It’s only natural when there’s a perceived gap in a market, for new competitors and innovators to emerge, promising to be the ideal fix. The dental market is no exception, as concerns about recruitment and affordability continue to affect the industry.
The huge discounts and celebrity endorsements characteristic of some of these disruptions are hard to beat. In the face of this, how can private practices respond, attract and retain patients while ensuring their business value doesn’t take a hit?
Who and what are the current disruptors?
When considering how to stay competitive, it’s important to know your market, and to understand the potential appeal of disruptive innovations to patients.
The dramatic death of Smile Direct Club was not the end of direct-to-consumer (DTC) dental products. Despite famously letting down millions of patients, a number of other direct-to-consumer companies are still operating. The ostensibly low up-front costs will be the greatest competitive factor that practices must contend with.
Another example is Bupa, which offers an attractive new benefits package designed to enlist those currently subscribing to health insurance to use their dental services. It includes a free annual appointment with a Bupa dentist, plus a £300 allowance to cover any clinically necessary follow-up treatment listed in the policy. The initiative represents a huge investment by Bupa, and will be very appealing to private patients with a local Bupa practice.
The health and wellness membership organisation, Until, has been backed by Steven Bartlett and a £4m investment. The organisation has also announced that it is entering the dental market. This time, the disruption is aimed at professionals wanting to build an independent, stress-free practice. Until offers kitted-out facilities for rent and mentoring and support training as part of its membership.
The organisation currently has one location with dental facilities, but it plans to expand to provide more dental professionals with rooms, equipment and dental nurses. This will allow them to offer services as and when needed for an hourly fee.
Responses and countermoves to consider
Dentists have already made the case against DTC in terms of patient safety, as well as the false economy, and practices have communicated this very well. This message has been strengthened by the Smile Direct Club going bust, with highly publicised legal battles. Enhancing your patient communication is also important, and the introduction of tele-dentistry may offer patients flexibility, but with a trusted clinician, it retains business and practice value.
The Bupa promotion is interesting as it’s something we anticipated they’d do when it first acquired Oasis, as it makes strategic sense to cross-sell. Bupa dentists and associates working alongside them may also have cause to be grateful for the opportunities and private patients it could present. Despite this, it may leave some in private practice concerned about how they will compete. Although a promotion on this scale may be well out of reach for most practitioners, a cost-benefit analysis will show you how a targeted promotion or discount might work to achieve more business while also taking the pressure off your patients. If successful, it’s also unclear how other private medical insurance providers will respond, especially those who already have a foot in the dentistry door.
The offer from Until could be appealing to some clinicians who wish to remove themselves from the hassles of being a principal without being an associate – like how private medical consultant’s work.
However, operating from a rented space lacks the personalised approach you get with consistent team members and an established list of patients. Some patients may find the flexibility appealing. However, the jury is out on whether this plan will take patients away from existing practices or, if it appeals to a totally new market. Though it is one to watch, similar initiatives haven’t significantly impacted practice valuations across the market in the past.
There is also the question of who owns the goodwill. The renting dentist, who doesn’t have a long-term lease suitable for bank lending, or Until, who benefits from rental income?
Confidence in your strengths
In all the excitement, fear can take over, and it can be easy to forget what you are already doing that has attracted patients to your practice and what keeps them coming back.
Cost, accessibility and convenience are all important factors. But so is the team. Building trust is one of the key factors in retaining patients and getting their support in building up your client base. Investing time, resources and energy in promoting staff wellbeing is also shown to pay dividends in terms of the patient experience.
Enlisting the support of experts is also essential when looking to enhance services to build and protect goodwill. Dental Elite has decades of collective experience in helping dental practices add value by improving services and optimising business fundamentals. The team works closely with clients, offering individualised support to increase the value of their practices.
Sometimes the innovations of competitors can spark new ideas – they can prevent your practice from getting left behind by stimulating your imagination and inspiring the whole team to pull together to remain relevant. It can remind you what your strengths are, and what attributes you can honestly say make your practice a good choice for patients.
For more information visit https://dentalelite.co.uk/