The 25th Mile of The Neem Tree
The Neem Tree, Esher Opens 17th May
The 25th mile of The London Marathon was the killer for me. I had run all the way, until i reached the Embankment when suddenly I got cramp in my left hamstring, however, with focus and crowd encouragement i managed to get going again for another 500 yards, until my right leg hamstring cramped up! But with the finish line in my view, i knew I was going to get across the finish line.
4 Hours, 12 minutes and 17 seconds later, I crossed the line, exhausted but with a huge sense of achievement (you can read in more detail about my marathon experience on my blog).
Just like the marathon, we are in mile 25 for the completion stages of The Neem Tree, Esher. Just 2 weeks to go and so much to do.
Marketing Done So Far...
The team have been hired (some have even started working already), and the pre-marketing engine is underway. In respect of marketing, we have already:
1. Updated our website with all the relevant Esher site information. This was done as early as possible so the search engines had longer to pick up this information before the practice went live. Over the coming months we will be re-designing and branding our website as we feel our brand has evolved, but as we all know, we cannot do everything in one go!
2. Google Local has been updated and we are getting higher rankings for our key search terms. A bit more tweaking is required to improve SEO, but this will occur.
3. The signage is up in the window, telling everyone when we open, with a weekly countdown in the window. Now we had better hit the deadline!!!!
4. One of our pre-opening summer offers is in the window - this will be built upon once we get opening. Please note the offer ends in July, which gives us sufficient time to get some momentum behind the offer in various media, including flyers, website, in practice etc. Click here to see more images on how the new site is going!
5. We have organised ourselves to be key sponsors of various local events - e.g. balls, school events, and fairs, over the coming summer months.
The Next 2 Weeks
Over the next 2 weeks, at The Neem Tree, Esher, whilst the builders complete their part of the deal and the dental equipment gets fitted, we will be:
1. Training the team. We have a key training session this Wednesday for all the team to meet and greet. This will be imperative so we get off to a strong solid start.
2. Organising the design and print of flyers with a compelling offer to be distributed to local homes and organisations. Saturation in key markets with a compelling offer is key here.
3. Getting local press packs out to local papers perhaps with a few freebies.
4.Updating the website further with more information as it comes in.
5. Reviewing revenue targets for the first quarter, which will help with incentivising team members. This will be a very important aspect to getting the practice off the ground.
6. Ensuring we have a credit card machine BEFORE we open! You always want to make sure you have the ability to collect money from customers!
7. Promotional T-shirts, so the team feel part of something special and the local community can see we are different and something exciting for the area
The list goes on!. Dozens of activities to be done, but then again we all thrive on the excitement and pressure this brings along!
The key to getting this all done will be: preparation, planning and teamwork, just like if you wanted to run a marathon!
Have a great week ahead!
Arun Mehra FCA
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