"Gifts That Give Your Office a Presence"

     It is imperative that anything representing your office; gifts, prizes, hand-outs, are double checked to make sure they are accurate and correct before leaving the office. Make sure your doctor’s name, phone number, physical and website address and any other pertinent information are perfect. Then place your logo and/or tagline on everything… this is called branding.

General Dentists or Other Doctor Referral Gifts

     This is an area that can stump many doctors and their team. You want to find unique and special gifts to thank your referring dentists or other referral sources. Usually quite a few gifts must be purchased while keeping costs down. Some offices choose to send a large gift around Christmas or Hanukkah and other offices use the Thanksgiving holiday for that purpose. Some offices feel that Thanksgiving is a better time to give their referring gifts as their gift won’t blend in with the plethora of gifts that arrive from other specialists during the holiday season. Thanksgiving can also be thought of as a time to be “thankful” for their referrals.

     When you “gift” your referral sources, two of the most important things are that the gifts are interesting, distinctive, and chosen by you, with them in mind; and that gifts are given frequently. You remember them, and you want them to remember you. Put some real thought into the personality of the person you are giving to. If they are interested in golf, cooking, flying, family, etc., these are all areas to look for or create unique gifts. When offices call and ask, “Where did you get that?”- You’ve scored.

Suggestions -

  • Whenever you deliver a gift for the referring doctor, don’t forget a gift for his team members as well. The staff members of that office may be the true source of a lot of your referrals. Food works well for this purpose and adds minimal cost to your gift total.
  • You may want to stay away from fruit baskets, meat and cheese boxes or platters; as they tend to blend in too much with other people’s gifts. You want your gift to STAND OUT. If you decide to do fruit, look into the company named Edible Arrangements and see if they have a store in your area. If you want different and scrumptious cookies, Cookies from Home will deliver anywhere in customized tins made up with your name and logo on them. Their cookies are "to die for!"
  • A basket of nurturing items works well. Try baskets consisting of a hot chocolate maker, flavored cocoa packets, mini-marshmallows, a bottle of chocolate syrup and candy cane stirrers. A smoothie machine with fruit, yogurt and other goodies to make smoothies works well, perhaps a quesadilla maker with tortillas, cheese, chips & salsa can be a forever lunch favorite.
  • Some offices choose to give a "gift seminar" to their referring offices. When the doctor and team have a good time and learn something helpful as well, they think fondly of your office.

Contests and Prizes for Your Patients

     Any time you run contests in your office or you are giving away prizes, check with the company and see if you can get your name and/or logo somewhere on the gift. As the gift hangs around for a long time so does the reminder of where they received the gift. It works quite well to run at least 1 contest each month, and sometimes you can even have 2 different contests running simultaneously, it makes it more exciting. For Observation patients, you might order “Kid’s Club” plastic cards that the patient can bring in with them for their appointments every 6 months, and they can earn points or prizes that way.

  • Your logo and practice name needs to be on any and all balloons (Mylar balloons work best). Try tying them to all starting braces bags or deband bags. You want to make sure your name and logo is on everything that goes out of your office, pens, pencils, calendar books, toothbrushes, wax and all paperwork.
  • Don’t just give referral gifts to your referring Doctors; try tracking the best referring patients, parents or hygienists as well. For every referral they make to your office, you could give them pizza vouchers, movie tickets or a Starbucks card. When they are a really good referral source, you could give them a gift certificate to a restaurant. Costco has gift certificates to several restaurants for $10.00 cheaper than the face value. Large cities have TV and radio stations that offer a certain number of gift certificates at ½ their face value. Restaurants.com also offers gift certificates to many different restaurants that cost $10.00 for a $25.00 gift certificate.
  • Have an annual party, of some sort, such as picnic or skating party where patients can invite their friends and you can hand out some marketing giveaways to all participants and raffle bigger prizes to your patients; be creative.

Marketing Items That Will Get Your Name Out and “Hang Around” for Awhile

     When you think about items that will be marketing your practice, go for the items that will last the longest. Things like cloth tote bags, yearly pocket calendar books, beach towels, cell phone holders, lanyards, CD or IPOD cases and unique pencils or pens. Have several rolls of stickers with your name and logo made up so that you can place them on any gift or on the front of plain white thank you notes.

  • It is prudent for your office to decide on a "Signature Gift" for your practice. With this gift in hand, you can take out referral cards or just use the gift to say "Hi." I have seen offices that have come up with a bakers' dozen of cookies with a tagline that says, "We Sweeten Your Smile." Homemade Jam with a loaf of fresh bread, the tagline says, "We’re Spreading Smiles Everywhere We Go." Maybe even a homemade bottle of Kailua (very easy to make) with an appropriate tagline that you decide on. The most important thing is that the "Signature Gift" you decide on reflects a part of your office that you feel is unique.

Where to Look for Unique and Different Gifts

     Don’t overlook the warehouse clubs such as Costco, Sam’s Club or BJ’s, as they have interesting gifts that can work for a variety of different people and tastes. Be sure to pick them up the minute you see them, as they go fast and often aren’t restocked. Remember warehouse clubs also carry other items that are only available on-line. Here is a partial list of the websites for unique gifts:

UncommonGifts.com
FirstStreetOnline.com
Gifts.com
FindGift.com
WalMart.com

     If you get stuck and need suggestions, use Google to find the perfect gift.

  • Always be on the lookout for gifts that might work for your office and referral gift giving. You never know where you will find them; try looking at neighborhood crafts fairs or gift expos.
  • Remember your office doesn’t need to spend lots of money on referral gifts. The people you are giving to are doctors who are quite capable of buying whatever they want or need. The times you "show-up" at their office with little presents to say "We are thinking or you and want to thank you for thinking of us" are much more important than one or two extravagant gifts per year.
  • Staff members love yearly calendar planners (and remember, they often carry them in their purse all year) as well as Victoria’s Secret or Bath and Body Works hand lotion or cream.
  • As a small "We are thinking of you" gift, fresh warm Krispy Kreme doughnuts, Einstein bagels, muffins or cupcakes can be delivered and are really appreciated.
  • Consider designating specific staff members from your office as the person(s) that delivers any gifts. This way the referring doctors and staff can become familiar with your staff members can build rapport.