Sakaduski Marketing Blog

Want to drive an Aston Martin Vantage?  How about a Ferrari F430?  With the Ecurie25 Club (http://www.ecurie25.co.uk), you can (if you live in the UK).  Members buy points, which can then be used to purchase time with their choice of ultra-luxury vehicles.  A similar concept, NetJets (www.netjets.com), allows you to have your own private jet…part time.  The shared ownership concept is allowing people to access goods they could not otherwise afford.

Is this a model that could work in the dental industry?  The desire for high technology products such as cone beam CT scanners may provide an opportunity for an entrepreneur (or a dental company) to create a way for dentists to access expensive technology on a part-time basis.  After all, who wouldn’t like to feel like James Bond every now and then?

A rececent report from Nielsen Analytics showed that 9 million Internet users downloaded podcasts to computers and mobile devices last month. Ten percent of the people surveyed for this report said that they downloaded over 8 podcasts per week. More than 75 percent of all podcast listeners are male. Potentially, this will have a big impact on how messages can be delivered. Advertisers have begun to sit up and take notice. If you are not familiar with the technology, you should be. This may be a new way of reaching out to a potentiai end user of your product or service.
And, it could beat standing around at a convention wondering where the customers are.

If you missed the recent announcement about Henry Schein and their agreements with Imaging Sciences and D4D, then you are missing a key to the future of the dental equiopment business. Years of low interest rates and beneficial tax laws allowed the dealers to sell a lot of chairs, lights and units. So much so that the average dentist won’t need to buy new stuff for a few years. That is not the same story for technology. The dealer now has a great opportunity to provide the office with a way to increase revenues for years to come. CT scanners, CAD/CAM systems and digital pans will occupy more and more offices over the next 5-10 years. That’s where the equipment bucks are going.

I had a chance to address 25 dental sudents as part of the University of Connecticut’s Biodontics 2006. This is a very forward thinking program that introduces students to the “business” of dentistry. These are young people who will be in practice five years from now. One word is on their mind and that’s TECHNOLOGY. The embrace it, believe in it and can’t imagine practicing without it. Think about how you are going to match up with this group. Product design, innovation, or alliances will separate the winners from the also-rans. Stay ahead of the pack with some forward thinking ideas.

And, don’t forget these people as a resource for new thinking.

Kudos to Dr. Ed Rossomando for a great program!

Joe is lecturing today to students at the University of Connecticut Dental School on the dental industry and the dental marketplace.  The program is designed to convey to dental students that they are going to be business owners, and as such, should understand the business environment in which they will be operating.

The dental practice is the #1 small business in the US, but dental students today are facing a changing marketplace.  Dealer consolidation and manufacturer consolidation are reducing choice.  Population demographics are changing, resulting in an older population that is retaining their dentition and will need time-intensive perio and endo procedures.  It’s a population also willing to spend on cosmetic procedures.  New technology such as cone beam CT scanners will have an impact, but dentistry remains a largely low-tech field.  A growing shortage of dental professionals, and an even more significant disparity in access to dental care, is also affecting the market.

It is difficult to predict what the dental market will be like for these students when they are in their 40s instead of their 20s.  Will product advancements help them serve more patients through greater efficiencies?  Will dental professionals be able to stay in their profession longer with the help of ergonomic equipment that prevents chronic musculoskeletal problems?  Will an increase in online purchasing bring in more small direct sellers or will the Big Two dealers make it too convenient to order through a distributor?  Time will tell.

Convention costs are rapidly rising while attendance and floor traffic are becoming increasingly undependable.  That’s why it’s critical that your reps make every encounter count.  Here are the mistakes made most often by sales reps at conventions:

1. Eating, drinking, talking amongst themselves, playing around with equipment, or otherwise looking preoccupied and acting as if they don’t care.

2. Failing to greet each potential customer with an engaging inquiry (”Do you perform implants?” “Have you seen our newest laser?”  “Do you have pediatric patients?”) rather than the department store “May I help you?”

3. Using the same sales techniques they use for a full in-office sales presentation rather than realizing they have only a few seconds to connect with the customer.

4. Not treating each potential customer with the same respect and consideration (whether male, female, young, old, dentist, staff member, student, foreign, etc.)

5. Complaining that there aren’t enough dentists on the floor, discussing company business (where it can be overheard by competitors), making negative remarks about customers, or otherwise being negative.

6. Not knowing the convention specials, not having information on the company’s products, not knowing the price, or otherwise being unprepared.

7. Making disparaging remarks about the competitor or the competitor’s products.

8. Discussing products from your company’s point of view, rather than the customer’s.  Reps should understand the procedures, environment, and practice issues involved with the products they sell. 

9. Making the booth into a Turkish Bazaar.  There is no actual law that you have to display every product you make.  Choose wisely, display attractively, and group products logically.  Use clean, simple graphics and minimal text to convey your message.

10. Not getting the lead.  Handing out literature, conducting giveaways, and having conversations are all fine, as long as the reps get the customer’s contact information for follow-up.  At a minimum, this should include name, location, phone, and interest.

When selecting a name for a new product, rather than use letters, abbreviations, or numbers that have meaning only to your company (or no meaning at all), consider what has meaning to your customers.  Play off a product feature or benefit, the way the product is used, or an advantage your product offers over the competition.  Examples of brands that have taken this approach include Oasis Moisturizing Mouthwash (GlaxoSmithKline), Invisalign Invisible Braces (Align Technology), and Waterpik Oral Irrigator (Waterpik Technologies).  Trade names such as these are immensely more memorable than ones with names like the AX1000.

With today’s dependence on e-mail and text messaging, people forget the importance of the telephone, especially when it is your own company. Some customers still don’t trust the internet, and want to talk to a live human being.

A number of years ago I worked for a large equipment manufacturer. We had just totally revamped a lousy customer service operation. I was at a particularly tough dealer, and my regional manager bragged about our new service. The dealer said,”let’s see how good you are” and dialed the 800 number. Our customer service manager answered after one ring. I was never so happy to hear her voice.

When you are on the road make it a habit to dial your own customer service group, especially late in the day. You might be surprised at what you hear.  If they did a good job make sure you let them know it. If the job was not so good, then maybe some training is needed.

The top two complaints from customers are busy signals, and silence when holding, so make sure that is not the rule at your business.

Human contact is still the best way to close the sale!