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Wired for Success by Alan A. Curtis, DDS, MS, Editorial Director, Orthotown Magazine

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Patient Appreciation Events:
The Best Marketing ROI, Hands Down!

by Alan A. Curtis, DDS, MS, Editorial Director, Orthotown Magazine

In a day where many dental office referrals are declining, marketing to your existing patient base is becoming increasingly important. Providing value-added experiences for your existing and future patients is crucial! You need to ask: Besides providing excellent orthodontic care, what have you done for your patients to get them to talk about you and your office to their circle of influence? A memorable practice event is a great way to create buzz and social media excitement among your existing patient base.

A patient appreciation event is a party where the orthodontist foots the bill for a great time targeted at your orthodontic farm. Your orthodontic farm consists of preadolescents who will need your services in a few years. They are the younger siblings and the close friends of your active patient base.

First start by thinking like an eight- or nine-year-old. What are the things that they would enjoy doing? Think exciting birthday party. Great events include: laser tag, trampoline parks, ice and roller skating, private movie screenings, waterparks, beach and swimming parties.

Start by choosing the event, day and time. Indoor parties are great when the weather outside is either too hot or too cold. Ice-skating when the temperature is 118 degrees in Phoenix is a great way to get people to love you! Dates around fall and spring break can be great for those who don't head out on family vacations. Right after school gets out for the summer can be a great time to remind families that summer is "putting-braces-on time"!

Once the venue has been chosen, it's time to negotiate your fee with the theater, rink or park. Many of these venues are used for corporate events. Sell the event to the venue. It's a win-win because it brings future paying customers to their business.

Create a party page online for your attendees to go for information and registration for your event. An amazing free tool for this is EventBrite.com. At this site you set up limits to the number of patients, parents, siblings and VIP guests. It might seem counterintuitive but you want as few existing patients to come to your "patient appreciation event" as possible. Don't forget your purpose in this event! You would love it if all of your attendees were siblings and friends. It sounds weird to call it a future patient harvesting party but that is exactly what it is!



Once your "party page" is set up, it's time to send the message out to as many people through as many channels as possible. These channels include sending out flyers six to eight weeks before your event to invite people face-to-face, social media (like Facebook Twitter and Instagram), and e-mail blasts to e-mail addresses stored in your practice management system.

On the EventBrite site you can set up ticket/registration types such as Patient, Sibling, Guest of Patient and Parent/Guardian. Add 20-30 percent more attendees to your known capacity to allow the event to be overbooked. Patients are bound to register and then not show for the event. Divide the total number of registrations over the categories on invitees you plan on attending. See our event pages at http://www.eventbrite.com/org/1162336799.

Have an outline of your event so it runs smoothly. Include duties of each staff member so they know what their specific responsibilities are for the event. Make sure that the goal of generating additional business from the event is not lost in the fun of planning an event for fun's sake. Break down the event minute by minute so the experience you wish to craft goes off without a hitch. A DJ, balloons and a professional photographer will add an incredible environment for your patients to enjoy. The more photography you have the better the event will be documented on your social media channels. Our events typically include a raffle where inexpensive prizes are raffled off randomly.

As people leave your event, have your staff line up to send off your guests thanking them for allowing you the opportunity to win their business. This is a great opportunity to take pictures with grateful patients and solicit patient video/written testimonials. Patients and their families can be offered coupons incentivizing them to receive the treatment they have long been putting off. Using the data collected from the EventBrite site, e-mail promotions can be sent to families of the friends who attended your event.

A patient appreciation event can provide the "social proof " that there are many other families that made the wise decision to join your orthodontic practice. Thanking them for their patronage goes a long way in increasing the value of their overall experience at your office. Give them something positive to say about you and your practice. Show the prospective "shopper" who visits your website and social media pages how much fun it can be to be a patient in your practice. Schedule an event!


Photos courtesy of “Flash” Gordon Murray Photography
Orthotown Magazine
September 2025
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