In an exclusive interview with Dean Remmington, Sales Area Manager of Anglian Dental – UK Diplomat business partner, we delved into the intricate landscape of the UK dental market to gain insights into the evolving needs of dentists and dental units.
30 years in the British dental market provides your company with immense analytical potential. In your opinion, what do British dentists need the most? Access to modern equipment, access to modern education, peace and quiet…? Or perhaps something completely different?
Dean Remmington: The most important factors for British dentists are having reliable equipment, accompanied by good service and technical back-up. Across the UK, there are also regional differences when it comes to preferences on equipment brands and style of delivery system.
And when it comes to purchasing trends for dental units. OK, sure, this is equipment that isn’t bought every month or even every year, unless someone is expanding their practice. But have you noticed a change in dentists’ needs in this regard? What were they paying attention to in the past, and what about now?
Dean Remmington: Yes, there has a been a change in how often equipment is purchased or replaces. Dental chairs, for example, are probably now replaced every 15 years, which is more often than it used to be.
Does the British dentist value reliability, design, quick service, or is price the most crucial factor for them?
Dean Remmington: The most crucial factor is reliability and fast, easy to access, customer service which are by far the most important. Price is key but it varies depending on where you are in the UK as to how much this is overriding factor.
What is Anglian Dental’s greatest success, and what is its biggest challenge?
Dean Remmington: Anglian Dental’s greatest success is a strong, well-organised service department and our rapid response to customer enquiries and issues.
Our biggest challenge is lower-priced competitors in our marketplace who appear to promise the equivalent or better service than us but, in the end, not delivering.
It’s not a secret that Anglian Dental and Diplomat Dental have recently started a business partnership (Diplomat products were already available on the British market). Why did you decide to expand your product portfolio with Diplomat dental unit models? What potential do you see in them?
Dean Remmington: We see great potential in Diplomat dental units. We have found them to offer quality equipment at fair prices, with some unique features. Overall, the good build quality and the range of optional extras is why we decided to partner with Diplomat.
You don’t need to be a marketing expert, but it’s clear to see that you’re doing a great job with communication, website content, showcasing interesting case studies, and collecting feedback from satisfied customers. Could you share some advice for Diplomat Dental dealers from other countries, from different continents? What works well, what should they consider doing?
Dean Remmington: The key to what we have achieved is having a focus on content marketing. By sharing various forms of media that we have created in-house (blog articles, testimonial videos, how-to videos, staff updates) we can stimulate interest in not only our products and services bit also in the Anglian Dental team itself. By having reviews from our customers as visible as possible, this approach helps us establish our expertise in the marketplace.
