Whitening for Life Program Value & Want
A couple years ago, Wendy Briggs was leaving work after another lousy Monday frustrated that she had a couple no- shows, even though the patients had been confirmed, and her Doctor’s schedule had holes in it as well. At this same time, Cosmetic Dentistry was coming to the forefront in the U.S. media with Extreme Makeover, and she was noticing that patients who were coming in for Teeth Whitening or Cosmetic Dentistry never missed their appointment. They seemed to “VALUE” it more…and “WANTED” it done. The two key words for the development of Whitening for Life there are: A) Value- the patients perceived it was more valuable than regular check-ups, cleanings, or restorative work. B) WANT- In hygiene school, we were always taught to think about what people “need”. The problem with that is that people NEED prevention, they NEED regular cleanings, and they NEED to do a dozen other things we tell them, but even though they know it, they are still so non-compliant.
Solution
The Solution to me came when Wendy Briggs switched her thinking from a “give them what they need” mentality to “give them what they want”…and by doing so we can also treat them for what they need.” This boils down to the reality that people buy and stay compliant with the things they want to do. So, that night, an idea struck Wendy. Why don’t we just give them “Whitening for Life” ™. That’s right. If they keep up their 6 months appointment and stay active as patients, we will give them our special “Whitening For Life Program” ™. So, for the next week, she stayed up late looking on-line to see if anyone had created something like this before…to find that it had never been packaged, marketed, and/or sold the way Wendy was about to introduce it. Over the next 3 months, Briggs implemented it at her office. My Doctor was very supportive and pretty much gave me the green light. Those next 3 months was like a roller coaster. She tested over 24 ways of presenting my brand new “Whitening for Life™” concept. Some worked decently, most worked miserably, but there were 3 different ways of presenting it to patients that worked magically. In just under 3 months, they had enrolled more than 300 patients in Whitening For Life at the office. As Dr. Nielsen states, “This was probably the biggest breakthrough from a patient loyalty, retention, and word-of-mouth buzz that I had ever seen. It’s amazing how Wendy continues to create new marketing and referral tools to keep taking Whitening For Life™ to the next level. Our Patients Absolutely LOVE IT!” But Briggs didn’t stop there. She went out on her own and started implementing this program with her consulting clients, with the same amazing success!
Program Concept
After world war II, marketing was a simple exercise. It was straight forward job. Management gave orders; “we have a warehouse of widgets”. Your job is to go out and sell them. As marketing moved to a graduate degree with more universities focused on business disciplines in financial accounting, Laura Allan of Queen’s University Executive MBA moved to an exact science where the 5 “P” of marketing took on a new direction. Perception is reality. lf customers do perceive what they are purchasing is exactly what they must have, then the marketing mix would have been a success. Current graduates in business and marketing use this mix. The patented “ Whitening for Life program” is aimed at just that concept. Sell the patient on what they want. Eventually any other clinical diagnoses will be more readily accepted. Dentists and hygienist may have to adjust, step back to see the big picture from the patient’s point of readiness. Emergencies will continue because of their very nature — emergencies. Regular check-up will also continue because everyone has a guilt feeling if the bare necessities of plaque removal is being neglected.
Why It Works so Well
Someone recently asked Wendy, “Why does Whitening for Life™ work so well?” Well, because you are giving them a reason to feel like a VIP client…and “rewarding” them for staying loyal. Now, in general, this is nothing new. In fact, it’s absolutely proven to work. All you have to do is look around you at who is using it: Credit card companies, Staples, Southwest Airlines, Hotels, and many different restaurants. Plus, if you go to Las Vegas, you’ll notice that just about every Casino creates a bronze, silver, and gold level of customers and each level gets an increasing benefit for how much they pay. What she has done with this program is take all these ideas from outside our dental world, listened to what patients really WANT…and with trial and error…created a PROVEN, real world, “in the trenches” program that will give your practice the retention and patient loyalty that every practice deserves WHILE also giving you a Unique Competitive Advantage in your market place. Increase profitability in your practice and rock solid patient loyalty without, YOU, the doctor having to get involved. This is the best “Team Driven” program ever created! 99% of All Case Presentation Is Done By Your Staff- Whitening for Life™ is a program that you join and then have. Help reduce last minute cancellations and changes to the schedule- your team will now have a tool and a strategy to prevent last minute cancellations…PLUS the patients will have a major reason to keep their appointment!
