By the time one reaches the age of 40, one mostly already has some comprehensive experience and can tell a few exciting anecdotes. The Kulzer Mexico team, which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary together with its customers, has a similar experience. Stefan Lugert, Managing Director Kulzer Mexico, and Helen Staufert, Business Development Manager Latin America, report on what customers could and can look forward to around the jubilee, the specific features of the Mexican market and why social media helps them to meet the needs of their followers.
The team at Kulzer Mexico came up with quite a few ideas to let their customers participate in the anniversary. At Alta Tecnica Dental, the largest congress for dental technicians in Latin America, 1,500 dental technicians met at the end of August – and Kulzer was able to offer them a wide range of ceramic lectures, hands-on courses and demonstrations at the booth, which met with great interest. Dental professionals had two more events to look forward to just a few days later: an exclusive HeraCeram course with German KOL Thomas Backscheider and the inauguration of the new training center. In keeping with the anniversary, the launch of Charisma Diamond ONE, a composite for restorations in the single-color technique, is also celebrated in Mexico at around the same time.
“In recent years, we have already increasingly introduced dental laboratory products. With these anniversary events, we wanted to focus on the lab audience in addition to the chairside business. We invite the Mexican dental technicians to get to know our products and solutions on site or during regular webinars and pick up some helpful tips and tricks.”
Stefan Lugert
“We are launching Charisma Diamond ONE in mid-October, which means all distributors who opt for an early start will already have it in stock. Our customers will not only get an online introduction with KOLs we will also do webinars and practical courses. Our customers can look forward to some activities together with KOLs and our customers; we show Mexico that Kulzer is stronger than ever.”
Helen Staufert
It all started with composites and light curing units for chairside treatments: 40 years ago in autumn 1982, the story of Kulzer Mexico began. The German company was one of the first in Europe to offer its products to Mexican customers. A lot has happened since then and nowadays it’s especially the influence from Hollywood, which creates the patient’s desire for a bright white smile.
"The big difference between the markets is that in Europe for example people look for naturalness. So, if you are a 60-year-old person, you expect a slightly darker color of the teeth, because that is the natural. And that is the beauty standard. In many Latin American countries, it is the complete opposite. It doesn’t matter how old you are, you want white teeth." Helen Staufert
When it comes to how Kulzer customers equip themselves with dental products, the dental depot is the first choice in Mexico. Another typical fact in Mexico speaks for the intensive use of these depots: whereas in other markets laboratories or practices focus on storage capacity, in Mexico smaller stocks are preferred. For example, the best-selling packaging for gypsum is 1 kg, for acrylics it is one ounce. And despite a clear affinity for social media, personal contact still counts.
“This is still about personal interaction in the dental depot. People want to touch things, they are very haptic, which is good – because trust plays a significant role. Even though, social media and web shops are on the rise: it is still primarily about personal communication and interaction.” Stefan Lugert
The team of Kulzer Mexico does a lot to be close to its customers and their needs. In addition to virtual courses and face-to-face events, there are also hybrid formats where, for example, training is conducted in the office and broadcast at the same time. In addition, the Mexican team is highly active on social networks, and not just since the start of the Corona pandemic.
“We are happy that our clients appreciate that we move fast in terms of social media and everything we offer there. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we moved immediately to virtual platforms like Facebook. We are proud to have held more than 250 educational events since spring 2020.” Stefan Lugert
Mexico is a country with a remarkably high social media usage, especially Facebook and Instagram are popular. Not only that, but it is also estimated that 90% of people with internet access are active on social media. And the number of followers speaks for itself: on Facebook alone, for example, Kulzer Mexico has nearly 50,000 followers.
“That’s why social media is so important for us as a communication channel – here we can interact directly with our customers, offer courses or lectures. And more than 90% of our growth there is organic, which is amazing.” Helen Staufert
Manager Corporate Communications
Matthias Brehmke