We are in full swing in producing Season 1 of The Cosmetic Channel™. Every day I get questions about it from interested cosmetic dentists and cosmetic surgeons. We are holding off on revealing any footage while we allow the early pre-sale to continue, but here are some notes from the actual production files.
Package prices have been announced and the early pre-sale is running out. Contact me at donald@dogstarmedia.com for an early pre-sale subscription form. Each show is six-episodes and Season 1 runs for one year. If you want the latest and greatest, you want The Cosmetic Channel™. Sign up in the early pre-sale at the price of $240 before prices go up.
Surgical Shows - About Face (Face), Second Chance (Body) and Shapes & Sizes (Breast)
In these shows, professional runway and fashion model Amy Mueller will introduce viewers to the specific surgical concepts. She will present an overview and introductions to interview segments featuring Karyn Chambers, who will be our cosmetic surgery consultant. Karyn is an experienced surgical center manager who speaks eloquently, passionately and knowledgeably about cosmetic surgery.
Non-Surgical Package Shows - Improving with Age (Injectables) and Only Skin Deep (Non-Invasive Procedures)
In these shows, television commercial actress and mother of three Cynthia Wenz and Dr. James K. (practice and name not specified) will introduce and explain injectable and non-surgical procedures. Guided by product web sites and online research, Cynthia will guide a discussion in an informal, entertaining Vlog (Video Blog) style of production. Dr. James K. will answer questions and interject facts and opinions. Informal and engaging, these shows will be great for those who are seeking fact and opinion on non-surgical treatments.
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow (for Cosmetic Surgeons)
Professional runway and fashion model Amy Mueller introduce viewers to common skin and aging conditions. She will present an overview and options following man-on-the-street interviews where people discuss their wishes for cosmetic work for themselves. Amy will run the full length of options, mentioning both surgical and non-surgical.
110% (for Cosmetic Surgeons)
Jennifer Jens, a personal trainer with a degree in physical therapy, introduces viewers to some basic steps to make a strong recovery from surgical procedures. She will present a stage-by-stage fitness regimen and a supporting diet if it is recommended. Jenn will present both the details of the plan and demonstrate the exercises.
Advanced Dentistry Shows - Smile of a Lifetime (Cosmetic Dentistry) and Health in Mind (TMJ and wellness issues)
Television and movie actress Leeanne Locken hosts a discussion package featuring the benefits of cosmetic and neuromuscular dentistry. The format for discussion will be a lunch setting where Leeanne will lead a discussion with someone who has had the discussed procedure over lunch. This show will be a blend of script and informal discussion.
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow (for Cosmetic Dentists)
Television commercial actress and mother of three Cynthia Wenz introduces viewers to common dental conditions. She will present an overview and options following man-on-the-street interview where people discuss their wishes for cosmetic work for themselves. Cynthia will run the full length of options.
110% (Health and Diet to complete your makeover)
Jennifer Jens, a personal trainer with a degree in physical therapy, introduces viewers to diet and fitness tips to help users complete their makeovers. She will present both the details of the plan and demonstrate excercises. Diet plans for snacking and meals will be prepared in a kitchen setting .
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Fear, Branding and Avoiding The Money Pit
If you have experienced the money pit of branding, feel free to forgive yourself now. I give you permission. Yes, you fell for it. Yes, maybe you should not have followed the crowd. And, yes, you know a lot of people who made the same mistake. It is okay. If you haven’t forgiven yourself yet, do it now.
I have posted it here before and my clients hear this frequently. An investment in branding for small business must be modified for small business purposes. If someone tries to do a traditional branding campaign for a small business, you have to wonder what they are thinking. (If you want the long version of why, email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com and we can set up a time to talk about it. I am trying to conserve space here to get to new stuff.) The short answer is that brand-building has two massively extensive and expensive elements included: mark (or logo) design and media buys. When done right, you have the kind of campaign that changes Cingular back to AT&T or launches Starbucks. This is agency level stuff pushed through by mass market media buys.
Definitions in the media business are really important. I know several competitors that charge for “branding” and deliver identity... at premium prices for small business. There is not a bigger rip-off and there are plenty of eager buyers because everyone else is doing it. There is a HUGE difference, but to the layman, it seems like semantics. So you wonder why you paid so much for some basic slogan, an abstract logo and type design. Small businesses need basic identity design, which is a much less expensive and extensive process. Using an agency-type branding process for a small business is like killing a gnat with a sledge hammer. You can do it, and you can charge for it. But it is way too much tool for the task.
Positioning is the brand strategy that Dog Star Media recommends over traditional branding for small businesses. However, positioning is much more subtle in its delivery and it works best with companies that use the Abundance Mentality and have good sales people that can sort information with prospects. If you have those Big Three elements, you are in great shape and will carve out a very comfortable niche without major expenses.
Here is how it works. You identify your business and assume a position that is generally understood by the market place. You advertise, market and promote at an appropriate level for your business. Then, ride the wave of prevailing market conditions as it brings prospects to you. Finally, you help prospects that come to you understand why you are different and better. In other words, you go from general messages down to specifics.
In both of our main cosmetic markets, there are turf wars underway. Cosmetic surgeons vs. plastic surgeons... cosmetic dentists vs. anyone who offers even the most basic cosmetic services... even whitening. To the market, both turf wars are all but invisible. Sorry to inform you all of this but there are basically two brands... call it what you will but in general we can refer to it as aesthetic surgery and aesthetic dentistry. There is no way that you can spend enough to change that perception in your market, unless you are trying to spend yourself out of business. And, even then, your chances are slim.
If the family dentist with take-home whitening kits and the cosmetic dentist who does full mouth reconstructions are part of the same brand, what can you do? Here comes the abundant part: You worry about your business, not what the others are doing. You also do not fight the battle on the most expensive, most general level.
Embracing abundance means recognizing that there is enough for everyone. That means, those that do not deserve to call themselves cosmetic dentists (in this example) will get some responses if their marketing is good. Among those prospects let’s say that some are really looking for reconstructive services. You must be abundant and trust that the market can sniff out a mistake. The first call a prospect makes, the first web site a prospect visits, the first referral a prospect might receive all may be mismatches. If you are diligently marketing your practice, you will be part of enough conversations and if you are selling properly, you can guide prospects while they compare. In a comparison, if a prospect in the market for veneers shops a family dentist with whitening kits and a dentist who does reconstructions, it will be clear that the former is not a match. And, that prospect may need to live through the mistake of whitening before they realize that a more highly trained dentist is needed for what they want out of cosmetic improvement.
Sound easy, right? So, why do so few people practice marketing and sales with this sort of faith in establishing their position and defending it? Fear. There is such fear that a prospect will go to a competitor first that most small business owners feel like they must do what they have to do to fight the battle on the biggest, broadest level. That is the brand level and this explains the focus on brand. Sure, we would all like to be first. An old advertising axiom says “There is First and Everybody Else.” But the fact is that you cannot always be first. You will get a lot of prospects who are on the rebound.
Do not fear that you will not compare favorably. Do not fear that the uneducated market will make a bad, mismatched purchase. Do not fear that, if you are not first, that you will not be part of the conversation. You must not generalize about prospects. They do not suddenly appear one day, looking for services. They are on a journey, too. They may have made wasteful and expensive mistakes first. You may be their third or fourth try. How many people come to you for cosmetic work after having seen another dentist or doctor first only to have an unsatisfying experience? Those unsatisfying experiences have to come from somewhere. Ironically, you are probably considering those failed attempts with other doctors as losses for your business attributed to your failed branding campaign. Funny how nobody mentioned the rebounders in your branding conversation. Right?
These many prospects are well past the brand stage. So, why are you sinking all that money into brand building? All that is needed in 90% of these cases is a call to action that resonates with what they already know. You know this... you have met them. And, you can look that up, this is the definition of positioning as a branding strategy.
If you don’t fear these things, you will feel much more empowered to put your marketing dollars into active, engaging, measurable, sales-oriented marketing tools and behaviors. The alternatives are to do nothing or to sink it all into establishing a brand on a level in which you cannot afford to do it.
The worst part of this is, that some of us know better. I must say, many of our competitors do not and they are doing what they learned at previous jobs, in class or from books. They do not know better and this is why I started this blog for you. For those who do know better, the best way for them to sell is with peer pressure and fear.
This is a subjective business and it is difficult to know what to do unless you have a trusted expert guiding you. If you come here to read and learn, here is a tip that can help you avoid the money pit of branding. Is the person selling you on branding selling with peer pressure or fear tactics? If they are, there is your red flag. With that identified, and knowing what you now know, what is your gut telling you?
I have posted it here before and my clients hear this frequently. An investment in branding for small business must be modified for small business purposes. If someone tries to do a traditional branding campaign for a small business, you have to wonder what they are thinking. (If you want the long version of why, email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com and we can set up a time to talk about it. I am trying to conserve space here to get to new stuff.) The short answer is that brand-building has two massively extensive and expensive elements included: mark (or logo) design and media buys. When done right, you have the kind of campaign that changes Cingular back to AT&T or launches Starbucks. This is agency level stuff pushed through by mass market media buys.
Definitions in the media business are really important. I know several competitors that charge for “branding” and deliver identity... at premium prices for small business. There is not a bigger rip-off and there are plenty of eager buyers because everyone else is doing it. There is a HUGE difference, but to the layman, it seems like semantics. So you wonder why you paid so much for some basic slogan, an abstract logo and type design. Small businesses need basic identity design, which is a much less expensive and extensive process. Using an agency-type branding process for a small business is like killing a gnat with a sledge hammer. You can do it, and you can charge for it. But it is way too much tool for the task.
Positioning is the brand strategy that Dog Star Media recommends over traditional branding for small businesses. However, positioning is much more subtle in its delivery and it works best with companies that use the Abundance Mentality and have good sales people that can sort information with prospects. If you have those Big Three elements, you are in great shape and will carve out a very comfortable niche without major expenses.
Here is how it works. You identify your business and assume a position that is generally understood by the market place. You advertise, market and promote at an appropriate level for your business. Then, ride the wave of prevailing market conditions as it brings prospects to you. Finally, you help prospects that come to you understand why you are different and better. In other words, you go from general messages down to specifics.
In both of our main cosmetic markets, there are turf wars underway. Cosmetic surgeons vs. plastic surgeons... cosmetic dentists vs. anyone who offers even the most basic cosmetic services... even whitening. To the market, both turf wars are all but invisible. Sorry to inform you all of this but there are basically two brands... call it what you will but in general we can refer to it as aesthetic surgery and aesthetic dentistry. There is no way that you can spend enough to change that perception in your market, unless you are trying to spend yourself out of business. And, even then, your chances are slim.
If the family dentist with take-home whitening kits and the cosmetic dentist who does full mouth reconstructions are part of the same brand, what can you do? Here comes the abundant part: You worry about your business, not what the others are doing. You also do not fight the battle on the most expensive, most general level.
Embracing abundance means recognizing that there is enough for everyone. That means, those that do not deserve to call themselves cosmetic dentists (in this example) will get some responses if their marketing is good. Among those prospects let’s say that some are really looking for reconstructive services. You must be abundant and trust that the market can sniff out a mistake. The first call a prospect makes, the first web site a prospect visits, the first referral a prospect might receive all may be mismatches. If you are diligently marketing your practice, you will be part of enough conversations and if you are selling properly, you can guide prospects while they compare. In a comparison, if a prospect in the market for veneers shops a family dentist with whitening kits and a dentist who does reconstructions, it will be clear that the former is not a match. And, that prospect may need to live through the mistake of whitening before they realize that a more highly trained dentist is needed for what they want out of cosmetic improvement.
Sound easy, right? So, why do so few people practice marketing and sales with this sort of faith in establishing their position and defending it? Fear. There is such fear that a prospect will go to a competitor first that most small business owners feel like they must do what they have to do to fight the battle on the biggest, broadest level. That is the brand level and this explains the focus on brand. Sure, we would all like to be first. An old advertising axiom says “There is First and Everybody Else.” But the fact is that you cannot always be first. You will get a lot of prospects who are on the rebound.
Do not fear that you will not compare favorably. Do not fear that the uneducated market will make a bad, mismatched purchase. Do not fear that, if you are not first, that you will not be part of the conversation. You must not generalize about prospects. They do not suddenly appear one day, looking for services. They are on a journey, too. They may have made wasteful and expensive mistakes first. You may be their third or fourth try. How many people come to you for cosmetic work after having seen another dentist or doctor first only to have an unsatisfying experience? Those unsatisfying experiences have to come from somewhere. Ironically, you are probably considering those failed attempts with other doctors as losses for your business attributed to your failed branding campaign. Funny how nobody mentioned the rebounders in your branding conversation. Right?
These many prospects are well past the brand stage. So, why are you sinking all that money into brand building? All that is needed in 90% of these cases is a call to action that resonates with what they already know. You know this... you have met them. And, you can look that up, this is the definition of positioning as a branding strategy.
If you don’t fear these things, you will feel much more empowered to put your marketing dollars into active, engaging, measurable, sales-oriented marketing tools and behaviors. The alternatives are to do nothing or to sink it all into establishing a brand on a level in which you cannot afford to do it.
The worst part of this is, that some of us know better. I must say, many of our competitors do not and they are doing what they learned at previous jobs, in class or from books. They do not know better and this is why I started this blog for you. For those who do know better, the best way for them to sell is with peer pressure and fear.
This is a subjective business and it is difficult to know what to do unless you have a trusted expert guiding you. If you come here to read and learn, here is a tip that can help you avoid the money pit of branding. Is the person selling you on branding selling with peer pressure or fear tactics? If they are, there is your red flag. With that identified, and knowing what you now know, what is your gut telling you?
Monday, July 16, 2007
The Future of the Internet is now on CNN.
For anyone who doubts whether the time is now for video on the web, I have three words for you: This is CNN.
Earlier this month, CNN unveiled its new web site. You get the latest news and video links at the top and all the news links that were previously in the main viewing area are at the bottom of the page... below the fold of the page. (That’s Internet-speak for anything below the first window depth... the term comes form a fold in a book or newspaper.)
A quick check of the major network’s news web sites shows that video is featured at least equally as news links you can read. These web sites, which get hundreds of thousands of hits each day, serve all kinds of web users. Yet, the medium they are choosing for their content is increasingly video-based. The news draws the broadest-based audience and these major corporations think we have passed the tipping point on video. They are not just saying it. Just look at their sites and you can see it.
In other words, video has gone prime time on the web.
This should answer a lot of questions about bandwidth and the market’s desire for video. Right before your eyes, the top communicators in the world are using the most engaging medium on the Internet. We are past the tipping point. You can only follow.
Now, the question is... When will you follow the trend into enhanced video content on your web site. The early adopters are already in the pool. Some of them risked early on... before the tipping point came and went... and now they are well in the lead in their markets when it comes to communicating about their services on the web.
We are still in the early adopter stage when it comes to video in the cosmetic dental and cosmetic surgical markets. How do I know this? Because people still wince a little at the price of adding quality video to a web site. When budget ceases to be a factor for most small businesses, the video explosion will be everywhere.
If you have been following my blog this summer, you will now see the confluence of several themes and thoughts. Yes, we are in the early adopter stage and Dog Star Media continues to get more and more orders for new Flash Video web sites. But, in general, most cosmetic dentists and cosmetic surgeons will wait to enhance their web sites for several reason. The desire for video is there but, in mass numbers, many will remain on pause, waiting for the right time.
So, ask yourself: If I could add great video to my web site easily, quickly and affordably, would I?
This is why Dog Star Media has developed The Cosmetic Channel™. For those mid- and late-adopters, we fashioned this excellent video add-on that works with any web site... even your old-time HMTL site, if necessary. Now every cosmetic dentist and cosmetic surgeon who desires video can have it at a very affordable price with a monthly subscription to The Cosmetic Channel™.
The early adopters will rework their web sites with Dog Star Media (or a lesser capable company working it the market :) ) and will likely add The Cosmetic Channel™ just to be on the leading edge. However, the rest of you who stay with the pack can have this valuable addition now, too. When it is released, you will see proven broadcasting principles at work in an all-new way on the Internet. It will be the marketing release of the year in cosmetic dentistry and cosmetic surgery... and you heard about it all summer right here.
We still are selling The Cosmetic Channel™ at early pre-sale prices. Sales have been brisk for 7 weeks and we are ahead of projected pre-sale goals. Momentum is building.
The Cosmetic Channel™ will debut on doctors’ web sites around the country on September 15. The early pre-sale price is $240/month. If the desire for video is there, why are you waiting? This product is designed to let you be a mid- or late-adopter and still get the benefit of excellent video on your web site.
If you are interested in signing up this week, please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
And, for those of you at IACA this week in Chicago and for those of you awaiting Dog Star Media’s release of the new AACS web site, remember where you are hearing this. There are several companies jumping on the pile when it comes to using video on the web. But there is only one company in both fields who is ahead of the pack in meeting your needs and desires with video. Look around. Is anyone else able to broadcast new video on YOUR web site each month? Anyone can do it on their own web site. The Cosmetic Channel™ will do it on YOUR web site. Before you buy anything this summer, I suggest you talk to me to get the big picture on web video. I am available any time.
Earlier this month, CNN unveiled its new web site. You get the latest news and video links at the top and all the news links that were previously in the main viewing area are at the bottom of the page... below the fold of the page. (That’s Internet-speak for anything below the first window depth... the term comes form a fold in a book or newspaper.)
A quick check of the major network’s news web sites shows that video is featured at least equally as news links you can read. These web sites, which get hundreds of thousands of hits each day, serve all kinds of web users. Yet, the medium they are choosing for their content is increasingly video-based. The news draws the broadest-based audience and these major corporations think we have passed the tipping point on video. They are not just saying it. Just look at their sites and you can see it.
In other words, video has gone prime time on the web.
This should answer a lot of questions about bandwidth and the market’s desire for video. Right before your eyes, the top communicators in the world are using the most engaging medium on the Internet. We are past the tipping point. You can only follow.
Now, the question is... When will you follow the trend into enhanced video content on your web site. The early adopters are already in the pool. Some of them risked early on... before the tipping point came and went... and now they are well in the lead in their markets when it comes to communicating about their services on the web.
We are still in the early adopter stage when it comes to video in the cosmetic dental and cosmetic surgical markets. How do I know this? Because people still wince a little at the price of adding quality video to a web site. When budget ceases to be a factor for most small businesses, the video explosion will be everywhere.
If you have been following my blog this summer, you will now see the confluence of several themes and thoughts. Yes, we are in the early adopter stage and Dog Star Media continues to get more and more orders for new Flash Video web sites. But, in general, most cosmetic dentists and cosmetic surgeons will wait to enhance their web sites for several reason. The desire for video is there but, in mass numbers, many will remain on pause, waiting for the right time.
So, ask yourself: If I could add great video to my web site easily, quickly and affordably, would I?
This is why Dog Star Media has developed The Cosmetic Channel™. For those mid- and late-adopters, we fashioned this excellent video add-on that works with any web site... even your old-time HMTL site, if necessary. Now every cosmetic dentist and cosmetic surgeon who desires video can have it at a very affordable price with a monthly subscription to The Cosmetic Channel™.
The early adopters will rework their web sites with Dog Star Media (or a lesser capable company working it the market :) ) and will likely add The Cosmetic Channel™ just to be on the leading edge. However, the rest of you who stay with the pack can have this valuable addition now, too. When it is released, you will see proven broadcasting principles at work in an all-new way on the Internet. It will be the marketing release of the year in cosmetic dentistry and cosmetic surgery... and you heard about it all summer right here.
We still are selling The Cosmetic Channel™ at early pre-sale prices. Sales have been brisk for 7 weeks and we are ahead of projected pre-sale goals. Momentum is building.
The Cosmetic Channel™ will debut on doctors’ web sites around the country on September 15. The early pre-sale price is $240/month. If the desire for video is there, why are you waiting? This product is designed to let you be a mid- or late-adopter and still get the benefit of excellent video on your web site.
If you are interested in signing up this week, please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
And, for those of you at IACA this week in Chicago and for those of you awaiting Dog Star Media’s release of the new AACS web site, remember where you are hearing this. There are several companies jumping on the pile when it comes to using video on the web. But there is only one company in both fields who is ahead of the pack in meeting your needs and desires with video. Look around. Is anyone else able to broadcast new video on YOUR web site each month? Anyone can do it on their own web site. The Cosmetic Channel™ will do it on YOUR web site. Before you buy anything this summer, I suggest you talk to me to get the big picture on web video. I am available any time.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Price, A Thousand Words and The Cosmetic Channel™
There is a turf war going on in Dallas and I hear shots from all sides on the radio each day. There are four big LASIK docs in town. They all spend a fortune advertising on the radio, tv and newspaper each day. For about a month, all of the ads have been advertising the same benefit.
That benefit is price... so everybody loses. I have heard at least two of the practices’ ads spending at least... and I mean at least... 85% of the air time talking about price. Then there are the rebuttal ads, decrying the other’s low price sales because their prices are always the lowest.
How does this happen? Easier than you think and, in the world of aesthetic dental and medical improvements, you don’t want to participate in a price war. And, you sure don’t want to inadvertently start a price war. Here is an easy-to-remember way to stay out of it: Never use this symbol when defining your prices: %. Stay away from the percent sign.
The fastest way to turn the value of your service into a commodity is to begin offering a percent off prices. If you are getting advice from a marketing adviser who is telling you that you can generate quick summer business by offering 25% off a service, you might pick up some quick cash but the long-term repercussions could be devastating. Look at where the price war over LASIK in Dallas has left these doctors? A market of more than 3 million people is shopping their service on price first. And the fear of losing out keeps the price war wheel turning.
If you and a set of local competitors begin to advertise the benefit of price in your advertisements, then the service you provide and your reputation begins to devalue. The majority of the market, being under-educated or uneducated in the field, will gravitate toward what appears to be the best value. Afterall, Botox is Botox... right? Do you think the average ad reader understands that the value is more about the doctor who injects the Botox than the product itself. The same is true in cosmetic dentistry, where any dentist with a whitening system can advertise cosmetic dental services.
So, if you want to offer an incentive, use the words “Special Price on...” Look at how we are rolling out The Cosmetic Channel™. We just raised the price on the early pre-sale special price of $200/month for Season 1 to $240/month. We are on our way to the full prices, which will be between $300-$450 per month depending on the subscription. Notice that we call this a version of Special Price.
Normally, I do not like the word “FREE” either. To give something away at no price demeans its inherent value. Allow me to demonstrate the proper use of FREE as an incentive to buy, leaving the value of the product intact.
THE FOLLOWING IS A LEGITIMATE OFFER. COSMETIC DENTISTS... TAKE NOTE.
The Cosmetic Channel™ will offer a show on the subcriptions for cosmetic dentists that features real patients telling their success stories with both cosmetic dentistry and neuromuscular dentistry. These are two different shows but the name of the shows will be A Thousand Words. Each four-minute show will feature four people talking for about one-minute on their experience. No dentists or practices will be named to promote any one doctor. The videos are about the beneficial experiences people have had.
HERE IS THE OFFER:
We are seeking people to give these on-camera testimonials. We need 48 to complete Season 1 and we have several in place already for the early shows. However, we want to offer our clients and blog subscribers who are cosmetic dentists an opportunity to put their patients into an episode of A Thousand Words. If you are able to locate at least 4 people who would make good on-camera testimonials AND you either arrange for them to be taped in our show format or bring them to Dallas to video tape at our new Dog Star Media Studio AND you are a subscriber to The Cosmetic Channel™, then we will cut that interview footage into a promotional DVD for the participating dentist at no additional cost. That’s right, we will make you a FREE DVD that you can also use on your web site as web video. If you are interested, please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
And, Cosmetic Surgeons, we are working on something special for you, too. To learn more, start by answering one question for us. How many liposuction procedures do you perform in a normal month? Email that number to me at donald@dogstarmedia.com and we will keep you posted as we develop our new, top secret project.
That benefit is price... so everybody loses. I have heard at least two of the practices’ ads spending at least... and I mean at least... 85% of the air time talking about price. Then there are the rebuttal ads, decrying the other’s low price sales because their prices are always the lowest.
How does this happen? Easier than you think and, in the world of aesthetic dental and medical improvements, you don’t want to participate in a price war. And, you sure don’t want to inadvertently start a price war. Here is an easy-to-remember way to stay out of it: Never use this symbol when defining your prices: %. Stay away from the percent sign.
The fastest way to turn the value of your service into a commodity is to begin offering a percent off prices. If you are getting advice from a marketing adviser who is telling you that you can generate quick summer business by offering 25% off a service, you might pick up some quick cash but the long-term repercussions could be devastating. Look at where the price war over LASIK in Dallas has left these doctors? A market of more than 3 million people is shopping their service on price first. And the fear of losing out keeps the price war wheel turning.
If you and a set of local competitors begin to advertise the benefit of price in your advertisements, then the service you provide and your reputation begins to devalue. The majority of the market, being under-educated or uneducated in the field, will gravitate toward what appears to be the best value. Afterall, Botox is Botox... right? Do you think the average ad reader understands that the value is more about the doctor who injects the Botox than the product itself. The same is true in cosmetic dentistry, where any dentist with a whitening system can advertise cosmetic dental services.
So, if you want to offer an incentive, use the words “Special Price on...” Look at how we are rolling out The Cosmetic Channel™. We just raised the price on the early pre-sale special price of $200/month for Season 1 to $240/month. We are on our way to the full prices, which will be between $300-$450 per month depending on the subscription. Notice that we call this a version of Special Price.
Normally, I do not like the word “FREE” either. To give something away at no price demeans its inherent value. Allow me to demonstrate the proper use of FREE as an incentive to buy, leaving the value of the product intact.
THE FOLLOWING IS A LEGITIMATE OFFER. COSMETIC DENTISTS... TAKE NOTE.
The Cosmetic Channel™ will offer a show on the subcriptions for cosmetic dentists that features real patients telling their success stories with both cosmetic dentistry and neuromuscular dentistry. These are two different shows but the name of the shows will be A Thousand Words. Each four-minute show will feature four people talking for about one-minute on their experience. No dentists or practices will be named to promote any one doctor. The videos are about the beneficial experiences people have had.
HERE IS THE OFFER:
We are seeking people to give these on-camera testimonials. We need 48 to complete Season 1 and we have several in place already for the early shows. However, we want to offer our clients and blog subscribers who are cosmetic dentists an opportunity to put their patients into an episode of A Thousand Words. If you are able to locate at least 4 people who would make good on-camera testimonials AND you either arrange for them to be taped in our show format or bring them to Dallas to video tape at our new Dog Star Media Studio AND you are a subscriber to The Cosmetic Channel™, then we will cut that interview footage into a promotional DVD for the participating dentist at no additional cost. That’s right, we will make you a FREE DVD that you can also use on your web site as web video. If you are interested, please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
And, Cosmetic Surgeons, we are working on something special for you, too. To learn more, start by answering one question for us. How many liposuction procedures do you perform in a normal month? Email that number to me at donald@dogstarmedia.com and we will keep you posted as we develop our new, top secret project.
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