Dental Articles

Standing out in the crowd is very difficult if you look like everyone else. Sameness is valueless. Dental consumers look for price advantage when there is nothing else to differentiate you. Dental insurance also moves them towards the valueless perspective: everything done should be covered with no extra cost as the goal. Therefore, if it is not about YOU (your expertise, etc.), it is about everyone, anyone, and maybe no one.

Standing out in the crowd is very difficult if you look like everyone else. Sameness is valueless. Dental consumers look for price advantage when there is nothing else to differentiate you. Dental insurance also moves them towards the valueless perspective: everything done should be covered with no extra cost as the goal. Therefore, if it is not about YOU (your expertise, etc.), it is about everyone, anyone, and maybe no one.

The only way to counter this "dentistry is almost valueless viewpoint" is to be, say and do differently. There are three basic strategies you can employ to do this effectively. Do not do what your competition is doing. Do more than you have done before. Niche your dental expertise.

Your competition is often burning up old ground. This scorched earth dental marketing works for practices that want dental chair fillers. Some dentists and dental teams are artists at making this strategy pay off. But why do I get calls from dentists who have the revenues, but do not have the practice they want? Actually some of these dentists were not doing too much marketing and still bringing in the green, but because they are still competing with the herd they cannot shake the valueless dentistry viewpoint.

Think about running very fast in the middle of a crowd on a dusty path. Then seeing a horse grazing near a gently flowing creek with a large oak tree hanging over it as you run by. The dust is choking you and the path is worn down without a stitch of life, but there is plenty of grass and calm a few feet away.

Right now most dentists - even with significant experience and expertise - are running on or near the same path. Rather than stepping away and making their own stand, these dentists are following the general consumer and their dental insurance cohorts down the same path. You cannot stay on this path and effectively differentiate yourself.

The biggest chasm I see with dentists who want to do this and those that actually do it, is understanding they might have to do more marketing than they planned on. Many dentists call with almost no history in marketing, at least any proactive campaigns.

Asking someone to go from nothing to what they need in one fell swoop might remind many dentists of a smile consult where the patient hopes it is two or three teeth and it ends up being an entire makeover. But the need to do more is based on two very profound issues: the valueless viewpoint noted above and proactive, consistent campaigns have been not the norm for most dental offices.

This combination of things has turned the tables quite a bit. In the last five to ten years, the valueless part has been catching up to the lack of communication without most dentists noticing or having time to think about it.

In the past, dental insurance, a thriving economy, less mobile society, and/or traditional dentistry helped many dentists live without "advertising" like most other companies.

Now societal changes added to dental advancements, new techniques, and a dental CE explosion have put dental insurance and traditional (cheaper) dentistry on the run. The slower economy has catapulted the sameness epidemic into the forefront. This leaves every dental practice that was not communicating proactively with a big gap to fill.

If your dental expertise and experience are substantial or you are moving in that direction, the gap is just as big but your options are fewer. However, going the other route (lower prices) is really not a viable option if you want to use that expertise.

While you need to do more (than what you have done up till now) the grass can get greener if you stay away from and actually get off the generic dental marketing path.

Not every dentist that calls me does, but let's say you fit into both scenarios noted above. The competition is rolling along ahead of you in some way and your dental marketing has not been a budget item of any significance. This can look very daunting, but there is a way to make the transition pay off.

Maybe you are not in the path with your competition, but the dust is getting all over you from their commotion and the consumers lack of awareness so no one sees you either. This means your dental expertise value is covered up. And you have not made an effort to market except maybe for a website, which you will need in some form. So your budget needs to increase by quite a bit to even get started.

Now the economy slows down and this increase is even harder to swallow. But the cost of standing in the path needs to be paid (the difference between what you paid then and what it costs to make your expertise known and valued). This cost is what you need to resolve before you call me (or anyone else). It will cost about the same amount to get this anywhere. While there are cheaper products, they often are cheaper because they are one-size fits all. That is the route into the path with the rest of the dust-covered herd.

Once you have come to terms with the transition cost, we can begin building your niche. You want to niche your dental practice because the competitors in the path have already taken "everything". Be specific about what you want to do so you standout. It will be calmer there and lots of green grass (cash) awaits you as well.

Fortunately, going after those who want and need your higher-level expertise can be accomplished even in a slow economy. There are 75 million baby boomers and their parents as well - who have all the money and much of the dental needs.

But you know what? They only pay for value. Bluntly they are not seeing it in most dental marketing or in how dentistry has been fed to them over the years by the insurance companies. This dusty path has confused them or hidden your expertise value from them.

Dentists that really want to make this transition will see the value in communicating to consumers in the right way. Value or valueless is the choice. In this environment, communication value and dentistry value go hand in hand.

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To talk with Dick about your dental practice marketing, Call 866-453-1026 or Contact Via The Niche Dental website

Dental Marketing Commentary
By Dick Chwalek of Niche Dental
Dental Communication Integration Consultant