Your team deals with the issue of the price of dentistry daily. You develop systems to manage this aspect of treating patients, such as payment plans, issue verbal and written quotations, and structure a portion of your discussions with patients around the topic.
It is understandable. All consumers weigh up the benefits and drawbacks of making any purchase: What are the benefits the purchase will deliver to us against the drawbacks of the amount of money that will be removed from our bank account? The larger the perceived benefit and/or the lower the perceived price makes these decisions easier for the consumer.
The price range of dental services is higher than many purchases, so deeper consideration is often thought to be required by patients.
Here’s a crucial insight for your consideration: when one or more of your team members feel that:
- the patient cannot afford the treatment,
- the price of the treatment is too high, or
- they would not personally spend that amount on their own dental health
then the message of “too expensive” can be subconsciously delivered to the patient.
The issue of ‘price’ versus ‘value’ is one that I encourage all dental teams to discuss openly. Team members know the price of every service down to the last cent but often do not understand and appreciate the value delivered to their patients by those treatments.
The price of any service your practice provides is relevant only up to the point of payment. After your patient has paid for their treatment, the value they experience is over the days and years to come. And this is what your team members need to understand and appreciate to effectively communicate with your patients during treatment plan discussions.
If you handle this issue well, it can make a wonderful positive difference to the energetics within your practice and the feelings that your patients experience with every interaction.
I will share further insights on the price/value discussion in my next blog.
