If I said to you….“Tell me what makes you THE go-to-dentist in your area?” What would you say?
Most dentists I talk with really struggle in answering this question.
You see….to answer this well….you have to know where you stand in the market. Where you have competitive advantages….and where you don’t. It’s those advantages that define your brand. And that’s what you want to focus on in your marketing.
Don’t be one of those dentists who advertises….“I serve everyone”. Look, everybody, in every industry, has their strengths and weaknesses. And you should be clear about your unique strengths and exactly who you’re trying to serve based upon them. Because this will allow you to win those customers who are going to be the most attracted to your unique brand. Let me give you a great example from my corporate days:
Before I moved over to the dental industry, I defined marketing strategy at T-Mobile. We were at a significant disadvantage relative to Verizon and AT&T in terms of our network quality. We knew it. And most consumers knew it too. I mean, all you had to do was see a Verizon ad on TV to hear all about it! But, despite that monumental disadvantage, we found growth opportunities by focusing on our unique strengths and leveraging them to win over underserved customers from Verizon and AT&T. Funny enough, one of our biggest advantages came from the fact that our less reliable network and lower customer base meant we had more bandwidth in our network, and thus we were the first service provider that was able to offer our customers Unlimited Data at a super attractive price point.
We didn’t try to ‘serve everyone’. We knew our disadvantages…and our advantages. Our branding was clear. And we were hyper focused on going after those consumers we knew would be attracted to it.
This is what you need to do in your marketing. Know your advantages relative to your competition. Define your unique brand. And make sure every piece of your marketing that you put out clearly articulates to your target patients why they should choose you.
So, back to my question at the beginning….”What makes you THE go-to-dentist in your area?”
I want you to try a quick exercise for me. Take out a piece of paper and articulate in 3-5 clear, succinct bullets why your target patients should see you as THE go-to-dentist in your area.
This is your brand. It’s your identity. It’s what make you…well, you! And it’s what makes you different than every other dentist in your market. Otherwise, you’re just a commodity. And we all know being a commodity is NOT a good thing. It’s why Starbucks isn’t just another coffee shop…why Gucci isn’t just another handbag…and why Disneyland isn’t just another amusement park.
You want to be different! You want to be unique! You want to be THE go-to-dentist in your area for your target patients. And this unique brand that you’ve just identified should be the foundation for all of your marketing activities and messaging going forward. Do that…and you’ll win big!
“Strategy is the Himalayas of marketing. Everything else is the Catskills.” – Al Ries and Jack Trout
About Kent Sears
Kent provides over 15 years experience in consulting and marketing strategy. His work has spanned the globe, in both public and private sector, with leading companies such as Microsoft and T-Mobile. He brings his corporate experience to help private practice dentists realize their full business potential through more effective marketing strategies to stay competitive in the rapidly changing world of marketing and healthcare.