Why is the fear of loss more powerful than the promise of gain in dental marketing?
Behavioral economics has documented this for decades. People weight loss roughly twice as heavily as equivalent gain. Telling a patient they can have a brighter smile is a gain message. Telling them what they lose by not addressing missing teeth is a loss message. The loss message will outperform consistently. Apply this to your marketing copy, your case presentations, your phone scripts. Name what the patient stands to lose if they delay or refuse care. Embarrassment at family events. Pain. The inability to eat what they want. Loss aversion is not a manipulation tactic when the losses are real and the patient has been ignoring them.
If the answers you are finding here resonate with you, my team and I work with a small group of clients each year. The next step is a complimentary Discovery Consultation and Practice Review with Dr. McAnally.
