Like many of you, I started my practice from scratch right after breathing a sigh of relief when the Western Regional Board results arrived. I sought the advice of successful dentists in the area where I wanted to set up my dental practice. And I have to credit those that helped me by saying that they did well getting me off to a healthy start.
However, there was one constant that I continued to hear over and over that I never quite believed thanks to the business teachings of my Dad. It went something like this, “Rob, there’s a lot of dentists in Salt Lake City, and all of those dentists are competing for patients. You have to be careful where you set your fees, or your patients will leave you for the dentist down the road because of price”.
From day one, I never took that advice. From nine years of age, and on, I watched customers choose different grades of batteries for their vehicles at my dad’s company. The battery company was well known for quality and service, and not so much price. Customers could go down the street to auto parts stores and purchase batteries at lower prices, and some did, but most maintained loyalty to Dad’s battery company because of quality and service. And most customers would choose the higher-grade more expensive batteries for their vehicles when given a choice. However, it was not the “why” in their decision making that intrigued me; it was the “how” they would make their purchase decision.
Doctor, who is your competition? Most would have you believe it’s other dentists. If a patient has a choice between a dirty run down low-tech practice and one that is clean and modern, then I would say one practice definitely has a competitive advantage over the other. However, our primary competition in dentistry is actually non-dental businesses that compete for our patient’s dollars. Every form of advertising that prevents our patients from spending their money on oral health is a direct loss to dentistry. And the competition for our patient’s dollars usually begins right when they leave our office, regardless of case acceptance or not. So “how” does that patient/consumer choose dental health over other wants and needs? And “how” do we realistically and effectively compete for our patient’s funds?
We do what every other business does. It’s an old business marketing principle: We tell them what we are going to tell them, tell them, and tell them what we told them. The first “tell” is what we do when we make a diagnosis and tell our patient what we see and how we are going to fix it. The second “tell them” is what we do with the video segments of Treatment PRO. In these video segments the patient is told in plain patient language what they need in terms of procedures and products, and why we recommend such. And the final “tell them what you told them” is completed with treatment documents we send them home with that are quickly generated from the document center in Treatment PRO. These documents are product and procedure specific, branded to your patient, and also to your practice.
It’s the document center found in Treatment PRO that finalizes your practices marketing efforts, reminding your patients in their homes, to say, “yes” to oral health. Never before has dentistry had such a powerful business marketing tool that helps direct our patient’s finances towards their oral health. And it does it in a very professional yet simple format.
In conclusion, I don’t believe for a minute that our competition resides within our profession. Our competition resides outside of our profession. And Treatment PRO was developed with that business principle at the heart of its system. This is what makes Treatment PRO a successful tool when implemented in dental practices.
To learn more about Treatment PRO visit www.treatmentpro.com where you can experience this powerful case presentation system.
Dr. Rob
Comments