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For some, a trip to the dentist is fraught with anxiety. In contrast, however, marketers of many stripes should look forward to reaching out to these medical professionals. Entrepreneurial and business savvy, dentists are open not only to the more obvious profession-related offers, but also to a slew of services and products that help them run their hectic business practices and personal lives.
Meet the Doctors
According to Fred Peterson, media relations for Chicago-based American Dental Association (ADA), there are more than 173,000 professionally active dentists in the United States. Nearly 80 percent of these doctors are general practitioners, while another 20.7 percent are specialists in any of nine areas, such as oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics, and pediatric dentistry, to name just a few. And although the numbers are changing, more than 80 percent of these professionals are male, according to ADA statistics.
These professionals seek out a bevy of equipment and services for their practices, including “medical devices, any new tools that are out in the industry; and if you’re talking services, that would be dental labs, [as well as] materials for teeth and fillings,” enumerates Al Terrazas, director of healthcare sales and marketing for the Medical Information division of New York City-based Hugo Dunhill Mailing Lists, which manages dentist-related lists. Needs and offers also will vary depending on whether the dentist has a specialty. “There’s a lot of fragmentation going on in terms of targeting dentists who only do root canals or [those] who do cosmetic dentistry,” says Fred Freedman, director of marketing for Dental Trade Alliance, an association that caters to marketers looking to reach dental professionals.
Many dentists also are looking to diversify their services. “Recently, they’re looking for some additional products and services they can resell to their patients, like teeth whitening kits and power toothbrushes—that’s been a newer trend,” describes Freedman.
Another Angle
Many of these professionals own their practice, and as such, these offices have similar responsibilities and needs of any small, entrepreneurial operation. Both Freedman and Terrazas emphasize dentists’ interest in insurance and financial products—whether it’s malpractice insurance or insurance for their practice or their employees, who often are taking on ever-increasing responsibilities within modern dental practices. “Because they are smart business men, they’re learning to incorporate employees like dental hygienists [and] dental assistants to bring into the fold, so they can free up their time to see more patients and add more chairs to their practice,” describes Terrazas. That kind of business sense and entrepreneurship also makes them good candidates for financial offers, such as mutual funds and other investment opportunities from financial services companies. “Our members sell a whole width and breadth of products above things that are strictly medical,” notes Freedman. “They sell financial services, insurance, and they sell them ways to market and resell their practice when they’re done practicing dentistry.”
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