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.
