The top 10 reasons you should put your prices up in a recession.

The pundits have been telling us for a long time that there is a recession and many businesses, some dentists included, are slashing their prices in response to the fear of losing patients.

Be warned there have been several businesses that have gone bust because slashing prices was their strategy to make sales and it backfired terminally. An example could be Sun4u that ceased trading this summer after offering holidays at low prices and very small deposits. The cash they were bringing in could just not cover their expenses.

In this series of blogs I am going to be offering ten reasons why you should be considering putting your prices up rather than down in the current economic climate. Controversial, I know. These are only ideas for you to consider and as your coach it is important that I encourage you to consider all perspectives so you can make a truly informed decision about your prices.

Before I start my caveats are as follows

• · You review your personal and practice finances monthly and you know your income and expenses in real time.
• · You are drawing a fair and reasonable salary from the business.
• · You are monitoring the treatments you provide, patient numbers, treatment plan conversion rates.
• · You are offering high quality dentistry. I am not talking about makeovers, all the dentistry you do from a simple occlusal composite, to a full mouth rehabilitation is done with skill, expertise, professionalism and care.
• · You are and your team are skilled communicators and are able to elicit what your patients ‘wants’ are as well as diagnosing what their ‘needs’ are.
• · You and your team are proud of the treatment you offer and the service you provide.

• · Your surgery is clean, modern, and reflects the high quality of the treatment you provide.

If you are not doing all of the above, why not?

The list above vital in any economic climate and even more so when you are facing economic pressure from the economy and your competitors.

Here are the top 10 great reasons why you should increase your fees in a recession

• You’ll make more money, with less treatment.
• Provide higher quality treatment
• Patient smell desperation and don’t buy
• Easier patients.
• More time for marketing and re-creation.
• Don’t drive away your ideal clients
• Minimise your opportunity-cost.
• Builds your reputation and sets higher expectations.
• Provide treatment and service you are really proud of.
• Investment is attractive

More details to follw in my next postings

I would love to know you initial comments, can you or should you put your prices up in a recssion?