5 tips for hosting a successful virtual holiday open house

Looking for an alternative for those in your community who are practicing social distancing? Hosting a virtual holiday open house is a great way to attract new and existing patients and establish yourself as the hearing care authority. It just requires a few tweaks in planning and follow-up with attendees.

1. When to schedule

The best time to select for a virtual holiday open house is one that doesn’t compete with traditional events, such as community festivities. What’s even better, they can be promoted at any time of the year. Here are some themes for December and other seasonal ideas to consider:

• • December
    • Hear for the Holidays!
    • Do You Hear What I Hear?
  • January
    • Hear in the New Year!
    • New Year, New You!
  • February
    • Fall in Love With Your Hearing!
    • Sweet Sounds of the Season!
  • March
    • Hear the Madness!
    • Lucky You … Connecting With the Ones You Love is Easy!

2. Decide on how to communicate

The main difference is that your guests will join you online via the web meeting platform that you select. You should still create a fun holiday invitation that can be sent to the community and existing patients.

Direct mail to new prospects and patients. You should also send personal email messages and post on social media channels. Include all of the benefits of why they should attend your virtual event, such as what they will learn, what questions will be answered and who will be presenting. In addition, highlight what the attendees will receive immediately following the virtual event.

3. During the event

It is important for you to launch the meeting 15 minutes ahead of time and plan on welcoming guests as they “arrive.” We suggest using video for this introduction portion and to review the agenda for the virtual open house.

The same types of offers, promotions and raffle prizes you’d present for an in-person event can be used in this virtual format as well — you just need to share how they can claim their promotion package and then mail it quickly following the event.

Don’t let guests leave without a reason to contact you, such as refer a friend program, discount card for first appointment or brochure for those who want to learn more.

4. Get the team involved

Presenting online can be done by multiple staff members. It’s a great way to introduce the whole team and what they do in the practice. It also adds to excitement for raffle prizes or providing further instructions to guests on how to claim their reward.

5. Post-event

Have designated team members enter all information into a database. Reach out to attendees who inquired about technologies to see if they have additional questions. Connect with new patients to see if they would like to schedule an appointment.

The key idea for a virtual event is to remember to make it fun, and do it in the spirit of saying thanks to staff, existing patients and new prospects/referral partners to ensure more business in the upcoming season!