The Ask:

CDSPI is a not-for-profit financial services organization dedicated to serving the Canadian dental community. The organization helps dentists protect what’s important and grow their wealth through advice, insurance, and investment solutions.

CDSPI builds relationships with dentists early in their careers by offering financial education and advice to dental students, as well as life, disability, and dental instrument insurance at no cost while they are still in dental school. While early career dentists represent a sub-group within CDSPI’s overall base of clients and prospects, it was recognized that a one-size-fits-all approach would not yield the stellar results CDSPI was seeking.

CDSPI approached Phase 5 to enhance the perceived value of a relationship with the organization among early-career dentists and to improve engagement and retention metrics. They also sought insights into how early-career dentists make financial decisions to better tailor their services.

The Approach:

To address this challenge, we began by breaking down the broader issue into smaller, more manageable questions. We needed to gain an in-depth understanding of:

1. What is the level of financial literacy among early-career dentists?
2. How do they make financial decisions?
3. How can CDSPI best meet the unique needs of this important group?

By focusing on providing data-driven answers to these specific questions, we would be able help CDSPI develop strategies to address any gaps in engagement and retention among early-career dentists.

We proposed a two-step process: an initial round of qualitative interviews followed by an online quantitative survey. Insights from the qualitative interviews would then inform the content of the survey questionnaire, ensuring it covered all relevant topics.

After both date collection phases were completed and we were ready to move to the data analysis step, we conducted a needs-based segmentation analysis to identify distinct segments based on personal, professional, and financial needs. This process led to the creation of three unique segments, each with specific characteristics, a unique hierarchy of needs, and priorities. 

The Outcome:

The study revealed that early-career dentists generally feel positively about CDSPI, insurance, and the benefits insurance provides. 

One of the drivers of positive perception uncovered in the study is the importance of CDSPI being a not-for-profit organization. This insight presents an opportunity for CDSPI to further weave this unique selling proposition into their messaging.

The research also highlighted that the level of financial literacy of these young dentists is quite low.

These findings point to the strategic possibility of CDSPI leveraging financial education to build value-added relationships early in a dentist’s career. This could be achieved by providing dedicated contacts and offering additional financial services advice, education, products and services.

Through the research Phase 5 also identified current sources of advice and education that early career dentists would tend to turn to before making financial decisions. These insights can enable CDSPI to strategically position itself in those channels to maximize engagement and conversions.

“I'm not the most up to date, it's just sometimes if I'm reading the newspaper or if I'm reading an article online and they have like a link regarding [financial information] I’ll sometimes click it.”

“The knowledge that CDSPI is a not-for-profit company is important to dentists as it means CDSPI is working for their benefit, not for their own bottom line^.”

 “I trust them as a not-for-profit - no ulterior motives.”

The Business Impact:

The research findings informed the development of a comprehensive early-career dentist strategy. This included initiatives such as creating and delivering financial education content, as well as establishing a new role dedicated to proactively and personally connecting with early-career dentists to cultivate value-based relationships.