That's a line by Galagher and it made me think. I'd like to find the knob that turns up the brightness for the dental profession. I don't mean they're stupid...although sometimes I think they have difficulty seeing the light. I also mean dentistry is not such a dark picture!
I'm amazed at how much sifting I have to do to get past the "marketing" blogs, commercials for marketing or the throngs of dentists who promote cosmetics (the commoditization of what is a healing art) to get to anyone talking about the opportunities in the industry rather than lament about how the economy is bringing them down.
What must it be like for those caring souls out there who really want some enlightenment that isn't about market more, blog more, facebook more or sign up for this marketing magic bullet?
Many are highly ineffective with the people they currently serve and don't know what to do about it except go get more people. They don't feel good about selling and don't want to. They feel like they're in a swamp with the alligators licking at their heels. That's from a journal in the early 70's.. the golden days of insurance it was called. For those not a old as me; there was a time when insurance paved the way for dentists who faced the same challenge that remains today; earning the investment of discretionary income. The cosmetic boom with insurance paved another way to profit...it was and remains the easy way out but not the sure and sustaining way to practice...in my opinion.
Dentists, like many others, are drawn to cookbooks and sure fire fixes. The challenge of today is really no different than it has been for many years. It's just more acute as the rich days of cosmetic dentistry fade away. Insurance maximums have remained the same in 30 years while fees have gone up and so now what? The relatively "easy sell" of cosmetics that replaced the nuance of insurance has lost it's appeal. Many dentists are losing considerable market share in part because of the economy, in part because people are sick of the same old message and largely because the health services, true elevation of health have not been the focus of their discussions with patients and faded in their consciousness. Crap detectors go off regularly for the public and the profession, with throngs in the same game, now have to fight fee sensitivity as the shoppers have wised up.
There is enormous opportunity to be truly distinctive. If you look outside of dentistry, permeating other businesses is the knowledge that values are being honed in trying times. People are looking for genuine, true, authentic service and resonance with their providers....be they dentists or otherwise. Look at Starbucks and the drive of many others who promote in their commercials....we're making a difference because we care.
Yoo hoo....does anybody out their hear me? What's next? Will the enormous increase in dentists closing shop be a wake up call? Could now be the pivotal time when dentistry returns to the healing arts?
What ya think?
Comments