program is laid out right, they will for sure talk about it when they get home.
Open house—The office can host an open house for kids on a weekend. This event would be free for the community but would open the doors for the kids to have access to care and also show the community that the office is there for their needs. The open house could serve as a tour of the office, a meet-and-greet from the staff and even a free exam. This would allow the kids to be checked and, if there are any issues, they can schedule an appointment directly while they are there. A coupon for a free fluoride with cleaning could be given or some type of special offer to entice them to return.
Candy buy-back—Another marketing tool that is sometimes utilized is a candy buy back. The office would buy back the kid’s candy by the pound. Some offices set a price per pound of candy and some offices set up another type of program where the kids would donate their candy to the troops or the community. Both programs would be beneficial, and your marketing items would be passed out on the day that the candy is turned in.
Marketing would include your personalized bag, toothbrush, floss, a coloring page with the office’s name at the top, stickers, business card, magnets or anything else personalized with the office’s information. There is a lot of competition out there for patients. Setting your office up as a community leader is one way to attract families in the community. Make sure you visit your local schools and get their mascot in some shape or size. Having the local mascot in your office displayed makes your office feel like home to your patients this is just another way to be included within the community.
Whatever community service your office chooses to do this Halloween, including your community through many avenues will surely keep your office in a positive light.
Nicole Giesey, RDH, MSPTE, enjoys researching, writing, and educating on topics related to dental hygiene. She is the dental hygiene product specialist for Maxill. She can be contacted at [email protected].
