Sink or Swim – Your Choice!

We all recognize that our world and our life as we know it is changing dramatically and quickly. Politically, economically, socially, culturally – you name it–nothing is the same as it used to be. So we all need to adopt new strategies to remain successful and competitive in the marketplace of public opinion.

I recently read a wonderful article by Saul Kaplan entitled Reinvention As A Life Skill. Saul is a friend, a successful entrepreneur, and the founder of the Business Innovation Factory. “If anything is clear about the 21st century, it’s that change happens faster than it used to. Reinvention isn’t something to be done only as a last resort. It is something we need to do all the time in order to stay relevant in a rapidly changing world.”

Dental practices are certainly not immune from the need for reinvention. If you hope to thrive in this current environment, you probably have to leave your comfort zone. Same old–same old–is simply not going to cut it. Here are some suggestions for your consideration.

1. Get more involved in your community as a volunteer. Perhaps your local hospital or your local Chamber of Commerce. The idea is to focus on meeting business leaders rather than limiting your out of office contacts to Dental Society meetings. You definitely have to increase your visibility.
2. Reach out to the HR department at two or three of the largest employers in your area. You probably have many patients that work at these companies. Ask them to connect you. Perhaps you can offer emergency care or complementary new patient exams.
3. Get way better at social media. This is especially important for doctors over the age of 50. I find that older doctors are very resistant to this path. But your existing and potential patients live in this world, and you have to join it and excel in it. Professional help in this area is certainly available.
4. Have some meetings with your staff and challenge them to help you develop new and exciting customer service ideas that truly separate you from your competition. Focus on great telephone communications. Take follow up care and concern for your patients to an even higher level. Write lots of personal notes. Make sure never to  forget to recognize someone for a referral.
5. Consider investing in technologies and services that so many patients are demanding–like same-day crowns, implant placement, sedation dentistry, Invisalign, and Six Month Smiles.
6. Take a hard look at your practice data regarding numbers of new patients. Dr. Mike Abernathy wrote an excellent article that will help you evaluate where you are and where you could be.

The bottom line is that reinvention takes courage. According to Mark Twain, “courage is not the absence of fear; it is acting in spite of it.” John Wayne put it another way: “courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway!” The optimist in me believes we are all capable of expanding our horizons if we make the necessary commitment of time and energy. One day at a time. This is a marathon, and not a sprint.