Dynamics of a village--marketing strategies for a new millennium.
Successfully marketing a dental practice involves more than an ad in the yellow pages. Choosing a dentist is a decision based on emotion. Dentists who take steps to become involved in their communities and interact with people will reap the personal and professional rewards necessary for a successful practice. From the beginning of recorded time, humans have been strongly influenced by personal recommendations. It started in the Garden of Eden. Eve said to Adam, "Go ahead, taste this fruit." He didn't read about the fruit in a slick, full-color brochure. He didn't hear about it on television in a strategically placed commercial. He made his decision based on only one thing: Eve's recommendation. The power of a personal recommendation is still one of the strongest motivating factors in our society. People do not choose a good restaurant based on the size of its ad in the telephone directory. How many times have you told someone about a movie, and they saw it based on your recommendation? The synergy of human communication is the most powerful component of economic stability in a village.