Commodity vs. Product Kirk Behrendt ACT Speaker & Coach

If I asked a group of dentists to go back and improve the PRODUCT they manufacture in their practices, what do you think most would be inclined to do?

Most might think working on their product would involve business systems, technical elements or esthetic results.

The first rule of marketing your practice is to understand what your product is.

Your product is HOW PATIENTS FEEL.

How they FEEL about YOU.
How they FEEL about your OFFICE.
How they FEEL about your TEAM.
How they FEEL about THEMSELVES when they leave.

Michael Gerber explained it best, "The COMMODITY IS THE THING your customer actually walks out with. The PRODUCT IS WHAT YOUR CUSTOMER FEELS as he walks out of your business. The truth is, nobody is interested in the commodity - CUSTOMERS BUY FEELINGS. How your business anticipates those feelings and satisfies them is YOUR PRODUCT."

If you could get it, wouldn't you love to know their honest answers to these questions about your PRODUCT?

How did I feel about the doctor as a person?
How did I feel about my experience in the office?
How did I feel about the team members?
Were they a friendly and professional office?
Do I feel good about this practice?

What your clients feel defines your practice. Their feelings are what drive you to produce a quality "product" for them every day. Your patients' emotional responses are rooted in reactions to human behavior and therefore are the keys to unleashing your most potent marketing efforts.

In the end, our friends are compelled to risk important inter-personal experiences and relationships by referring their friends and family to your practice. They are under no pressure, but are sometimes disappointed when they recommend their friends to certain institutions, only to receive mediocre feedback from them about how they felt about their experience.

You know you've asked yourself:

"How many times have I ever left a business that had a great commodity and thought, "This place could make a killing if they just knew how to take care of people the right way!"

How many times did you say to yourself, "I wish my best friend could have experienced that?"

Many dentists have become disillusioned and are discouraged by their efforts in marketing their practices due to the fact they spend massive amounts of time, money and energy on projects that don't even address the real issues of why good patients don't refer a large number of friends to your practice. Most marketing plans never focus on enhancing patients' feelings about your office.

The key to harnessing this power in improving your product within your practice is to never assume that you have truly mastered anything. The first time I met with Dr. Pete Dawson he said something profound: "Be cautious of the dentist who says he's got it all figured out. Even at my age, there is still a lot I'm learning every day." Improvements can always be made, especially on the emotional or FEELING side of your practice.

What if you woke up every day and said, "How can I improve the lives of everyone I touch today?" How do you think people would FEEL about you after 2 or 3 years?

One of our most conscientious students asks all of his patients the same question after he gets to know them, "How can I make your life better?" Then he stays focused on the real answer to that question, and it doesn't always have to do with dentistry.

How would you feel about someone who said that to you and meant it? What would you say to your friends about someone like that?

It has been said by many that Dr. L.D. Pankey had over 200 books on various aspects of human behavior in his library. Why would a technical dentist with such a great vision for the future of dentistry have so many books on human behavior? Why is his message still so strong today? Maybe he understood something about marketing that most of us didn't.

Enjoy the ride.