Don’t Miss The Baby Boomer Explosion! By: Rodger “Rod” Kurthy, DMD

The older generation of patients we’re all used to will soon be gone. You know, the old-timers who drive up in a brand new Cadillac or Lexus, walk in and ask if you give senior citizen discounts––the same old-timers who act like the nicest grandparents…until you ask ‘em to pay five bucks, and then they become your worst nightmare.

Thankfully, the next generation of “old-timers”, the baby boomers, is much freer with money than their parents were. Baby boomers (yes, I’m one too) are more into looking and feeling good. We’re not as likely to refuse costly dentistry saying, “Why should I spend that? How much longer do I have to live?”

Remember, baby boomers were the sugar generation. If a new breakfast cereal said “New & Improved”, it was because they just added sugar. We didn’t have fluoride or sealants. We’ve got HUGE old amalgams and cracking teeth. We’re developing periodontal disease. Unlike previous generations, we don’t just accept the loss of teeth and dentures. We’ve got tons of needs, and now it’s our turn, and many of us can afford it finally.

Just talk to our cosmetic surgeon friends. The baby boomers are having their tummies tucked, their fat sucked, their hair plugged, and their faces and breasts lifted. So the question is, how do we get these baby boomers into our offices?

The answer in my office is teeth whitening, and not just any teeth whitening process will do. If you’ve not heard about my Deep Bleaching Technique, where the heck have YOU been? It’s by far, the most effective whitening process ever developed. So, how does this relate to baby boomers? Well, teeth of patients in their 50s and 60s tend to be much more difficult to whiten. And baby boomers have already found first hand, or heard from their friends, that whitening is often not all that effective. So they often ignore your suggestions of whitening.

We’ve found our most common patient for Deep Bleaching is a baby boomer who’s already attempted whitening before. When they find out about Deep Bleaching, see photographs of it and how white it will routinely get teeth, THEY WANT IT! Even at a fee of $750-1,500, you just KNOW many baby boomers would love truly brilliant white teeth if they KNEW the whitening procedure would give it to them. As financially rewarding as this is, it’s nothing compared to the other services we end up providing to these baby boomers.

Remember though, baby boomers are near or at retirement age. One thing they don’t like to do is take large chunks of money out of their investments, but on the other hand, many have no qualms about paying off large sums over time. Take advantage of patient financing like CareCredit. Baby boomers in my office love the no-interest plans we offer them from CareCredit, and you will not believe how many full cases we do for these folks when they find they can make payments over time!

How do I get baby boomers in my office?
First consider internal marketing. Send a mailer to your existing patient base discussing how YOU have discovered the most effective whitening technique EVER invented. Because “seeing is believing”, you’ll need a few stunning before and after photos (these are already available, or you can take your own). Use the Deep Bleaching posters to show the difference between the typical bleaching result and the results of Deep Bleaching. Leave the photo album out in various places in your office. That’s the no-brainer part. However, the main idea is to get NEW patients who are in the mindset of “now it’s my turn” (ready to get their entire mouth healthy and attractive).

As a group, the cosmetic surgeons are similar to us in that they’re constantly looking for ‘the right kind’ of patients. So, consider teaming up with a cosmetic surgeon or two. Get photos together––even if it’s only my Deep Bleaching Photo Album. If you are not doing photography in your practice, consider learning. And there are other places you can get various cosmetic photographs. The more you show the cosmetic surgeon, the more interested he/she’s gonna’ be.

Each of you can place beautiful photo books in the other’s offices. And you can even work more closely than that with the cosmetic surgeon and advertise an event the two of you will sponsor. Have a very upscale-looking direct marketing invitation designed and printed inviting higher income baby boomers to a free dinner at a rather nice restaurant in your area (you’ll need your own private room). Send this invitation to the higher income baby boomers (because they have the need and the money). It’s easy to get a mailing list targeting the highest income folks between the ages of 50 and 65. Of course, you’ll need for them to RSVP. At the dinner, both you and the cosmetic surgeon can show slides/PowerPoint of the new cosmetic miracles now available.

Of course, there is no way to know how well something like this will go over in your area, but what do you have to lose? In my opinion, you have very little to lose, but HUGE profits if you win.

Another tactic to target higher income baby boomers is to provide free Deep Bleaching for employees of the “right” salons and spas. Pick salons that cater to baby boomers. These salon employees will be walking billboards for you, and they’ll leave your Deep Bleaching Photo Album right there for their customers to look at.

Consider other direct mail pieces that, in addition to several other topics, features Deep Bleaching. You’ve probably heard how successful my direct mail marketing is, and Deep Bleaching is one topic I always use. They often come in for the Deep Bleaching, flip out over the result, and stay for the C&B, endo, perio and implants. In your marketing piece, always mention “interest-free financing available” and watch your response go way up. As I always say, it’s not what it costs, but how ‘affordable’ it is.

Baby boomers interested in keeping their youthful appeal are our next goldmine! Don’t be left out.

Rodger 'Rod' Kurthy, DMD has a general practice in Mission Viejo, CA. He completed a GP residency at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and has been involved in numerous areas of clinical research for 27 years. He has had over 40 articles published in nationally distributed dental journals. Rod is also a consultant to many major consumer magazines, such as "People". Rod's latest contribution to dentistry is a series of six books, including his popular "The 'No-Coupon' Marketable Dentist", and "Deep Bleaching - The Holy Grail of Teeth Whitening". Together with Howie Horrocks, Rod moderates Dentaltown's marketing forum. For more information or to order books, call 949-588-1600 or log onto www.NewPatientsInc.com.

You can contact Rod on the message boards at www.dentaltown.com, or email him directly at drrodger@cox.net.