The Magic of Differentiation

Quote of the Day from Michael Mescon*

“Be it furniture, clothes or health care, many industries today are marketing nothing more than commodities—no more, no less. What will make the difference in the long run is the care and feeding of customers.“

*Mescon is the former Ramsey Chair of Private Enterprise in the business school at Georgia State University. He has written over 100 articles on free enterprise.

If you have attended any of our programs, you know that we are firm believers in the power of differentiating your service from the legions of competitors you face—whether board certified plastic surgeons or those pretending to be. Those who can differentiate their services and place in the market have pricing power. Commodities, on the other hand, don’t. So, if you are tired and worn out by haggling over pricing, think about truly differentiating your practice and the consultation experience from the competition.

We have a hard time getting practices to really articulate what makes them different and special. What is unique about your service? What makes your practice “worth it?“ Often, practices just say, “The doctor has 20 years of experience.“ Not even, “20 years of experience in refining his technique in breast surgery.“ Nor, “He is one of the leading thinkers and lecturers on the art of facelifting.“ One is simply to believe that a long time doing surgery makes one better—when quite the contrary could be true. Some unskilled patient coordinators believe that if you tell the patient the doctor has done surgery a long time, then the fee is justified. Let’s face it; if you performed a procedure the way you did 20 years ago, you’d be out of date. Medical science evolves.

So, make time today to think about the stock phrases you use in conversation with patients. Are you saying what everybody is saying? Are you being specific or vague in explaining your unique service proposition? Clear and specific is always best.