The Message of Dental Marketing

The Parable of the 16th Inch Drill Bit - The Message of Dental Marketing
By Scott McDonald

When I was an undergraduate, one of my professors in marketing explained to us what he called the Parable of the 16th Inch Drill Bit. “There are companies all over the world making millions of dollars selling drill bits to people who don’t want them,” he said. “They don’t care about the color of the bit and they don’t care about its styling. All they care about is that it makes 16th inch holes.”

As we review dental marketing pieces, from brochures to yellow-page advertising, I get the impression that dentists (and their marketing representatives) believe that what people out there really WANT are veneers, dental implants, or self-lighting brackets. They WANT a particular brand of bleaching to make their teeth white or dental lasers. They WANT music pumped into the operatories or foot massages while they wait for treatment.

The truth is: patients don't WANT any of these things.

You may ask - “OK, Mr. Smarty-pants, what DO people WANT?”

To answer that question, we have to examine why people purchase anything, including dental care. There is no single reason why any person or group of people will buy anything. Their motivations for giving up their hard-earned dollars vary according to their personal preferences. We can, however, categorize people based upon their demographic character.

Let me illustrate my point another way: Old People make purchasing decisions on the same basis as Young People? Certainly not! And do Rich People make the decisions to buy for the same reasons as Poor People? Nope! So, what about Highly Educated People versus those with Little Education? Obviously, they do not. That is because while the groups of people mentioned above may NEED the same things, they do not WANT the same things.

It is upon the basis of WANT that people make their purchasing decisions. It is not based upon NEED. That is why the entire field of Psychographics was developed. We can take a group of people and identify them by a common set of demographics that they have in common. We can add to that decisions that they tend to make in their lives including purchasing decisions. By dividing them up by identifiable characteristics, we can begin to see just what one group of people will WANT versus another group.

The application of this system goes back to the Parable of the 16th Inch Drill Bits. We will be successful if we can identify specifically what someone WANTS before we try to sell them something they NEED. And the more that we can know about their WANTS, the more successful we can be in meeting their NEEDS. Yes, they NEED a Drill Bit - but what kind of hole (their perceived WANTS) must to be taken into account.

Many parts of Pennsylvania have a Lifestyle Group (another name for a Psychographic) that is called Rust Belt Retirees™ (this is a registered trademark and copyright of Tapestry® provided by ESRI®). We know that given their age (their median age is 43.2), and their income (median household income is $44,800 and have a net worth of $98,000 with 40% or so drawing on Social Security) that what they have, they are desperate to keep. Cosmetic dentistry is certainly a luxury that they do not consider worth the time, effort, or money. For this reason, setting up a cosmetic dental practice in a community dominated by this group just doesn't make sense.

What their other purchases tell us is that they WANT “function” in their dental care. They WANT to eat comfortably. They like their meat rare. While a dentist obviously knows what a patient from this group NEEDS, unless he understands what they WANT, he and the patient will be met with frustration.

Another Tapestry® group is called Laptops and Lattes. They are single and renting. With a median household income of $83,200, they have a high net worth of $223,000. Two-thirds hold professional and management positions. What they WANT (and perceive that they NEED) are services that will enhance their social and professional situations. They spend a great deal of money on clothes and personal technologies. Want to break their cell phone? Slug them in the ear! A wise dentist will put in terms based upon their perceived WANTS rather than in terms of a clinical NEED.

People will spend any amount of money and make huge sacrifices, if we can first see their WANTS before trying to convince them of their NEEDS. Sell them 16th Inch Holes rather than Drill Bits.

Scott McDonald is the President of Scott McDonald & Associates, Inc, the nation's largest vendor of demographic and psychographic analysis for dental practices in the United States. The company can help evaluate locations, provide market research, and help identify target markets.

Call (800) 424-6222 or visit www.DoctorDemographics.com for more information.

Forward this article to a friend.

Louis Malcmacher
DDS MAGD
Printer Friendly Version

Ignite Your Practice!
By Dr. Louis Malcmacher DDS MAGD

The happiest and most successful dentists that I know are those who love what they do. I speak to thousands of dentists every year, so I have a real sense of what “type” of dentists are going to be successful. I have always observed that happy and successful nearly always go together hand in hand. Here, though, is an interesting observation that I am not sure many have made before - the most fulfilled dentists that I see are those that take hands-on and live patient courses. Let’s take a look at some of the educational opportunities in dentistry and what I look for in my own practice when choosing dental continuing education.

Webinars
Webinars are a short-term tool to get some concepts quickly and easily in the comfort of your office or home. They are sometimes moderately useful, but can also be a huge waste of your time. The good thing about a webinar is that if you see it is a waste of time, you can just turn it off and do something else.

Lectures
Lecture courses tend to be longer and you have to be physically present to take advantage of them. Choose your lecture courses wisely. What I always look for is topics that I am interested in, topics I may not know much about, and topics that have direct practical application. Personally, I want a lecture course that covers a number of topics relating to the clinical and practice management sides of my office that I can take back to my office and institute right away. Lecture courses are limited in the fact that you are only hearing the concepts being taught without actually being able to physically experience the techniques right in front of you. I always choose lecture courses that are applicable to the entire dental team, and I highly recommend that you bring your dental team with you as often as possible. Too many times, a dentist will get excited about a concept or a technique and go back to the office where the team will not share that same enthusiasm. A great idea or new concept will just die an unnatural death and never be integrated into your practice, because the team has not heard the same thing the dentist has heard.

Hands-On Courses
Especially for dentists, there is nothing that can take the place of a hands-on course where you can physically touch, practice and experience new techniques and concepts in dentistry. The way you became a dentist was through hands-on experience. Had it been only lecture for four years of dental school, you would not have known how to place a restoration! There is an abundance of new technology, products, and materials in dentistry today. You can talk about them endlessly, but never really understand the concept of how they will directly benefit your patients until you have it in your hands and see how it performs. Hands-on courses are absolutely the best way to kick the tires of new products and new technologies so that when you do integrate these into your practice, your learning curve will be greatly reduced or completely eliminated.

Live Patient Hands-On Training
This is the absolute best learning experience possible for dentists and dental teams, especially when you are introducing something brand new into your practice such as dental implants or Botox and dermal fillers. Mentored one-on-one live person hands-on training is mandatory in order to gain the proper education, training and experience. There is nothing better than having a clinician looking over your shoulder and helping you eliminate mistakes and achieve excellent patient outcomes with whatever you are trying to learn. The downside is that many times you have to travel extensively to get this training. For this reason, the American Academy of Facial Esthetics innovation of bringing live patient hands-on courses locally all over North America eliminates this travel cost, making our Botox and dermal filler training easily accessible to dentists everywhere.

As a practicing dentist and teaching clinician for the past 30 years, I love what I do both in the office and when I am teaching dentists. I try hard to make sure that my lectures are as current and interesting as possible and very practical so that you can understand the new concepts in dentistry. I really love teaching hands-on courses because they allow dentists to truly understand and integrate the concepts into their practice literally the next day. The feeling that I have changed a dentist's life by improving their efficiency, lowering their overhead, and showing them how to have some fun in dentistry translates to a wonderful feeling of knowing that patient's lives will also be affected with more successful treatment outcomes.

Louis Malcmacher DDS MAGD is a practicing general dentist and an internationally known lecturer, author, and dental consultant. An evaluator emeritus for Clinicians Reports, Dr. Malcmacher is president of the American Academy of Facial Esthetics.

Interested in knowing more about how to truly enjoy dentistry? Click here.

Interested in having Dr. Malcmacher speak to your dental society or study club? Click here. To reach Dr. Malcmacher, email him at DrMalcmacher@thedentistsnetwork.net or call 1.800.952.0521.

Forward this article to a friend.

Dr. Ryan Swain
Printer Friendly Version

An Office of "Truth Tellers"
By Ryan Swain DMD

“There’s infighting within my team!” “I can’t seem to motivate my staff!” “I have a moody employee whose moods affect the whole office!” “I get tired of all the gossip in the office!”

Do any of these concerns seem familiar to you?

Every dental office has its own culture. Some cultures are healthier than others. The culture that exists in each office is a direct reflection of the leader of that particular office. Whether conscious of it or not, the dentist sets the tone of the dental office with his/her attitude and behaviors. Does the team communicate openly and honestly with each other? Do members of the team confront each other directly when they have a concern? Do members of the team manipulate people and situations to avoid working as hard as others? The answers to these questions are determined by the office culture, which is primarily fostered by the dentist.

Whether we like it or not and whether we know it or not, when we run a dental practice we create the “rules of engagement” within the office. In my experience, many dentists don’t enjoy dealing with the negative consequences that their leadership creates. Also, many of us are unwilling to take personal responsibility for these consequences. Instead, we have a natural tendency to blame others when conflict and tension arises. However, we can make enormously positive changes when we take personal responsibility for what goes on in our offices. We may have not actively created certain situations (like a team that constantly gossips about each other), but we probably allowed the situation to develop. Like most problems we face, we can’t solve them until we own them.

My experience has shown me that the number one change a dentist can make in his/her practice in order to take control of the office culture is to create a team of truth tellers. By “truth telling,” I’m referring to a communication style that involves addressing concerns as soon as they are recognized.

Most of us want to be nice, and we believe that it is “nicer” to avoid conflict with someone than directly raise our concerns. It may feel “nice” to ignore things that bother you, but it ultimately can do a tremendous amount of harm as this approach will absolutely limit your ability to reach your goals.

When another person's words or actions make us uncomfortable (like when an employee's moods control the atmosphere in the office), we usually have four choices:

We can try to ignore it by “bottling it up”
We can get frustrated and send indirect signals to communicate our frustration (like giving someone the “cold shoulder”)
We can get agitated and speak our minds in a harsh tone
We can raise the concern directly, but with a productive and professional tone

Out of these four options, raising concerns directly with a productive and professional tone is the only one that works. If we “bottle up” our concern, it only makes us resentful and we usually have to deal with worse ramifications later on. Communicating frustration through indirect means such as “the cold shoulder” or moping will only build resentment within others and speaking our minds out of anger always pushes people away.

I don’t know about you, but I want to work within a culture of “truth tellers.” It’s not for everyone because as the old saying goes, “the truth hurts.” This is true, even when truth is delivered in a graceful manner. Some people just can’t deal with the truth. These are the people that we don’t want in our offices. These are the people that hurt office morale, make the lives of others in the office more difficult and create a whole array of problems that are detrimental to reaching our goals.

An office full of “truth tellers” is an office with unlimited potential for success in every aspect of the word. If that sounds appealing to you, it’s time to take responsibility for the problems that exist in your office. Stop blaming others. It’s impossible to create a culture of “truth tellers” if the leader is not one. Are you a truth teller? Change can be difficult, but at any point in time we can shift direction and start walking down the path that leads to our desired destination. What’s YOUR next step?

Dr. Ryan Swain is a graduate of the University of Florida College of Dentistry. He practices in Rochester, NY and focuses on Short Term Ortho and other conservative cosmetic dental procedures. He is president and chief clinical instructor for Six Month Smiles. Dr. Swain is a pioneer in the field of Short Term Ortho and constantly on the forefront of GP orthodontics. He has trained dentists internationally.

Dr. Swain can be reached at Drswain@thedentistsnetwork.net

Forward this article to a friend.

The Parable of the 16th Inch Drill Bit - The Message of Dental Marketing By Scott McDonald

Ignite Your Practice! By Dr. Louis Malcmacher DDS MAGD

An Office of "Truth Tellers" By Ryan Swain DMD

The Parable of the 16th Inch Drill Bit - The Message of Dental Marketing
By Scott McDonald

Ignite Your Practice!
By Dr. Louis Malcmacher DDS MAGD

An Office of "Truth Tellers"
By Ryan Swain DMD