Why The Corporate Clinic Opening Over the Road Could Be Your BEST Marketing Asset

The Fear: The New Sign on the Corner

Nightmare: It's finally happened.

You just drove past the local shopping centre and saw the "Coming Soon" sign.

And this comes on top of the news last month that...

You stop the car, feeling like the wind has just been knocked out of you.

And a slow, creeping panic starts to well up...

"They have millions in marketing budget!"

"They are preferred providers for everyone!"

"They are going to undercut my fees!"

"I’m going to lose all my patients!"

The feelings are understandable. But...

Your Fear Is Premature!

Our first instinct when we hear about a new competitor is to believe the old lie that business is a zero-sum game... that if I win, my competitor has to lose; and if I lose, it's because my competitor has won.

But that is just an illusion.

There is more than enough room in your local market for you BOTH...

If You Play Your Cards Right!

Stop viewing the corporate giants and the health fund owned practices as sharks or T-Rex's that are coming to swallow your independent practice whole.

It's simply not true if you...

The Reframe: The Warehouse vs. Boutique Effect

But here is the "Success Mindset" reframe:

Let me explain...

Corporates operate on a volume model. Which means they have high staff turnover. They also rely on a stream of newly-minted graduate dentists on short-term contracts.

By definition the patient experience is transactional, standardised, and impersonal.

In other words...

...and they offer about the same level of customer experience as you'd expect at a big box store.

The key to success in this environment is to embrace patient relationship-based dentistry and offer what the corporates can't...

The Risk: Competing on the Wrong Battlefield

The major temptation (and the major risk you face) is trying to be a "better corporate" than the corporate.

• • If you try to match (or beat!) their fees, you go broke.
  • If you try to match their opening hours without their staffing depth, you'll burn out.
  • If you try to be "everything to everyone," you become a commodity.

The Opportunity: The Flight to Quality

Every time a patient has a mediocre, rushed, botched, or impersonal experience at the "Big W" clinic down the road, they enter the market looking for an alternative. They are looking for you.

They are looking for:

• • A relationship with a dentist they grow to trust over 10 years, not starting again with a different one every 6 months.
  • A receptionist who knows their name and asks about their kids, their career, their travel plans.
  • A waiting room that doesn't feel like a bus terminal that is always running late.
  • Reassurance that their suggested treatment plan is based on their needs, and their health outcomes, not corporate KPIs.

(An example to help you 'get' the right mindset: If you've ever found a mechanic you could really trust, recall the feelings of security and reassurance you felt every time you dealt with them. You could just hand them the keys and walk away, secure that you weren't going to be overcharged or over-serviced. That's the exact feeling you want your patients to have about YOU!)

Your Solution: Strategic Differentiation

The best definition of strategy I've ever seen is this:

And this is exactly how you need to think if you're going to turn this "threat" into your greatest opportunity.

You must double down on the TWO things a corporate cannot scale...

Culture And Connection!

Why? Because the biggest "weakness as strength" you have is your small size, speed, and flexibility which allows you to shape your culture and your patient connection in ways that...

#1 - Be The "Anti-Corporate" Brand:

I'm not suggesting you join a 1970's-style punk band.

But you should be tracking, analysing and improving your patient journey and making THAT your priority.

Ask yourself questions about the patient experience:

• • Is it sterile or warm?
  • Is your practice culture supportive and nurturing, or cold and brusque?
  • Does your marketing suggest a personalised, pain-free, nurturing experience or does it shout "We do check-ups!" like (almost everyone else), thus making you just another undifferentiated provider in the sea?

#2 - Cultivate "Preferred Person" Status:

Forget "Preferred Provider." You want to be the "Preferred Person."

When the relationship is strong enough, patients will happily pay the gap to see you rather than go for free to the stranger down the road.

(Many people still FEAR going to the dentist's office. They are looking for someone - you - to put them at ease and listen to their needs. For these people, saving money isn't the primary motivation).

#3 - Create A Retention Fortress:

The corporate practice relies on a revolving door of new patients.

YOU rely on a fortress of loyal families.

We build the recall and reactivation systems that ensure once a patient experiences your level of care...

The Verdict

Corporate and health fund owned practices bring in a TON of patients. They have the money to burn on marketing. They have many incentives to offer. But that works in your favour over time.

Many of the patients whom "Big W" dentists attract will HATE the experience at some point.

And if you are nearby, you'll likely get a look in - especially if your reviews are good and your marketing about the quality of your patient experience is on-point.

Let the corporates handle the price-shoppers and the emergency toothaches. Let them churn through the low-loyalty patients who are more trouble than they are worth.

You are building something different. You are the premium alternative. And the more "corporatey" they get -- and they will get more 'corporatey'...