Emmet Scott and Chad Evans, DDS, believe successful businesses try to see the experience from the customer's viewpoint, according to an Entrepreneur interview with Jessica Abo.
Mr. Scott, CEO of Community Dental Partners and president of the Association of Dental Support Organizations, and Dr. Evans, chief dental officer and clinical chair of Community Dental Partners, created both Denton, Texas-based Community Dental Partners and Lewisville, Texas-based Smile Magic Dentistry and Braces.
Five things to know:
1. Smile Magic was created first. The $20 million private pediatric dental practice is based on a Disneyland-esque experience, giving children gold coins throughout the process and crowning them at the end.
2. Community Dental Partners, founded in 2010, is a DSO that partners with dentists and dental practices in underserved areas. The organization revolves around the idea that dentists have two minds — the clinical mind and the business mind.
3. Dr. Evans is unique in the fact that he wanted to serve patients a lot of clinicians don't want to serve, like pediatric or Medicaid patients, Mr. Scott said. Community Dental Partners went from one practice to 60, and Mr. Scott believes the organization will have 250,000 or more patient visits in Texas this year.
4. When discussing keys to success, Dr. Evans said: "I put myself in their shoes and I ask myself if I were the patient, how would I want to be treated? What hours would I want to have availability? What days would I want to be able to come in? All those things that you would naturally ask yourself if you were in the other position. If you can answer honestly that you are providing care and service in a way that you would enjoy as the customer, then I think you're probably doing it right."
5. "Focus on the customer," Mr. Scott said. "All of us can understand that oral healthcare is critical. … If you can create parallel experiences that the customer really loves, then you can bring them your product and the benefits of your product."