Some Things are Certain
There are three basic elements to keep in mind when promoting dentistry during a recession.
In business since 1989, New Patients, Inc., is a full-service marketing firm exclusively for dentists. In this article, the company shares how they advise their clients in promoting their practices during an economic downturn.
A recession creates a sense of uncertainty. You see, read, or hear newscasts daily discussing the condition of our political and economic state of “flux.” Humans do not like not knowing what is going to happen. Uncertainty causes stress.
Effectively promoting dentistry during a recession relies on three basic elements that are known:
- Consumers are still looking for the benefits of dentistry. They are using the same selection criteria when choosing a dentist today as they did before the recession.
- Dentist/owner expectations need to be altered to reflect economic reality.
- Pent-up demand on elective dentistry is building and will return when consumer confidence and buying power returns.
These are all facts. But they may be facts with which the dentist is unfamiliar. An examination of these points is in order.
Consumers Are Still Looking for Dentistry
How do we know this? The first and most obvious way is with the result data and trend lines from our own clientele. In the earlier 2000s (when consumers could max out their credit cards and pay them off with home equity lines), we might have had 40% of the design space centered on what almost everyone would recognize as elective treatments. For definition, design space can be a physical design like an external mailer or newspaper insert. Design space can also mean a 30- or 60-second radio or TV ad. Before March 2008, we could have used up to 40% of that space to promote elective dentistry. After March 2008, we adjusted the percentage down to below 10%. Why? Because this recession is a purchasing-power recession. Less purchasing power means a more careful consumer with adjusted priorities. The consumer shifts to the “core” benefits of dentistry. These are (mainly) family, kids, ortho, technology, and conveniences. These need to be promoted throughout a recession. If 90% of your promotion revolves around the core staples and 10% revolves around elective, you will be hitting the mark more often.
Expectations Need to be Altered to Reflect Economic Reality
To be clear, your dental practice is being impacted by this recession. If your practice has been growing through this recession, it would have grown more without it. If your revenues are down through the recession, they would not have been down as much had we not been in this recession.
So where does that leave you? Look at your revenues from 2008–2011. Do you see a peak in 2008? Is the growth tougher to gain in the years after 2008? If you are still growing, has the growth slowed compared to 2005–2007? For the vast majority of you, the answers are right there in your own numbers. Your own numbers are known. They are not uncertain. They should cause no stress whatsoever. So what does this all mean? It means the expectation from your promotion in a declining market should be lowered. How you promoted dentistry during 2005–2007 would have proven to provide a greater result than 2009–2011. It is the expectation of the return from promotion dollars that needs to be adjusted during a recession. Too many dentists stopped promoting dentistry properly after 2009 simply because the results were not as robust as they were in previous years.
