Miyamoto Musashi, a legendary and undefeated Ronin Samurai, wrote “The Book of Five Rings”, which is a classic text on martial arts. Much as The Art of War (Sun Tzu), Musashi’s book has been interpreted as a general guide to strategy that can be applied to different areas, including dental marketing.
The business world has pulled ideas liberally from military history — why else do you think a marketing effort is called a “campaign?” Much wisdom may be gleaned from the writings of those who spent their lives considering life-or-death situations. The labor forced them to think clearly and consider things from every angle. Hence, YOU can avoid mistakes others fall into and seize success where others cannot see the opportunity. Below are six powerful dental marketing lessons from the formidable warrior-
- Strategy Guides Tactics: Musashi focused on strategic thinking, winning the war, not just the individual battles. While marketing your practice, it is important to have a well-planned strategy (plan) guiding your tactics (actions) to ensure they’re aligned with your overall business goals.
- Know Your Competition: The swordsman emphasized how critical it is to understand your opponent. Similarly, knowing your market competition — their strategies, strengths, and weaknesses — is often the difference between success or failure.
- Perception and Insight: Musashi emphasized the importance of perceiving what is unseen or subtle. In marketing, this could mean understanding underlying consumer needs, market trends, and changes in the competitive landscape.
- Adaptability: Musashi advocated for a style that was flexible and adaptable. In marketing, you MUST stay flexible and adapt to changes in consumer behavior, market conditions, and new technologies. Just as you must stay current with changes in dental technology, you must stay current with marketing trends.
- The Right Weapon for the Right Time: Musashi was known for using two swords, but he stressed the importance of using the appropriate weapon for each situation. This translates easily to marketing your practice. One dental marketing tactic may not work in many situations but thrive in others. You must choose the right tactic, for the right target, and execute it well ot give you the best chances for success.
- Master Your Craft: Musashi believed in continuous learning and perfecting his skills. Similarly, if you are doing the marketing for your practice, you need to constantly update your knowledge and improve your skills in response to changing marketing trends. [Incidentally, one of our core values at LUMN is a principle called Kaizen — which means perpetual improvement.]
If you internalize these lessons, a dominant marketing force you will become!
CONCLUSION
Military strategists understood how to organize great numbers of people performing great numbers of tasks. In fact, the word strategy itself comes from a greek word (stratēgos) which means general. A great marketer utilizes the same formulas.
You must:
Develop a sound strategy that guides tactic selection
Know your competition
Be perceptive
Adapt to the circumstances
Choose the right tactics at the right time
Master the marketing craft
Want to focus your efforts on being a great dentist? Knight us as your marketing warriors and we’ll subdue your market on your behalf!