What dentists can learn about always improving

Aug 12, 2015

In his recent book, What Dentists Can Learn from Top CEOs, Dr. Roger P. Levin describes a wide range of effective techniques used by corporate leaders and explains how these approaches can be applied successfully in dental practices.

The following is an excerpt from the chapter entitled "CEOs Never Stop Improving."

Improving the business of dentistry

Dentists as CEOs are always looking for ways to improve their dental business. Many dentists fail to make a true commitment to this. Perhaps they took a course and found a pearl or two they could use in their practice. Perhaps they heard about a new marketing technique to add to their marketing mix. Perhaps they came up with an idea on how to hire, train, or manage staff better. Unfortunately, such occasional improvements will not be enough to take the practice to the next level as a business. Improvement must become a management habit ingrained in the mind of the dentist as CEO -- and it must happen on a consistent basis.

Roger P. Levin, DDS, chairman and CEO of practice management consulting firm Levin Group.

In the 1980s, Japan was the reigning economic power. Their car design and manufacturing quality had become so refined that they were taking major market share away from U.S. carmakers. Leading businesses studied how the Japanese managed to produce such fine cars and other products at prices much lower than their American competitors. They went in search of individuals such as W. Edwards Deming, the father of Total Quality Management, who is credited with helping Japanese companies develop a concept known as continuous cyclical improvement. His ideas were adopted in Japan first and then later in the U.S., but only after Japan had become a dominant competitive force.

The breakthrough concept Dr. Deming introduced was that businesses need continuous cyclical improvement -- once the major areas of a business are being improved on a regular basis, the process of improvement "trickles down" to the next level, and then the next until even the most minor details are being improved regularly. Adopted by many American companies after witnessing what it did for Japanese companies, this concept enabled these businesses to improve and grow at a very rapid rate.

Good CEOs never assume they know what customers think

Experienced CEOs may know a great deal about their customers, but they nevertheless invest in market research to get the facts -- and many excellent corporate leaders can tell stories about how wrong their assumptions were before research findings opened their eyes.

What Dentists Can Learn From Top CEOs by Dr. Roger Levin.

A dental practice cannot afford the kind of extensive market research that corporations conduct. Fortunately, the simple "exit survey" described above costs little yet provides invaluable guidance for practice improvement -- while stripping away misleading assumptions.

When the Levin Group surveys patient satisfaction for clients, we often ask doctors and staff members to guess what their scores will be. Their answers historically average 9.1 on a scale of 10. However, when we then asked patients for their ratings, the average score was 7.4. Although 7.4 out of 10 is not bad, it is far below 9.1. Why the discrepancy? We believe doctors and staff factor in clinical quality, whereas patients know too little about clinical matters to consider that aspect of practice performance. They rate customer satisfaction strictly in terms of customer service.

A practice can improve customer satisfaction scores from an average of 7.4 to greater than 9.1 in as little as six months, but only if they start with a realistic picture of where they stand.

The Levin Group Data Center reports a direct correlation between customer service scores and the number of new patient referrals made by current patients. As your ratings by patients improve, referrals go up. Levin Group sets a target for clients of having 40% to 60% of patients refer at least one new patient per year. In our experience, a practice with a 9.1 satisfaction rating will achieve this target.

Roger P. Levin, DDS, is the chairman and CEO of practice management consulting firm Levin Group.

Special for DrBicuspid.com members

The digital version of What Dentists Can Learn from Top CEOs is now available online for $59.

Seminar savings: Save $100 on any two-day seminar by Dr. Roger P. Levin when you register 30 days in advance. Choose your seminar and get your savings here.

The comments and observations expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of DrBicuspid.com, nor should they be construed as an endorsement or admonishment of any particular idea, vendor, or organization.