Dental Office Business Plan

 While people of all ages require a general dentist, Dr. Extractor will be concentrating his practice on cosmetic improvements.  There are two distinct groups of people who use cosmetic dentistry.  The first group is young adults, a group of people that are concerned with their appearance.  The second group is seniors, equally concerned with their appearance, but for reasons, typically economic, have not had the ability to get the work done before.

4.1 Market Segmentation

The Tooth Fairy has two distinct groups of customers:

• Adults. Younger adults, typically 27-39 who are concerned with their appearance. This group can be further defined as both male and female with individual incomes over $45,000 a year.  While some of the target group are professionals, a large segment of this target segment are-live-at-home spouses who do not have a full time job.  This group is more likely than not to consider cosmetic surgery as a method from improving their appearance.
• Seniors. This group sees dental work as a safe way to improve they way they look. They prefer cosmetic dentistry over plastic surgery, which is viewed as a risky cosmetic surgery that this group is less likely to use.  The seniors typically live off of more than $50,000 a year in retirement savings.  This group is almost entirely retired and their day is mainly composed of leisure time activities.

4.2 Target Market Segment Strategy

The Tooth Fairy will target two different segments with specific strategies in the marketing campaign.  While the Yellow Page advertisements will develop visibility among both groups, the seminars will be specifically directed toward the “seniors.”

4.3 Service Business Analysis

The dentist industry is following a trend away from general maintenance toward cosmetics. There is less rampant decay of teeth now relative to five to 10 years ago so dentists are concentrating on areas where there is increased demand.

Please note that The Tooth Fairly’s growth rate is higher than the industry average.  This can be explained by the fact that Steve is concentrating on an emerging niche, and as he is starting a practice from ground zero, so higher than average growth rates can be expected.

4.3.1 Competition and Buying Patterns

There are two forms of competitors:

• The generalist. This type of dentist has a practice centered around general maintenance and does not specialize.
• The specialist. This type of dentist will have a general practice, but in addition to the general practice, they have an area that they specialize in, such as cosmetics.

The buying patterns of patients are based on referrals and trust.  People will chose a dentist preferably based on a referral if that is possible. People new to an area may be unable to get a referral so they find a service provider based on advertising or the Yellow Pages and if they feel comfortable with the provider then they tend to form a long-term relationship with them.