Thriving In December - our guide to consistent bookings in a crazy time of year

25 Sleeps till Christmas! Welcome to Summer - as always I can't believe how quickly the year has past.

December is always a funny month for bookings. It reminds me of a computer game I grew up playing - Tetris. Where you had all these funny shapes that would come down and you had to fit them all in like a jigsaw in order to keep the line down the bottom of the screen. Inevitably, I'd be waiting for one of those long ones that would enable me to get rid of 4 lines in a row - A Tetris!

December can be like this with bookings. People madly dashing around doing things - forgetting appointments, arriving 3 days early and others being DESPERATE to get in. We arrive and start when our first one was meant to and just wait to see what happens! December is certainly a time for behavioural flexibility.

What we need to focus on in December is creating consistency, both for us in regards to appointments and also consistency for our clients, everyone is busy leading up to Christmas - and they can easily get overstimulated and overwhelmed so we make a real effort to make the clinic a happy and calming space for them.

My 4 top tips for Thriving in December

Email - though regular short email blasts - usually we email monthly but in December - we send them weekly and with a lot less detail - really focused on one central message - like self care in the crazy times or Gift Vouchers that make for an AWESOME present! Who wouldn't want to give the gift of health?!

Personalize calls - We send automated SMS reminders 2 days before and a quick phone call on the morning of so that we are right in the front of mind.

Respect - Respecting that some people don't like Christmas..... I know right??? We are a little Christmas mad here but it's important to remember that for some people, this is a stressful time of year, they might have to see family they don't want to or maybe, don't like so being respectful when you have conversations.

Gift Vouchers - Awesome for cash flow, brilliant for marketing. Couple of tips - make them look SENSATIONAL including the envelope as that is the first thing they might see that tells them about your business. buy some nice envelopes - even some nice ribbon - remember, you get a point for the gift and another point for the wrapping!
Go the extra mile - hand deliver if that is easier or your worried it might not arrive.

Ho Ho HO!

Elicia