By JONATHAN FINE
Gideon Oliver Osborne was born in 1971 to Sir Peter Osborne and the lovely Felicity Alexandra Loxton-Peacock (really, that was her maiden name!). Gideon changed his name at the age of 13 to George because it was more straightforward; and George’s summer Budget, just like his name, is straightforward.
The message is simple: our long term plan is working but we still have a way to go, we must stay the course and so we can’t do anything daft like getting soft with welfare cheats and risk blowing it.
Of course, the poor old Greeks have provided the perfect backdrop to support George’s get-tough-with-welfare-and-reward-work doctrine.
For most working Britons things are good and getting better. We tend to buy big things like cars when we feel bullish and the number of new cars sold in the first half of this year was 1.3m – seven per cent up on the same period last year. June 2015 was the 40th consecutive month of growth in the UK car sector. In most areas property values are gently increasing, and middle-to-upper income earners are entering a period of growth in actual income and wealth. This all bodes well for private dentistry.
Bright dentists now need to make sure they ride George’s big wave of prosperity.
Seizing this opportunity is fundamentally about communication with this very large cohort of people who, despite what you think as a practitioner, have a limited view of dentistry and only view it as place you go when you have toothache or, at best, for a check-up. They really don’t know about the importance of quarterly hygiene visits or the transformational impact of implants, ortho and facial aesthetics, both on smile and confidence.
One of the most striking things I pick up when visiting a new practice is the assumption by clinicians that the public has high awareness of the massive transformational power cosmetic dentistry can have for an individual. Actually, people don’t know until somebody or an advertisement tells them.
The striking point is how seldom cost is a reason for objecting to dentistry once it’s explained. This is simply because the proposition of looking like a better version of you means you don’t just look good, you feel good too.
I hate to say it, but the buying motives of cosmetic dentistry and facial aesthetics are a bit like buying a new car. And, just like with cars, you have to introduce people to what the product can do for them; to do that you need process-driven, effective marketing. The good news is very few dental practices have effective marketing programmes other than the usual generic website. So your opportunity is wide open.
If you need help effectively marketing your practice so you can ride this big wave please call me.
JJF
07860 672727
jonathan.fine@breathebusiness.co.uk