If you missed the first two posts in this series, go here and here first. We have been opening eyes to the myth of ‘creating value’ and then offering real solutions for how to make real impact. Here is the third installment.

 

Most business leaders would be blown away by the way we treat our VIP’s in dentistry.

 

Explain to me why Mr. Single-surface is treated the same way as Mrs. Full-arch? Now, everyone should be treated with respect, but if you have a patient coming in doing the type of work you’d like to see all day, and you do nothing different for them?  That is ridiculous.

 

Look to the airlines for inspiration here. Airlines fight tooth and nail for business travelers. Ever feel like they step on the little guy?  Like they don’t care about your issues?  It’s because they don’t!  Did you know that Delta has a frequent flier status so high that if that VIP wants to get on a plane they’ll actually kick a passenger off?  It’s true, and they should!

 

The average person flies once a year.  Business travelers do that every week. When you factor in the population as a whole, Delta knows they can lose almost 50,000 regular fliers to keep one diamond member and they’ll still make money.

Now, don’t go kicking people out of chairs, but recognize 20% of your patient population are responsible for 80% of your revenue. Treating these people differently is key to your success. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Make their VIP bib a different color so people can recognize them. When the team sees one of these folks, they’ll know to say something. What people want is  recognition and appreciation; don’t feel like you have shell out the bucks to make them happy.

 

If you are inclined to say: “Well, we treat ALL our patients like VIP’s! ”. Let me give you an honest tip: stop. Treat everyone with respect, but if everyone is special, than no one is special.  Very Zen, huh?