The True Nature of Your Business: Embracing a New Focus on Training and Culture

Hi Friends,

Recently, I watched a YouTube video that challenged my assumptions about the true nature of the business I’m in. This prompted me to reflect upon my own business, running a small dental office, and identify what type of business we’re truly in.

The True Nature of Your Business May Not Be What You Think

Branding Business

Companies like Coca-Cola and luxury brands such as LVMH fall into this category. People are well-educated about their products and are willing to pay a premium to use their brands.

Marketing Business

Local gyms are a prime example. These businesses grow by letting people know about their offerings. They often have a local footprint or solve a very niche problem. Growth in these businesses is driven by effective marketing

Product Business

Think of viral games like Angry Birds, apps like Instagram, or software companies like Salesforce. In a product-based business, the better your product, the less you need to spend on marketing or sales, as your product sells itself.

Training and Culture Business

Many service-based businesses fall into this category, such as high-end hotels, restaurants, and home cleaning companies. The biggest driver of success is how well you train and empower your team to solve customer problems consistently and in line with your company’s core values. A well-trained team can differentiate your business and drive growth.

My Journey and Realizations

Ever since I started, I saw myself as a product guy. I believed that the biggest driver of success for my dental practice would be to offer the best product, defined as the patient experience and quality of dentistry. I noticed that having a quality product drove internal referrals, making marketing and sales less important. I also believed that a quality product would create a strong brand, reducing the need to focus on branding.

This approach served me well, taking my practice from startup to over $1 million in revenue. However, I recently began to see some flaws in my thinking. While we’ve created useful systems to keep everything on track, we struggle to stay consistent in following the guidelines and systems. This inconsistency made me realize that our business might actually be a training and culture business.

A New Focus on Training and Culture

When I started to see our dental practice as a training and culture business, it was a significant shift in perspective. This realization brought clarity to many of the challenges we were facing and provided a new direction for our efforts. Here’s how we’re implementing this new focus:

To ensure every team member delivers the best patient experience, we are developing comprehensive training programs that cover all aspects of our practice. These programs will include:

A significant part of our training is aimed at maintaining consistency in service delivery. We are implementing systems and processes that ensure every patient receives the same high level of care, regardless of who is providing it. This includes:

A positive and supportive team culture is essential for the long-term success of any business. We are committed to building a work environment where every team member feels valued, motivated, and aligned with our core values. Our initiatives include:

➤ Team Building Activities: Organizing regular team-building events and activities to strengthen relationships and enhance collaboration among team members.

➤ Recognition and Rewards: Implementing a recognition and rewards program to celebrate achievements and milestones, both big and small.

➤ Open Communication: Encouraging open and transparent communication within the team, where everyone feels comfortable sharing ideas, concerns, and feedback.

Ultimately, our goal is to create an exceptional patient experience that sets us apart from other dental practices. By focusing on training and culture, we aim to:

➤ Personalize Care: Deliver personalized care that meets the unique needs and preferences of each patient.

➤ Consistent delivery: Ensure that every aspect of the patient journey, from appointment scheduling to treatment, is as consistent and dependable as possible.

➤ Building Trust: Foster long-term relationships with our patients based on trust, quality care, and consistently exceptional service.

By embracing this new focus on training and culture, I hope that our dental practice will continue to grow and thrive. Our goal is to exceed the expectations of our patients consistently, while creating a loyal customer base and a strong, cohesive team dedicated to excellence in the process.

Stay tuned for more updates on our journey!

Best regards,

^{Kevin Ng, DDS}