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In the initial years of his business, the own- er of the clinic often feels dissatisfied with his job. After just two years he decides to change his strategy and includes implant dentistry in his treatment portfolio. In the following 2.5 years he inserts 250 implants. He finds the work easy and enjoys his new tasks. It is also clear that this shift explicit- ly enables the clinic to reach its financial goals. For these reasons, a second strategy change is implemented: Implant dentistry is now the specialist focus of the clinic. The target patient clientele shifts primarily to older patients. Because his clinic has its own laboratory and because the clinic had a fixed position in the market as a pros- thetic clinic for many years, it is clear that is not possible to now build up a stable group of regular referrers. The clinic there- fore continues to operate autonomously. The owner of the clinic passionately places himself at the center of the communica- tion and in this way uses his own personal- ity to differentiate his clinic in the market. The ingenious communication concept for the clinic considered a range of communi- cation instruments such as a patient event concept to penetrate the market environ- ment to an appropriate degree and thus to ensure a continuous intake of new pa- tients wanting implants. The autonomous alignment in turn allows the clinic to catch the attention of potential patients. Summary: Formulating a strategic position- ing – particularly taking your own preferenc- es into account – combined with specialist expertise would have resulted in the clinic focusing on implant dentistry. Changing strategy twice over the course would not have been necessary. This preliminary strat- egic work would have critically influenced important areas such as the type of busi- ness established, the communication mod- el chosen, and ultimately even the choice of staff. Be yourself In the second example, a clinic positions itself as an ultra-modern referral clinic with multiple practitioners and a clearly defined treatment portfolio – the complete range of dental surgery. However, this does not differentiate the clinic in the local area be- cause a dental colleague offers the same clinic concept. The clinic wants to offer state-of-the-art dentistry at a continuously superior level and again, this does not differentiate the clinic from others. To justify this approach, the clinic places enormous value on the professional development of both the den- tists and the support staff. High quality, interdisciplinary, and friendly collaboration with colleagues in other disciplines is also a key component of the clinic concept. To intensify the collaborations, the clinic offers a fixed event concept with in-house training programs and live surgery. The target patient clientele will be heter- ogeneous and be very interested in their own health. The insurance status does not play a role. The clinic owners are perfectionists and passionate about their work, and they are convinced that you can only be really good if you really love your work. The fun and pleasure experienced by all members of the team at work are palpable in the clinic. Summary: The high level of specialist ex- pertise, the interdisciplinary collaborations with other medical practitioners, and the pleasure in the work are the factors that are drawn on in the communication and contribute to differentiation in the market environment. Go your own way In the final example, the clinic owner ini- tially narrows the potential target group of her clinic before the clinic positioning: Her dream patients are well-off clientele, pri- marily international business clients, who want high-quality restorations. For the clinic owner, a high standard of living is important and she would like to experience this in her clinic as well. The clinic is intended to be an expression of her personality. Unlike most of her den- tal colleagues, she therefore restricts her target patient group dramatically. From a demographic perspective, income, age, and profession play a role. Psychographic variables such as class identity and lifestyle are also critical. Deciding where to locate the clinic is based on this segmentation. The owner of the newly established business se- lects a combination of innovation, target group, and service positioning: The clin- ic will be an innovative clinic, tailored to a specific homogeneous target group 23 CLINICAL MANAGEMENT