Choose the location of your new practice very carefully. You know, I was on a Zoom call with someone today in New Zealand, and as a general rule, the competitive environment in New Zealand is nowhere near as intense as it is in Australia. Of course, at a regional level, that can differ, but generally speaking, that is certainly the case.
Now, this particular dentist was in Auckland, the biggest city in New Zealand, and he told me that they do not do any marketing at all. Last month, they got 75 new patients. Like, for most parts of Australia, that would be like, You are kidding me! Really? No marketing at all? 75 new patients? You know, maybe in a regional area that might be possible in Australia, but it is very unlikely, certainly not in a big city like Auckland.
Now, what is my point here? The truth is, there is a very strong relationship between competition and marketing. And so, in this particular area, there was not much competition, there was zero marketing, and yet the practice was quite successful. Of course, you have got to provide a good service and do good dentistry, but I am amazed at how often I see dentists in Australia setting up a new practice without any regard for competition at all.
For me, it is just mind boggling. It is like, to generate 75 new patients a month when opening a new practice, honestly, in most parts of Australia, you are probably talking $10,000 a month in marketing costs to achieve that kind of result. Or, you could choose your location very carefully and spend nothing, just like this example.
To be honest, in some ways, this is a dumb video for me to make. I mean, as you can see, Dental Marketing Solutions is one of the businesses I run. But my message to you is very simple: do not do what most dentists do. Most of them think, Oh, there was a shopfront available. It is not too far from my house. I thought I would just open it up. That is without even looking at the competition. Actually, do some research.
What I am going to invite you to do, if you are in this phase, is give us a call. I am not going to sell you anything, but I will talk you through the competitive environment. In fact, there is even a chance we could partner together, but only on a win win basis. I am looking for someone to partner with, but regardless of what happens in that conversation, I will help you understand the competitive environment so you do not find yourself in a situation where you are spending mega bucks just to grow your practice a little bit.
Instead, you could open a practice in less competitive areas where you barely need to market at all, and the practice grows nicely. You know what to do, get in touch, and let us see what we can make happen together.
See ya!