Today, I spent a good part of my morning at the dentist's office. As I was lying in the dentist's chair while she prepared me for a crown it occurred to me that most dental work is a type of service that people purchase because having your teeth worked on is far better than the alternatives (getting a toothache, or even possibly losing a tooth).
In other words, people go to the dentist for one of several reasons:
- To keep a problem from happening (preventive care)
- To fix a problem that has already occurred.
- To fix something that doesn't look right (cosmetic dentistry)
- Educational approach--if the product or service is a need, determine whether consumers are aware of that need. If they are not, provide information that explains why the product is needed.
- Uniqueness approach--the marketer explains why the consumer should buy the product or service from a particular provider as opposed to others who offer similar products or services.
- Price approach--the marketer offers the best price alternative, either by providing credit or by making the product or service available at a low cost.
