The sooner that practices learn the success lessons from extraordinarily successful American businesses (businesses other than dental offices!)…& apply these valuable protocols to their practices…the faster & more enjoyably these practices will grow…care for more local folks…& prosper.
Our most successful clients in the nation have found that relying on clinical excellence alone will get you an “A” in dental school…but will earn you an “F” in the real world of cynical & increasingly suspicious dental consumers!
This is absolutely not to suggest that the practice level of clinical care should be anything but continually improved & enhanced. However, unfortunately, we have long documented that most patients simply cannot tell the difference between an outstanding dentist…& an average clinician!
The customer is king! Patients will judge you by THEIR RULES, by what they want, value, understand & what is important to THEM! We must give our patients what research has indicated THEY WANT. And this is usually WAY different from what YOU….as a dental person…know or WANT!
Over the years…when I have unfortunately suffered a flat tire on an automobile, there is only one local store I will go to get the tire fixed or replaced.
There is a greasy & small (1,600 sq. ft.) local tire store near chrisad’s main offices north of San Francisco. It is located in a former auto dealership that was built in the 1920s. Hardly a “spa” atmosphere, workers wear dirty t-shirts & jeans. The art on the walls was less than appropriate for many of our female friends. There were fewer computers….& more carbon paper. If a worker needed something, they simply yelled across the room.
However, everybody working there was smiling & having a good time! Nobody left the tire store without tires…& nobody waited more than an hour for the work to be completed. No appointments were ever necessary. Consumers EXPECTED that their tires would be IMMEDIATELY & PROPERLY fixed or replaced.
Notice any parallels with DENTISTRY? You can’t sell desirable (prime-time hygiene) appointments if you don’t have them IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE! Similarly, this tire store can’t sell tires if they aren’t in stock for IMMEDIATE INSTALLATION.
I knew that they were doing well financially & had clearly mastered “the domino effect” of “CAUSING” REFERRAL & RETENTION of their customer by exceeding their customer’s expectations.
On a recent visit, I looked the 70-ish owner directly in the eyes & asked, “Isn’t it amazing the spectacular magic that happens when you exceed the customer’s expectations in ways that are important to them?”
His eyes lit up! He started telling me about his growth management philosophy & showed me around his tire store!
It was no surprise to me that this dirty little tire shop’s SALES EXCEEDED $8 million last year!
A few employees had been working there since the business was opened in the 1950s. For their handful of employees, working there was a win-win: Employees earned around 35% of their (excellent) income in sales & customer service related INCENTIVES & bonuses!
The owner took me downstairs, where there were hundreds of tires neatly stacked in little groups. There were more & higher stacks of tires for faster selling cars…& proportionately fewer stacks of tires for cars (like mine) that were less likely to pull in their driveway.
As one or two stacks of tires started to deplete…he’d immediately order more of those types of tires in anticipation of need…& to avoid any customer’s delays or obstructions…which would clearly place their customer’s exuberant satisfaction at risk! And damage retention & referral. No friction…only “GREEN LIGHTS”!
I hope that you see that this is no different than your new & returning hygiene appointment availabilities…especially the stacking far more super high demand prime-time hygiene appointment “tires”…before & after work…& on weekends!
Yes, I know that this might seem a bit abstract to some of our newer clients…but to our fastest-growing practices…this is all second nature!
This store constantly re-engineered themselves to exceed consumer expectations in ways that were important to the consumer. By never making customers wait, they essentially broadcast to the community this unique level of availability & service!
This great tire store can’t sell tires if they don’t have them in stock. And similarly, you can’t sell desirable (prime time hygiene) appointments if you don’t have them!