The list of superb adjectives goes on with many more…Aesthetic, Excel, Natural, Premier, Reliable, Superior, Unique. These are not just adjectives, however, but dental laboratory names from our in-house license manager software that helps us keep track of both existing and prospective customers. Many of the others in this industry are family names—names such as Dantonio, Glidewell, Killian, Rogers, Root---reflecting years of hard work to establish strong reputations for the very same superb characteristics.
In these tough economic times, however, the qualities that have been the hallmark of many dental labs have taken a back seat to low-cost bottom dollar choices by dental practices. To continue to succeed and prosper, labs must find ways to challenge this competition through more and better marketing, managing and innovation.
You may be thinking that your budget may not be big enough to do the things you would like to do in terms of time, money and other resources. But think again….there may be a resource already in house, already paid for, that can be a great aid in meeting these challenges. That resource is your dental laboratory software.
Going beyond the tracking of cases and billing, many of the systems designed specifically for dental laboratories also include other capabilities that help you to reach out and find more business, both from your existing customers and prospective customers. Sales and production analysis can pinpoint what types of services your customers have been using as well as those they have not used or used very little. Is a particular customer only sending posterior cases and not anterior? Do they use your lab for crowns and bridges, but not implants, not dentures?
For prospective customers, you may need to ask these and other questions and record your notes in the software memo fields or activity logs. Are they happy with their current lab in some ways but not in others? Do they value excellent communication to achieve excellent results, do they need more expert guidance for their lab work, are they looking for faster turnarounds or bargain pricing or to try new techniques?
To help retain your existing customers, it is wise to take advantage of reports that show a change in activity. If a customer has become inactive or greatly reduced the volume of work being sent to you, it would behoove you to find this out and resolve any issues, nipping trouble in the bud, as quickly as possible. Reports that rank or sequence sales as well as graphs that show monthly sales can likewise be very helpful in spotting changes within your customer base.
In trying to attract and retain business, you can also let the dental offices know of capabilities you have not only with your products and services but also within your software that can of help to the doctors. Some of these might include the ability to receive graphic images and imbed these in the case records for easy lookup both when performing the work and in the future. Another might be materials disclosure forms sent with each completed case that specify the manufacturer, location, batch and lot of each component, as well as your own professional registrations, alliances and certifications. Still another could be the capability to send invoices, statements and reports specific to the customer via email, as well as any special requests they may have.
To distinguish yourself from your competitors, you may be able to offer rapid and easily accessible case and invoice histories that can be printed or emailed upon request or simply answered in a phone call. If your software system provides for direct entry via the internet for case information and requests from the dental office and then tracks these as well as billings and payments, this is another exceptional capability you can offer to save time and help assure accuracy for both of you.
Doctors particularly value not having to repeat their preferences over and over again so it is wise to request these, record them, keep them up-to-date and then use them when performing lab work or making your next contact. These can also provide an easy lead-in to discussing new work, an added way to build a reputation for trust and reliability.
Some labs market primarily by calling dental offices, others do mailings, seminars, in-person visits, sponsor events, email newsletters, maintain a website, exhibit or speak at trade shows and conferences. To do any or all of these well, it is important to develop the habit of capturing and recording contact names and numbers with postal as well as email addresses and then extra pieces of information such as the type of practice, any specialties, preferences, alliances, how they like to be contacted, what they value most, the labs they currently use, and potential work for your lab. You can then use your software to select from these criteria to generate communications in a variety of ways. When you connect or receive a response, you can record your notes in activity logs to guide you on the next steps to follow through.
Knowing that your schedule will be busy, it is good to provide alerts for yourself with dates and notes for your next communications. One of fundamental rules of good marketing is to keep a steady beat of contacts so that through repetition your name and reputation become known. Setting up an entrepreneurial program for your lab with the aid of your software can be accomplished with a little bit of determination, some guidance and input from your software support team, small chunks of time and minimal expense. Then with some luck and good timing, you may be right there when a dental office is ready to send their lab work your way.
Published in the Spectrum Dialogue-Voice of Techno-Clinical Dentistry
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