Dental Management

Posted: 17 January 2012

Debate: Are discount schemes good for dentistry?

Author: Tracey Bell, Chris Barrow

This month’s Dental Talk Debate turns to the question of whether or not discount schemes have a good impact on dentistry - the opposing expert views come from Tracey Bell and Chris Barrow

YES says who has aesthetic centres in the Isle of Man and Liverpool, which specialise in facial aesthetics and cosmetic dentistry.

 

As healthcare professionals, whatever price we charge for a treatment, it is incumbent on us to take the patient’s oral health, social circumstances and medical history into account to make an ethical judgement. And as such, I just do not know how the General Dental Council (GDC) can suggest we may be cutting corners and putting our financial interests before our patients’ interests.

As dental professionals we do no harm and lots of good. Dental practices who participate in discount schemes, such as Groupon and Living Social, are doing so because there’s a downturn in the economy and they’re looking at all options to stimulate new business. That does not mean that standards will suffer in any way.


New opportunities

Think about discount schemes from a potential patient’s point of view. For sure, your first Groupon offer will be a loss leader to entice new customers in, but it’s what you do with them while you have them in the practice that can make the difference between this being their only visit or returning to take you up on more of your services.

This may be the first time that person has considered visiting a dentist for cosmetic treatment. And with an attractive smile being as high priority as it now is, it may just inspire them to come back for something else they now realise could give them the smile they desire.

Why not have a card printed up with gift opportunities? If they’ve enjoyed their time and experience with you, why not treat a loved one to the same experience, or purchase a voucher which gives them a certain amount towards it? As many dental practices are now offering additional – not traditionally – dental treatments, this can appeal to a broad cross-section of the public.

We have to accept that dentistry is changing, as is the way the public views it. Dentistry has always been a science, but now it’s also an art and a lifestyle choice. And for this reason, dentists need to explore some different ways of recruiting new patients.

Groupon customers are also rewarded for everyone they recommend to use the scheme and this is clearly working. Why not tap into that too and offer a reward of your own choosing if they bring their friends and family to you? There is a particular type of customer who uses discount schemes, so if you can use the same psychology, you’re likely to be successful.

 

Personally, having been one of the first practitioners to offer a Groupon deal, I haven’t continued to offer it. Why? Because, at Tracey Bell, we are a brand, and in this situation it devalues service, which simply doesn’t work. For many dental businesses though, Groupon - or in fact, any discount sites - may well be a viable option. The provision of price is immaterial and the standards of the dental professional and their team should be consistent, ethical and in the interest of the patient.
 

The GDC states that: ‘if a registered dental professional offers a treatment deal he or she must assess the patient, obtain valid consent, obtain a medical history and explain all the options before carrying out any work. Registrants must put patients’ interests before their own or those of any colleague, organisation or business.’

Dental professionals know this. It forms the very basis of how we work and would be done whatever the price a patient is paying, even if there was no fee. Discount schemes are not about dropping your work standards and ethics, they’re about driving new customers to your business. And the GDC should realise that.

The GDC is currently reviewing its Standards for dental professionals and draft guidance on ethical advertising will be considered by the Standards Working Group as part of the review.


Everyone loves a bargain

Personally, I think that any discount or discount websites have to be regarded and chosen dependent on the type of client you want to attract. Groupon is the ‘mass market’ and I think that with the mass market and big discounts, this client may not be the one that returns. However, in Liverpool we have chosen very bespoke discount groups - My City Deal discounts, via gym clubs and students.

Standards and consents should never be different to that of all full-costing treatments. So, as a practitioner, I would advise to research the company you are dealing with; if it is mass market, patients may not come back. However, bespoke discounts work. Why? Because every customer loves a bargain! A great treatment at a good price. It truly entices patients to buy gifts - for themselves and loved ones, where they usually wouldn’t.

As a professional though, it is up to you, the dentist, to know you take the good with the bad. If the treatment is not right for the patient, refuse to complete it and give them their money back. Then, offer them advice - this is certainly something that occurs in my business and by being open, honest and ethical, I may not have gained financially, but I have earned loyalty and trust with another patient. Simply by being able to meet, advise and help build a relationship for the future.

 

NO says Chris Barrow who has been active as a consultant, trainer and coach to the UK dental profession for over 14 years.

 

The prevalence of discount deals, offered by companies such as Groupon and Living Social, has prompted the General Dental Council to issue a reminder to dentists and dental care professionals about their responsibilities to patients.


The issue with, from the GDC’s perspective, is that discount deals are about selling a ‘product’ not a ‘service’. And it’s this distinction the GDC isn’t happy about.

As a non-dentist, it's not for me to comment on the clinical suitability of all the dentistry delivered as a result of a Groupon offer, but I’m sure the boys and girls at the CQC will develop an opinion in time. Groupon is about product distribution; the offers drive customers through the door.

So far, so good, you might say, but my concern is with the type of people it brings through the door. In every instance my clients have reported so far, these are 'hungry' people looking for a deal, not a service. They come in once for the offer, which generates work, but no profit, then leave never to return for anything else, and without recommending the practice to anybody else either.


‘Clients’, not ‘customers’

As professionals within a service industry, there’s an important distinction that dentists need to make. You want to attract ‘clients’, not ‘customers’. And there’s a world of difference between the two. When a new patient comes to your practice by a more traditional route, you have four opportunities to create a dialogue with them:

1. You find out what they want and give them what they expect. A problem solved by delivering the solution

 

2. You have the chance to ‘upsell’ your services. This involves you spending an adequate amount of time getting to know them, building a relationship and letting them know what’s possible

 

3. You have an objective to sign them up to a membership scheme. This is a very simple way of turning your patients into long-term clients. Obviously, not everybody is going to want to sign up to such a scheme, but when they’re happy with the practice and have a loyalty to you, many patients are very keen to do so, especially if this secures a 'discount' on their first course of treatment

 

4. You ask for recommendations. When patients are happy with the service and treatment they’ve experienced, they’re only too happy to recommend the practice to their friends, family and colleagues. But many won’t even be aware that you’re looking for new patients, so ask them. This is obviously far easier to do when you’ve built up a trusting relationship with a client.

 

With a Groupon customer, you are getting a particular type of individual, who may be not interested in having any of these dialogues with you. They simply want the offer. It’s about knowing your market. If you were opening a 'Pound Shop' in the centre of any major town, you’d be sensible to have a Groupon offer running all the time. But if you were opening a financial services company in the same place, you wouldn’t touch them with a barge pole.

Well, dentistry comes very much under the same banner as the latter. Your real and on-going success comes from providing a great service that patients will return for again and again, not to sell a one-off product.


Targeting consumers

In this recessionary economy, many practices have recognised that they need to do something different to move their business forward. The maintenance part of the market is struggling to make ends meet, because many patients are just not coming in right now, preferring to save their money for other things.

Many of my clients have found they can do really well by marketing cosmetic dental treatments, if they weren’t before. The public overwhelmingly wants ‘straight, white and clean’ teeth. Treatments to achieve these three aims can range from a £250 whitening to a £25,000 treatment plan. And this is where the money in dentistry is being made right now, because there are lots of people out there who will find the money to create the smile they’ve always wanted:

 

• 25-40 year olds are buying whitening, veneers and same-day veneers

• 40-65 year olds are buying white fillings, top-class crown and bridge work, Cerec crowns, orthodontics and dental implants

• Those over 65 are buying denture stabilisation.

 

However, there is an important question when looking at spending habits in 2011's dentistry. Is the treatment being funded from income or capital? Those living on income are going to be very careful with their money and for this sector, a Groupon offer is attractive. Then there are those who have enjoyed capital appreciation in property and are coming to the end of parenthood and work, with low interest rates and high tax, they're not afraid to spend money on themselves and want to look and feel good. Although a Groupon offer may be superficially attractive to this sector, they are far more interested in concierge class customer service and a longer-term relationship.

An attractive, healthy smile has never been more important than it is in today’s world. My advice: if you want customers, Groupon is a highly efficient way of getting them. But dentists need clients and this route is never going to deliver them.

 

Do you recommend discount schemes or feel that they should not be used in dentistry? Let us know by leaving a comment below or on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

 

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