I was watching morning TV recently and one of the hosts passed this following comment in a discussion on value and cost:
“Sometimes it’s cheap for a reason”
Which is absolutely true.
When you are receiving something at a lesser price than normal, don’t you wonder why it is cheaper?
Is it an inferior product?
Is it out of date or does it have a limited life expectancy?
Has it been made by cheap labour?
Will it break easily?
Was it stolen?
What corners are they cutting?
Are they using cheaper ingredients?
Would you buy the cheapest parachute?
Ask yourself this question:
If you were going to be involved in a high-speed motor vehicle accident, would you prefer to be in a Mercedes or in a small Japanese made car?
Ask yourself this question:
If your house was burning down, would you be glad that you had spent the extra money on buying a quality non-kink garden hose rather than the cheapest, now stiffest and most tangled hose?
And sure, there are always people who prefer supermarket hair products over salon only products….
But there still exists a reasonable proportion of the population who prefer to buy salon only shampoos and conditioners.
There are people out there who will put their family in a Mercedes rather than a less expensive Japanese made car.
Is there enough of these sort of people around?
I bet there is, otherwise Mercedes would be broke and so would L’Oreal and Schwarzkopf be as well.
So why in Dentistry are so called industry gurus telling dentists to treat their patients for rebate only?
Do these self-proclaimed experts really know what they are saying?
What they are saying is that inside their crystal ball they see nobody paying extra out of pockets for preventive dentistry procedures in the future.
What they are saying is that all dentists must now cut their prices to rebate only to hang on to their clientele in desperation.
What these gurus are implying is that NO Patients will stay and pay or co-pay a dentist when they can receive dentistry somewhere else for no out of pockets?
What an absolute load of garbage!!
In fact it’s even stupider advice than that.
Because health insurers in Australia have access to the fees charged by individual dentists, they’ll have a reasonable case for lowering their rebates.
The insurers will then have a case to say that if you [the dentist] can make a good living on rebate only then they [the insurer] are paying too much and so they will reduce their rebates.
And the circling of the sinkhole vortex will continue.
Think about other industries for a minute….
Take Uber.
Sure Uber has had an impact on the de-personalised taxi industry.
But has it had any impact on individual hire car owners with their own list of regular appreciative customers?
I don’t think so.
Because those clients of a regular hire car driver are loyal to the service and to the comfort that they receive from their regular driver.
Service worth paying for.
Do you have a point of difference?
You need a point of difference….
A friend of mine said it so well…
“If you look just like your competitors, expect to perform just like your competitors.” – Jack Daly
So many dentists just do what all their fellow dentists do and then they wonder why they don’t have a point of difference.
Dan Kennedy said:
If you go to a new town and want to know how to get ahead in business, see what everybody else in town is doing, and simply just do the opposite.
When you create a point of difference, and stand solid to your mission and your values, you will attract loyal customers who will be appreciative of your services and happy to pay your fees.
I know, because that’s how I practiced dentistry. In a working class part of Sydney.
Remember these words from the great Jim Rohn:
“Walk away from the 97% crowd. Don’t use their excuses. Take charge of your own life.”
*****
Have you read my book , How To Build The Dental Practice of Your Dreams [Without Killing Yourself!] In Less Than Sixty Days.
You can order your copy here: Click Link To Order
*****
The Ultimate Patient Experience is a simple to build complete Customer Service system in itself that I developed that allowed me to create an extraordinary dental office in an ordinary Sydney suburb. If you’d like to know more, ask me about my free special report.
Email me at david@theupe.com
Did you like this blog article? If you did then hit the share buttons below and share it with your friends and colleagues. Share it via email, Facebook and twitter!!
Leave a Reply