Groupon...myth or magic?

In the last 12 months the Group On (http://www.groupon.co.uk/) phenomenon has hit the UK, and most importantly UK dentistry. Virtually every second day, I receive my groupon email with a different dental practice offering a hugely discounted check-up, whitening, hygiene and even lingual orthodontics.

Even my team have asked me why are we not using Groupon in The Neem Tree.

One of my clients signed up to Groupon early on, and did well ( he negotiated a good %), whilst others I know said they would not do it again, after their first attempt. Groupon take anything between 30-50% of the advertised price, so after all this, there really is not much left.

The aim of Groupon is to tempt the customers who come for the deal, to take up more services, but in my opinion, many of these such discount searching customers are unlikely to take up the additional services, since they probably don't have the resources. They are just deal hunting, and unlikely to come back 6 months later for a full price check up when they can get another super deal from Group On elsewhere. Such customers are not in for building your patient goodwill, they are just deal hunters.

Groupon may bring an increase in the volume of patients, but all too often it brings a type of customer that may just be very difficult and cause far too much hassle for you and your team.

For restaurants and bars wanting to sell a few more cocktails on the evening, I personally feel Group On may work, but for a dental practice selling a professional service - one does have to question it!

There are many much better marketing techniques available to dentists, rather than jumping on the Group -On bandwagon, it makes sense to get back to the essential basics of marketing...for help see www.samerastudio.com.

We can also learn from the US on the Group On phenomenon, just look at some of these links which make interesting reading - not positive for dentists planning to use Group-on.

http://www.tysonsteele.com/posts/display/is-groupon-just-a-put-on

http://www.screenwerk.com/2010/06/11/groupon-sure-but-is-it-sustainable/

So in summary would I use Group On? No, I feel for our business model, it just isn't financially viable for our practice, there are many other better marketing avenues that will have a much more desirable effect.

No doubt Group-On is a phenomenon, but mostly for the owners of this clever business!

November 9th

Aashima's big day is November 9th.

This will be the day she undergoes her rastelli procedure. At the moment she is looking fantastic and the picture of great health. She is attending nursery, causing lots of trouble and being what a 2 year old should be!

On the face of it, she looks like a normal petite 2 year old girl, however as with many CHD (congential heart defects) children, its her little heart inside that is causing both her and us the pain.

Only last week we were back at the Brompton Hospital, and I was wondering does she really need the big op? To me she looks fine, but in my own heart, i know she needs it to give her the best chance of living a full life.

She knows that she has a heart problem but is completely unaware of the impending heart surgery.

I wake up most days (smita does too) thinking about this big day as it draws closer.....There is not much we can do, so we try to block out the impending event by keeping ourselves busy with other things....but it is always lingering there.

When the big day comes, i really am dreading signing the release form, and then holding her down to administer the GA.

According to her cardiologist, she will be home within 10 days!!! I truly pray this will turn out be routine rastelli, so we can all have some fun!

CQC

https://www.registration.cqc.org.uk/datacollection/welcomePage.htm

If you have not already, pre-registration enrollment for CQC ends tomorrow. Details at the url above. Not obilgatory to do by tomorrow but they are encouraging all dentists to sign up by tomorrow for pre-registration!

More red tape!!

Aashima

Yesterday was a huge day in our world. The day we met the surgical team at the Royal Brompton for my daughter Aashima. We had been waiting to meet with them to see what they were going to say.....

Two years back Aashima was born with various major congenital heart problems, she had 2 operations at her birth, but we knew that was a just a temporary fix, and in fact the big fix would have to occur sooner rather than later.

That big fix is now due to happen later this year, in October or November, and to be honest I have never been more scared of anything in my life. Yes, you heard that right, I am scared.....shitless. Not much fazes me, except concern for my children.

She has lived a really full 2 years bringing so much joy to us all, but now very soon she must undergo major open heart surgery so she can continue living life to the max!

We have done our research, spoken to doctors, and we know she is one of the best places to have the surgery, but open heart surgery on a 2 year old is not fun.

The planned procedure to be carried out is called a Rastelli procedure and is a 7-9 hour operation, whereby the heart will be stopped and she will be put onto a Heart-Lung Machine. If all goes well (which it will) she will be out of hospital after 10 -14 days. Part of the procedure involves putting in a conduit into her heart, this will require replacing later in life too.

Aashima and my wonderful Parus are my inspiration. They are everything to me. I do feel very blessed with everything and everyone I have in my life, but to take my daughter and allow for open heart surgery to be carried out on her is a responsibility i thought i would never have to face. But those are the cards i have been dealt with, and now I must play the game to win, for the sake of my wonderful daughter, Aashima.

Finally, if anyone reading this blog knows of anyone who has undergone the Rastelli procedure ( i know it is very rare indeed) please can they contact me directly on arun@samera.co.uk

Never a dull moment

at The Neem Tree. Not even 3 months open and what a day we had today.
Yes a car straight through the shopfront!!!!! Thankfully no-one seriously hurt however martin our orthodontist did have a very close shave.

Well i guess it does say on the window come and meet our receptionist, i guess the 84 year old gentleman who visited with saab 9-5 forgot to leave the car behind.....all people are fine, thankfully.

Pretty much an adrenaline fueled afternoon - but now the shop is fully boarded up and secured. Tomorrow is another day and now the insurance claims begin!!!

Esher it is business as usual in Esher! The show must go on! The Dental Drive Through is Now Open!

The New Budget - Impact on Dentists

Today's budget from the new coalition government announced several key implications for dentists. In brief we outline the key aspects that will effect dentists in the coming months and years.

VAT increase to 20% from January 2011

The rise in VAT is not good news for dentists. As a VAT exempt service, dentistry will feel the impact of a rise in VAT of 2.5%. For example a practice spending £10,000 on equipment will face an additional £250 cost. Not good news!

Capital Gains Tax

George Osborne announced with effect from midnight tonight a rise in Capital Gains Tax to 28% from 18% for high rate tax payers. As most dentists we work with are high rate tax payers, this again is not so good news.

However, on a better front the entrepreneur relief (available to business owners) which reduces Capital Gains tax to 10% remains in force but with a rise in value from £2m to £5m! So for the entrepreneurial dentist growing their business, this is good news!

Annual Investment Allowances
The Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) will be reduced to £ 25,000 a year with effect from April 2012. Currently the AIA is £100,000 a year. This means in summary you will be better off bringing forward your Capital Expenditure before 2012, as this will help reduce your tax bills earlier. From 2012 the allowance of £25,000 is a big reduction, and hence will not benefit dentists.

Following on from this the capital allowance rate will fall from 20% to 18% in 2012, again not a good thing for dentists, as the level of capital allowances that can be claimed after the annual allowance has fallen.

Income Tax - Increase of the Personal Allowance

Mainly aimed at low income workers, the personal allowance will rise by £1000 from next tax year. This is good news for low pay workers as they may fall outside of this earnings bracket. The eventual aim of the coalition government is to raise the personal allowance to eventually £10,000. The impact on dentists will be minimal.

Small Company Corporation Tax Rate Reduced

This will be reduced by 1% to 20%, making it more tax beneficial to be running a small company. This in effect makes it a more compelling case for incorporation for certain types of dental practices.

In Summary

Tax rises and cuts were expected. However, this budget is a bit of a triple whammy for dentists, as VAT rises by 2.5% and the capital gains tax rises and the annual investment allowance falls, there is not much good news here for dentists.

The only hint of hope comes in the guise of a 1% drop in small company corporation tax for those dental practices which are already incorporated. If you were considering incorporating, this maybe the final straw for you to take that path.

Motivating your team

Watch this - a very worthy 10 minutes!