What do Dentists look for in their Dental Lab?

Paolo Kalaw | CEO-Nimbyx and Evident Healthcare Software

“Reports show that in the last five years, nearly 50% of dentists have changed laboratories because of unsatisfactory performance or relationship. The truth is, the competition is ruthless and dental labs need to make sure that their technical and communication skills are on point.

Dentists were asked to choose the top three features they look for when considering a new laboratory: dentists hold communication with their laboratory in high regard, and almost all of them want technical advice from their labs. The number one topic that dentists would like advice on is material options, while shade-taking techniques and preparation come in close behind. Labs have a lot of good information to offer and dentists would love to hear what they have to say.

What exactly needs to be done?

Dentists can be categorized as:

– Satisfied existing customers

– Distant existing customers

– Prospect customers

Satisfied existing customers

There are many ways to nurture your relationship with your satisfied customers. Here are a couple of steps you can follow:

1) Call your customers once a month to ask what they value about your services and what they would like to see improved.

2) When possible, give dentists unexpected surprises: a birthday card with a personalized note. Better yet, if they celebrate an anniversary working with you, send them a gift card as a thank you.

Distant existing customers

Have you noticed any of your customers sending fewer cases? How do you reverse the situation? Firstly, you need to study the case of your customers and analyze mistakes and errors that have been made by your lab. Secondly, note the dentist’s preferred method of communication and time of day to reach out to them.

Prospective customers

How do you reach out to future customers? If you are relying on email, promotions, social media, or traditional advertisement to market to dentists, you may be wasting your time. These methods only account for 1.4% of influential marketing strategies. Instead, dentists heavily rely on referrals from colleagues (80%!). What makes them choose one lab over the other? 48% say that samples of the lab’s work are most influential to their decision, while 47% choose a lab based on representatives that they meet at a study club or educational program.

How can you keep your dentists happy and coming back for more?

– Predictable quality

– Predictable delivery

– Predictable and fair pricing

– Open communication for questions or issues

Just like any service – high quality and genuine communication will always place you at the top of the pile when prospective customers are looking to use your services. You’ve got to put in the effort to get the right returns.”