M+ Vision Club: Five Years in the Making, Empowering Dental Leaders with Proven Management Expertise
The present era is both the best and the most challenging time for entrepreneurs in the dental industry.
With continuous economic development, rising per capita disposable income, and growing public awareness of oral health, the market size of the dental care industry in China has been expanding steadily under the encouragement and support of national policies. According to the “2020 White Paper on Dental Care,” the market size of China’s dental medical services industry reached approximately RMB 140 billion in 2018, representing a year-on-year growth of about 24%. Amid this surge in the dental sector, a large number of dental clinics and chain institutions have emerged rapidly. Statistics show that the number of private dental institutions in China exceeded 100,000 in 2020, with an annual increase of more than 10,000.
“We have invested significant time and effort in training physicians for our outpatient clinic. However, amid intense competition, top-tier doctors are heavily targeted by competitors. Their departure would have a substantial impact on the clinic. How can we mitigate this risk?”
“Outpatient clinics wish to grant equity incentives to core physicians, but the design of such plans is critical. Will physicians recognize and appreciate the owners’ contributions and willingness to share? What measures should be taken if a physician departs after receiving incentives? Should the incentives be provided in full upfront? Is it necessary to sign formal agreements?”
“After operating dental clinics for several years and expanding to more branches, losses have continued to mount. Why do smaller-scale clinics remain profitable while chain expansion leads to deficits? How can dental clinic chains turn losses into profits?”
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Many dental professionals have likely encountered the aforementioned concerns. From a macro perspective, the dental healthcare industry is highly market-driven. Although the rapid expansion of the dental market presents significant opportunities, private dental clinics are highly susceptible to survival and development challenges. These challenges stem from numerous operational difficulties, including intensified competition, patient attrition, lagging medical technologies and equipment relative to industry advancements, scarcity of high-quality talent, absence of systematic training mechanisms, persistently high operational and management costs, and issues related to patient satisfaction. Particularly since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, various sectors have faced substantial disruptions. Many dental healthcare providers, which involve direct patient contact, were compelled to suspend services for extended periods. Even some small clinics were forced to shut down due to unsustainable cost burdens, resulting in significant losses.
In the era of de-globalization, it is crucial for every practitioner in the dental industry to leverage effective management strategies to optimize internal operations and ensure the efficient functioning of outpatient services, thereby achieving relatively stable revenue growth.
Amidst fierce industry competition, Meivie Dental Care Group (hereinafter referred to as “Meivie Dental”), founded in 2016, has emerged as a standout player. Its founding team, with years of deep expertise in the dental care sector and a keen understanding of industry dynamics, innovatively introduced and localized the overseas “DSO” (Dental Support Organization) model to suit China’s specific context. Leveraging a “business partner” strategic mechanism, Meivie Dental has expanded its portfolio of high-quality regional brands through both organic growth and mergers and acquisitions. In just five years, it has grown from a single clinic to operating nearly 200 dental clinics and hospitals in core commercial districts of major cities across China, successfully securing its position among the top-tier private dental care providers.
Although Meiwei Dental has ranked among the top players in China’s dental industry, it remains humble about its current achievements. In the view of Zhu Liya, Founding Partner and CEO, the number of clinics is not the core competitive factor for chain dental medical institutions; rather, the true competitive barrier lies in whether management models and philosophies can be effectively implemented.
In July 2021, Meiwei Dental successfully completed its Series B financing and unveiled a new strategic roadmap, further detailing its five-year plan. The company’s distinctive “DSO” Empowerment 2.0 model is set for a comprehensive upgrade to serve more leading domestic dental chain brands and experts, thereby promoting the healthy and sustainable development of the future dental industry. Against this backdrop, the “M-Home Wei Xiang Hui” was launched! This flagship advanced training program for dental practice managers is meticulously crafted by Meiwei Dental, encapsulating the collective expertise honed by its partners over five years. It aims to assist more dental institutions in achieving compliant operations, cultivate high-caliber emerging talent, and establish itself as a premium partner for all dental practices within the industry.
Amid the rapid development of the dental healthcare industry, various business models coexist. As chain expansion accelerates across the sector, standalone practices are increasingly vulnerable to competitive pressures in the future. Meanwhile, regional brands also face intensifying market competition with the influx of new entrants. How to remain resilient and sustainable amidst such competition has become a persistent challenge for many dental brands.
At its core, the key lies in a mature management model and its effective implementation.
“The M Family Weixiang Club” lecturer team integrates core partners of Meiwei Dental with senior industry experts, summarizing and reviewing years of in-depth industry experience to provide M Family members with comprehensive management training covering medical practice, talent development, industry insights, strategy, operations, digital intelligence systems, supply chain, and finance. Additionally, it offers tailored experiential support based on the specific managerial challenges encountered by individual members.
The primary objective of management is to establish trust, disrupting the original ecological balance to create a new equilibrium.
Instructors from the “M Family Wei Xiang Hui” will analyze, from the perspectives of outpatient services, staff, and patients, how to manage key performance indicators, on-site operations, and growth opportunities in the current market environment. Drawing on feedback from all stakeholders, they will explore how to establish standardized SOPs and develop a management mechanism that can be efficiently implemented and executed. This approach aims to ensure medical quality while strictly controlling costs, improving return on investment, and further enhancing profit margins.
To prevent training from becoming disconnected from members’ actual needs, the “M Family Wei Xiang Hui” course series also incorporates MBTI personality assessments and hands-on drills, enabling practical application tailored to members’ real-world requirements and yielding tangible feedback.
In addition to face-to-face lectures, “M Family Wei Xiang Hui” offers members exclusive “Private Sharing Sessions” for in-depth discussions and mentorship, aiming to provide practical answers to their questions. Furthermore, “M Family Wei Xiang Hui” equips members with a robust “Resource Arsenal,” including three months of free access to the Weixiaomei Medical Cloud Intelligent Management Platform and related support services, as well as complimentary three-month services at the Central Implant Consultation Center and the Central Orthodontic Consultation Center.
2021 marked the inaugural year of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan, during which investments in hard technology, frontier technologies, and digital transformation became key drivers propelling the development of the tech industry. Meowii Dental will continue to center its strategy on “Healthcare + Technology + Partners,” striving to set an industry benchmark through continuous growth and leveraging brand influence to promote the healthy and sustainable development of the sector. Through this initiative, Meowii Dental also aims to foster positive interactions among its members across various resources, including clinical services, cutting-edge technologies, information systems, industrial resources, university-enterprise collaborations, and social welfare initiatives. This effort is designed to support industry partners in upgrading their competitive advantages and driving innovative development, enabling all stakeholders to move forward steadily and achieve long-term success.