Page 12 - The Dental Entrepreneur

The Dental Entrepreneur

Core Principals

Give Them More Than They Bargained For

Ok, you have passed the confrontational tolerance test and you want to more fully understand
what are some of the most important concepts to grasp from day one. How about one that
hospitals and physicians totally missed out on until it was too late. Customer service! The
medical profession has for decades treated their customers with almost disdain. Granted there
has always been a few family docs that really know how to treat folks, but for the most part
physicians simply have not cared about the customer experience. And,oh have they paid
dearly for that mistake. Now the majority are employees of corporate entities that are now
laser focused on customer service and have huge marketing budgets, and guess who pays for
that. The salaried physicians who now give their profits to MBA’s and Wall Street. Sound

familiar?

Dentists have always been light years ahead of their medical colleagues in emphasizing
customer service. Because of the need to make patients comfortable on a daily basis, dentists
have become more hard wired to pay attention to peoples feelings and expectations.

Sam Walton coined the phrase “ give them more than they bargained for” to build the largest
retail empire in history. It is a fairly simple concept and if you study his success you will quickly
come to the conclusion that this was no accident. Sam truly understood and lived by the
“Golden Rule”. He put himself in his customers shoes and simply gave them more than

anyone else could. Low prices were only part of the equation. Walmart has a very detailed and
deliberate approach that I have observed with some fascination. They simply have created a
model that is beyond any competition whatsoever. Warren Buffet calls that a “MOAT” around a
business. Are those opportunities available in dentistry today. You Bet!

As dentists today become more of a commodity with the growth of corporate dentistry, how do
you carve out your piece of the marketplace.?

First, I will tell you emphatically how you can never do it. And that is to compete solely on
price, that is a death trap. There are a jillion people in the low cost service provider realm and
you will get your head handed to you if you try this. Signing up randomly for every insurance
plan without the knowledge of cost and profit is by far the biggest mistake a young dentist can
make. I’ve seen more than a few young graduates get into low cost high volume situation and
burn out in a matter of months. It is a disastrous scenario that is unfortunately being played out
with increased frequency.

People are always concerned about cost but don’t get confused over this vital issue. That is
only part of the healthcare dollar decision making process. People rarely shop for the
“cheapest” doctor because they understand the potential risks involved.

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