North Texas Dentistry Volume 8 Issue 1 NTD 2018 ISSUE 1 DE

practice marketing HOW TO STAND OUT in an era of commoditization by Marc Fowler There is no shortage of dental practices in North Texas. So, why would a patient choose you? What makes you unique? Many practices try to be all things to all peo- ple. This is a mistake. They cast a wide net with a broad marketing message hoping to appeal to enough people to meet their new patient goals. You’ve seen the ads and postcards – “Spa-like atmosphere. Senior discounts. Cosmetic den- tistry. Orthodontics. Dental implants. Smile makeovers. Kids’ play area.” Add a stock image of the smiling models used on a dozen other postcards and dental websites and you have a recipe for marketing failure. This broad, generic messaging simply gets lost in all the noise. This is called commoditization . 26 NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY | www.northtexasdentistry.com Commoditization is the process in which goods or services become relatively indistinguishable from competing offer- ings. The services are so similar to one another that the only distinguishing feature is price. When consumers can’t differ- entiate one dental practice from another, the result is a commoditization of dental services. So, how do you stop the commoditization of your services? First, select a focused, target audience or niche. This can be done by narrowing in on a service that isn’t actively being marketed in your area. Or, it could be by marketing a clear distinction in your approach (ie., convenience – open late, open Saturday, family blocks of appointments, easy online schedul- ing, same day crowns, same day denture repair, etc.). Find a deep market. When selecting a niche, you want to identify a market that is an inch wide and a mile deep. Picture the cracks we get in our high-clay soil around here in the sum- mer. Not very wide, but extremely deep. A favorable niche is an inch wide because it’s a narrowly targeted market segment. It’s a mile deep because there are a lot of people looking for a solu- tion to that problem.

North Texas Dentistry Volume 8 Issue 1 NTD 2018 ISSUE 1 DE | Page 26