How the 7-Second Rule Can Make or Break Patient Trust

[00:00:06] Welcome everybody to the GrowOrtho live stream. I'm so excited for this one because I have Matt Arnold with us, our branding guru, if you will. How are you doing, Matt? And I'm great. Thanks for having me. Yes, good to be here. I'm excited because we're going to be jumping in. We're going to be discussing all the stuff. But let us know how you're doing down in the comments below. And if you have any questions, go ahead, pop them in the chat. We'll answer questions as we go.

[00:00:35] So, Matt has put together a really cool, like, why branding matters and that it's not just a logo. That's kind of crazy to think. I know, right? It's not just a logo. Isn't that what branding is? I thought that's what branding was. Yeah, the sell of, oh, it's just a logo, you know, the fiber and everything. But, you know, I want us to kind of jump into this. You brought up this thing we were talking the other day and that branding is an iceberg.

[00:01:02] And I just wanted to pull this up. You know, the logo is literally just the little bit that you see. And then the brand is the whole entire iceberg. Yeah, it's pretty incredible. You know, you mentioned Fiverr earlier and then, you know, branding isn't just a logo. I think so many people get sold on the fact that when they get a branding package, they get a logo and they're like, sweet, this is it.

[00:01:23] I'm ready to go. I've got a business. And I think it's exciting to get a logo and it finally feels like it's real. But I do want to break it down into an iceberg because it's something visual I think we can all think about. The logo is really just the little tiny top tip of the iceberg. And really what matters, what we're going to talk about today, is that everything below the surface is really actually what matters.

[00:01:46] So that's kind of like your website. Like if you had uniforms, like if you're at an orthodontic practice, your scrubs, like what's on them, the colors, all of the things, not just, oh, yeah, that's, you know, doctor such and such as practice, you know, or something smile or, you know, it's more than that. Yeah. I mean, those are all the things you see. And there's actually research that shows that people get a first impression about you within seven seconds.

[00:02:13] And so we're going to talk about how branding is actually that, not as much a logo. Yeah. Uniforms, the way your business looks, all that is important. Of course, you have to have that in place, but really it's the things that you don't see, the things that you feel. Right. And we were talking about the Titanic and I mean, you know, it's one of those things where they only saw the tip of the iceberg and didn't realize there was so much more below.

[00:02:38] And obviously to their demise and to many other practices, demises, that can be something that can make or break what people think about you. Yeah. And I think it's so important for us to realize that we can go deeper. So let's jump into this. Let's go a little bit deeper now that we see, oh, OK, here's the visible. Here's the invisible. Like it just kind of starts blowing your mind, like what actually goes into having a brand.

[00:03:06] Yeah. I think it's interesting, too, when people hire a brand designer, they don't actually realize how much goes into it. You know, I've heard people say, oh, wow, it's going to take you this long to do a logo. I heard one time Pepsi paid two million dollars for their logo and people were like, wait, they paid two million dollars for an icon, like a little thing on a Pepsi can. And it's like, well, no, they actually paid for all the research that went into it, all of the different elements that that went into establish who does Pepsi want to be.

[00:03:35] Right. They were trying to rebrand themselves to a different generation. Yeah. And so when we look at the iceberg, you can see at the top. Yeah, it's your presentation. How do you look? Of course, you want to be, you know, kept and you want to look great and you want to be professional. But colors, name, those are great and you need them. But at the bottom, it's the invisible things that matter. Your communication. How's your front desk, you know, talking to patients? What do you what does that patient feel like when they get to your practice?

[00:04:05] What is the language that they use? How do they use it? Do they have a smile on their face that they have a bad day? So they brought it in with them or did they leave it at the door where they know, hey, this is the way we need to be a professional in front of our patients strategy. Right. People don't come to your practice and immediately see strategy, but they feel it. Because if your people are in unison, if they're doing things that look like they're they're aligning with that practice's vision, you feel it.

[00:04:33] As a patient, there's just something about when you walk into a practice, upbeat music, the environment, the smell, which we'll talk more about. All of those things matter. Even the core values, things that you talk about in a meeting internally matter because they come out externally when you start seeing your customers, per se. In your in your building. And I think a lot of people get into the thought process that the what's under the surface is intangible.

[00:05:02] Oh, we we can't figure it out, you know, that something, you know, and it's it's stuff that you can actually do and apply and be successful. But it's uncomfortable to do. It is something that just takes time and effort. And when you're running a practice, that's usually the thing that goes by the wayside. It's like we got a cool logo and, you know, we've got fires to put out. That's right. Yeah. Logo and a website and let's just go.

[00:05:30] We got to start seeing people, you know, and it's really I would encourage all the practices out there to take time. You can't afford not to. This is the type of thing that, again, somebody comes into your practice and they make a decision whether they want to come back based on these things. It's not always the things up top. It's the things below the surface. And again, those are the things that you said that some people think are intangible. And yes, maybe you can't put your your finger on it.

[00:05:57] But when you walk into a practice and you experience a smell of, I don't know, warm cookies, I mean, you're probably more likely to come back because you're thinking of grandma's cookies. Yeah. Right. Because scent is one of the best ways to jog a memory. Yeah. I can wear curved cologne and go right back to high school. You know? Yeah. I haven't heard curved cologne in a long time. That's a brand. But it's just like, you know, like the warm cookie thing when there's an open house. What does a realtor do?

[00:06:27] They put some cookies in there. And yes, it's a treat for the people coming in, but it's to make it feel like a home. Yeah. If you ever walk by a Cinnabon and they have a fan behind the cinnamon rolls, that's branding. Yeah. Because they're wanting you to get a sense of what that experience could be like if you put your teeth on one of those, you know, Cinnabon. Cinnabon. Yeah. Cinnabon. Cinnamon rolls. I can't say the word.

[00:06:52] But yeah, it's just one of those where it has so much more to do than just the look, the positioning, the purpose, and everything. And I wanted to bring up Tropicana's like redesign. Have you heard? Did you see this? I'll be honest. I haven't seen it. Okay. I don't think I have. Tropicana did a redesign, and this was back in 2009. Okay. And they spent $35 million on this redesign. Wow. So Pepsi's got nothing on Tropicana. Yeah. Wow.

[00:07:19] So they built this whole redesign, and it took away a lot of the elements that people realized. Oh, that's Tropicana. So when they put it out on shelves, people were like, well, where's Tropicana? They didn't realize that that was the new branding, so they thought it was just a new orange juice brand. Oh, wow.

[00:07:38] So they lost a ton of revenue just from this rebrand, and they decided to actually switch back to the old branding because the new one, all in all, it cost them like $50 million on this branding disaster. Something that makes me think of branding in that way is where you've seen these big brands go back to a retro look. One of my first jobs was actually at Burger King at 16 years old. We had this really cool newly designed logo.

[00:08:08] It was fresh. It came out of the 80s where it was like very straight and flat, regular hamburger. Well, they kind of took it diagonally and made it a little bit more fresh. So that went all through the 90s, and now if you look at it, they've gone back to the retro logo. They've rebranded everything, everything. Maybe there's a few nuances.

[00:08:29] They've gone back to the logo from the 80s that has the straight bun, and it's because those millennials that grew up with those logos, they're letting them re-experience what they did when they were a kid and reminding them, hey, we are the Burger King that you had. And there's others, like Pizza Hut's done the same thing. There's just a few examples. But if you do it wrong, like Tropicana, you can lose a lot. Yeah. So let's go a little bit further on this iceberg and everything.

[00:08:58] Like what is beneath the service of a strong brand? Yeah, so these are the things that I would say have to do with, for example, brand promises, right? Those are the things that you commit to delivering every day. Like what are you promising to your customers? Another thing is patient experience. Obviously, you want every interaction from phone calls to even the post-treatment when they get retainers to be impeccable.

[00:09:25] And I'm reading something right now that talks about being impeccable with your word. And I think about that patient experience and that promise. Something else that's below the service would be team culture, right? So how your team behaves, how they feel. Again, when you walk to that front desk, what is it like? Do they just check in like a number or did they actually have a connection with you? How was your day? Not too personal, but just get enough to where it actually feels like they care that you're there, right?

[00:09:54] Yeah, and how they interact with one another. That's a big one. Oh, well, there's no patience around, but it's like you might be just around the corner and you're hearing everything. That's right. How many times you walked in somewhere and you've got even two sales reps or employees talking to each other and you've been there for a minute and they don't see you. And you're like, well, they must be more interested in them than they are in me coming in. And another one would be similar to your point, voice and tone, right? How you sound in the messaging.

[00:10:24] Even written, right? So not just verbally, but how does that text message sound when it gets sent out? You know, does it sound too professional and stuffy or is it like friendly and warm and human, right? We want to connect with other humans. Even your social media. You can have a voice and tone in your social media. And this is huge because what you put out there can't just be a set it and forget it and be like, well, this is what it is. I guess people will see this and we'll be good to go.

[00:10:52] It's like, no, this has everything to do with who you want to be perceived as. And then finally, I would say values. This is where what you prioritize as a practice gets fleshed out through nonverbal and verbal communication. And I think with especially millennials and younger demographics, they want to feel like they are cared for. They don't want the corporate experience. Right.

[00:11:20] And you see this within churches. You see this like in everything, even clothing. It's like they want that very bespoke kind of feeling. And if you're not doing that, then you're not going to reach that. If they're just filling a number, they're going to be able to see that. And if you're not valuing them, you know, not just for the money, but, you know, the whole thing.

[00:11:45] And voice and tone, like I know that the front desk is like the gateway to it. But if it's if you feel inconvenience in anyone's tone at any point, that is a roadblock. Yeah, that's right. And that is a potential like, oh, I can get off here. Yeah. And many people, you know, when they go to work, they they kind of take it for granted. Right. They kind of come in. They do their thing. It becomes very routine.

[00:12:13] But what's not routine is the patient. The patient is not used to this routine. So even though the team can get very used to what's going on, sometimes that can can get you because you then start getting more casual and you start getting more lax. And that, again, goes back to the brand promises. Every day is your team coming in going, all right, these are the brand promises I'm going to live out today.

[00:12:36] So if you don't, for example, something practical, if you don't have them on the wall, if you don't have them somewhere that are visible, it's just like if you have goals. Well, you want to print those out somewhere and keep them in front of you or give them put them on the home screen of your phone. Same thing with team members. If they're not looking at it every day, it's very easily forgotten. And again, the patient is not coming into something routine. So they're expecting something not routine. And if it feels that way, they're going to sniff it out. And they're yeah, they're going to go across the street.

[00:13:04] It's like going on a road trip and you're going and you've got your GPS and then you start ignoring the GPS and it keeps going rerouting, rerouting. The further you get away from the directions, it's harder to get to that destination, the goals that you're setting. So how can doctors or managers know if their brand iceberg is aligned? Yeah, it's a good question.

[00:13:32] You know, all the things we talked about a second ago with values and voice and tone, all of that informs perception, right? We're talking about perception and perception drives trust. So I would recommend starting by asking five questions, right? Okay. So yeah. So five questions. First thing I would say is what do we say our brand is? It's as simple as saying like, who are we? What do we, who do we want to be? You can be whoever you want. So what is it, right?

[00:14:01] I think that sounds so simple and elementary, but if you haven't established that, you can't get these other, other four, right? Another question is what do our, what do our patients experience, right? And the only way to find that out is to try to become a patient, to think about it from their perspective. And number three would be, are those two things aligned? I mean, is what you say you are and what they experience the same thing? Because if it's not, guess what? You have poor branding, right?

[00:14:31] Number four, what behaviors, environments or touch points might be out of sync? This kind of goes along with those first three questions, but this goes a little bit deeper into, well, is the smell the way I want people to perceive? Is the music, you know, if you have rock music on, but you really want a classical feel when you walk in, well, then obviously those things are incongruent. They don't make sense. And then five, does our internal culture support the brand we show externally?

[00:14:57] So basically, does your team actually align with this? Are they living this out every day? Mm-hmm. This reminds me of a book, and I suggest anyone to read this. It's called Unreasonable Hospitality by Bill, or Will Guardia. He went from like the 50th best restaurant into the world to number one. Oh, wow.

[00:15:25] And his whole thing was, we can serve the greatest food. We can have all this thing, but what if somebody likes coffee and all we have is just run-of-the-mill coffee? What if they like, you know, beer and all we have is like an in-bottle, you know? Yeah. And just taking all of that, and it was like, okay, he took his best people and his staff and went to all the restaurants that were on the list with him.

[00:15:55] And instead of going, okay, what did they do well? It was, what did they suck at? Mm-hmm. And it was like, okay, we can't suck at this. And the beer and the coffee was one of the things that they saw over and over because a lot of times you go to these fancy restaurants, it's all about the wine. They have the sommelier. They do all of this. But the beer guy is over here just like, man, I just want a beer or whatever. You know what I mean?

[00:16:19] And that's the same thing with orthodontics is like, how are we serving our patients? Because somebody might be coming in and they're deathly afraid of dental work. They had a bad experience. You can't treat them the same way as somebody that is just excited to be there and ready to get, you know, their rubber bands on for the first time. It's a totally different thing and a different process.

[00:16:46] And you have to be able to serve them in the right way. And I think part of branding is knowing your audience, right? And so it sounds to me like with that story, it's like, well, if we're just going to serve cheap beer and, you know, we're not going to reach a certain demographic that we could be missing out on, right? And it doesn't mean be everything to all people. But the things that you do, if you're a restaurant, have great drinks, right? So, I mean, that's something that a normal restaurant would provide. It's not like you're just having food and you're like, sorry, we don't serve drinks here.

[00:17:15] Yeah, you're going to have to scarf that down. Right? So if you're going to have a restaurant, have great food and drinks, right? Because people are coming for the experience. And really, when you think about it, you're not just branding for vanity. That's what I think about when it's like, well, there's this beautiful restaurant. It has amazing food. But then you get there and then some of it, you know, kind of literally sucks, right? Well, you're branding for trust and memory.

[00:17:40] So do you want that memory to be positive or do you want them to never come back again because of cheap beer or whatever it is? It could be anything. It could be the way the server spoke to you or rushed you because they were so busy they had to get to another table. Or maybe they were thinking about their tips. And so they're like, well, let me get them out so we can kind of churn and burn, right? That is not the experience people are looking for. Yeah. You want to think about you in that situation. You already talked about this. It's like the patient experience.

[00:18:07] It's like, how do you feel when that happens to you? And I know like the day-to-day, it's hard to kind of be in that constantly. But it's like if you set up these core values, these systems, these things, the way that you're going to react every time, it just becomes second nature. It's a habit at that point. That's right. And that's what you want. But we've all been in that place where it's like you can tell they just want you to get out of there. Yeah.

[00:18:34] You know, and it's like nowhere near closing time. Yeah. I mean, you can sense it in the room. They're bringing out the broom. You know, you're like, wait, it's like 30 minutes. I mean, I confess in my retail days, we'd be like, oh, it's so slow. We have an hour. But you have that one customer walk in, and I worked in a jewelry store when I was in college, and I remember, you know, about to close up early. You're starting to count the jewelry like we had to do every night, and somebody comes in, and he's ready to buy an engagement ring. Yeah. Well, guess what he sees?

[00:19:02] He sees you closing up, and he's like, well, they must not be serious about providing, you know, service. And so they walk over to another place, and this happened. Walked over to another – this was in a mall. You know, he walked over to another jewelry store and saw him walking out with a bag for another company. Yeah. And all that was because we were in a rush to get out, and he didn't see that we were – that our brand was in it to serve him, even if that was one night out of 365.

[00:19:29] Yeah, and that is going to be his story. That's right. Every time. It's like, yeah, such and such jeweler didn't have time for me. That's why I always go to X. That's right. And that's the same thing with orthodontics, dentist, anything. The other thing is, like, as soon as somebody feels that, like, their time was more valuable than my time, they're going to write you off, and you've already warmed them up for the next person. Yeah, that's right.

[00:19:56] I mean, because when you think about humans, we want to be known and we want to be seen. And I think there is a culture out there where it is all about me, me, me. And I think people are somewhat surprised when they get genuine customer service where you actually feel like, wow, they care. They look enthusiastic about their job. They look kept. And there's actually a great book. You mentioned a book earlier. It reminds me of a book called Be Our Guest. It's actually written by the Disney Institute.

[00:20:25] And I'll pull up my notes here because there's a few things in here. But basically it talks about, you know, how to have an unforgettable experience, right? It gives practical tips. Their biggest thing is, of course, creating a loyal customer base. How much do we see Disney everywhere? I mean, they start with Pampers, right? Talk about good branding. You know, I have three kids and each one of them got Disney Pampers from the hospital. That's pretty clever, right? Like, hey, let's get into the hospitals with Pampers. You know, they're coming together.

[00:20:55] Amazing branding, right? So when you think about they tell that story from birth to when you're a parent and have your own kids, that's a beautiful story of branding. How are you doing it in your practice? How are you creating that experience where, you know, you're creating a confident smile. You're creating better self-esteem. Things that are intangible, right? Yeah. And because of that, they're going to remember you and tell that story forever. And I think that's what we're talking about here. We're talking about sensory. We're talking about culture.

[00:21:25] All the things that feel sometimes hard to grasp. But that's the important stuff. It can almost become generational. Yes. If you do it right. Right. So let's talk about sensory. You've kind of brought that up a few times. And I think this is something that, if done well, can just change the game. Right. So how can sensory and culture components actually feed into branding? Yeah. Well, one of the most powerful is scent.

[00:21:55] And I bring that up a lot because, again, you know, we joke about Curve Cologne. But you can smell something and it takes you immediately back to the moment in your life. It's almost like you've maybe even haven't thought about that moment until you just smelt something. And it's just because it's so powerful. Right. So I would talk about sensory in the way that, you know, like, again, going back to Be Our Guest, it's like Disney. And, you know, I have kids, so I've taken them to Disney. And, you know, you walk into these rides. Like, for example, I'll name one practical ride.

[00:22:25] You can thank me if you haven't ridden this ride. You can go and experience it. But it's Avatar's Pandora ride where you fly and there's a big screen in front of you. Well, they are pumping scent air into that building so that when you go back to that ride years later, you remember what that last experience was like. And then you immediately connect it to the current one. And then you remember it for years to come. And to this day, and this is funny, but I bought this, like, soap.

[00:22:53] And it's all because I went up and smelled it. And it smelled like the Pandora ride. This is probably TMI. But, hey, I bought this soap. And I'm like, now I love it. And it reminds me of those great memories. Now, am I really connecting that, like, directly in that moment? Maybe not. But it reminds me of the fun that I had. So when I say smell, like, okay, Matt, are you saying I've got to go buy this scent air machine? And, you know, we're not being sponsored or anything.

[00:23:20] But it's one of those things where, like, should I go buy something to put in my office? And I would say yes. Whatever it is. If it's a pleasant smell and it's tied to you and the experience they had there as long as it was pleasant. Now, if it's unpleasant, that's a different thing, right? Get rid of that smell quickly. But if it's a great experience, then that smell will always remind you of that, right? I got braces at 16 years old. I can't tell you what it smelled like. I can't. I mean, obviously, it was much different back then.

[00:23:49] Technology has come along. My wife had headgear. She wishes she had braces now instead of back then. Yeah. But, you know, you think back to those and I can't think of a time where I actually, I can't think of an amazing experience, right? But I bet you I could have if some of these sensory things were a part of it. Well, I know Dr. Sonic, we've had him on the Grow Ortho podcast and he talked about his, he's like all about aromatherapy in his office.

[00:24:17] He's like, I've, you know, got somebody to come in and do all of this because he knows how like olfactory actually like does something. And you brought up like cologne and all of that. My wife, anytime we go on a date, she wears the same perfume that she wore on our first date. So she connects that and everything. And it's just like little things like that.

[00:24:41] But it's like, oh, you know, the soap, you it's tying it to a good experience that every time you go in there, you're like, oh, yeah, I remember last time. And it's you're not doing it consciously. The subconscious is back there working, you know, for the doctor essentially set it up. Yeah, exactly. And what's like, like you said, your wife wears that that perfume. My wife wears certain perfume when we go to the mountains because it's that perfume that I can then bring back.

[00:25:10] It's like, OK, we had this week vacation. It was amazing. I wish we could bottle up and take it with us. Well, we do. Yeah, we take it back with us in the types of colognes we wear. And it's funny. We'll even change those out if we want to experience something different and have a separate memory. That's amazing. Right. It's amazing. So, again, sensory doesn't just, you know, have to do with smell. I mean, we're talking upbeat music. Right. My daughter's actually in treatment with Fishbein Orthodontics here in town. And, I mean, I walk in their office and they've got upbeat music.

[00:25:38] I feel like I'm in, you know, a retail store buying clothing or something. I'm just I'm having a good time. I'm doing something I like. Clean design. Gentle lighting. I mean, if you have hospital lighting everywhere and it's fluorescent, I mean. Nobody looks good. Those pictures aren't going to turn out great. Right. And you're just going to have just this harsh tone. And people won't know exactly what it is. That's what's so crazy, Zach, is it's under the iceberg. They're not going to know what hit them, but they're going to know something's not right. You know?

[00:26:08] And so, again, gentle lighting, warm. Kind of, you know, I'm getting a little technical here, but go a little bit different on the Kelvin scale. Instead of going 6,000K, which is a little science-y, right? We're talking to doctors. I would go down into the 3,000K, get a little bit more warm, like we have the studio lighting that's pleasant. It should feel like home in a way. Like that's the kind of lighting you're trying to go because home lighting is always a warmer tone compared to, you know, you're out in the office or whatever.

[00:26:38] That is going to be daylight lighting. Yeah, exactly. And, man, it's going to bring people's guards down as well. Yeah. And you're actually going to start more patience if you're bringing guards down. That is key. I'm glad you said that because people are like, man, I tuned into this branding talk and I thought I was going to get logo design. And here I am talking about nothing but. Yeah. And, of course, it's important. But, yes, you can actually remove barriers, right?

[00:27:04] The whole idea of customer service is removing barriers and serving them, right, and serving them well. So one example of this, and this kind of goes along with sensory and a little bit of culture, is I'll go back to Disney since I had some notes here on Be Our Guest. But they actually realized that there was a lot of trash being thrown around Disney, and it was starting to get a little bit out of control. And so they did some research, and I don't know how they came to this. I'll have to read up more on this.

[00:27:31] But they came to the conclusion that if they put a trash can every certain amount of feet that the human brain would think, oh, there's a trash can right over there. I'll go throw it in. What they did was they made it convenient for people to throw trash away. Well, it's going to be four times the amount of trash cans, but Disney said who cares? If it means a cleaner environment and less upkeep, then we'll do it.

[00:27:54] And not only that, they even have some tunnels underneath some of the trash cans to pull the trash out underneath so that they don't have to be seen doing it in front of you because trash doesn't look great. Who wants to see trash at Disney, right? Yeah, it's not clean. It's not family friendly. It reminds me of like New York and like the 80s. It's just like dirty and all of that. But it's that experience, and you can go to kind of like the gustatorial.

[00:28:23] So it's like how does your – I don't know. I haven't done – I'm thinking about dental. It's like how the wax or whatever they're putting on, it's like how can you get that to taste as good as you possibly can? Because I remember when I was a kid, it was like, oh, my God, this full ride is awful. And they have to preface it. They're like, we're sorry. This is about to be a poor experience. They don't say that, but they're alluding to it, and you're like, great, here we go.

[00:28:53] Now every time you go back to the dentist, you're expecting to get some really bad wax, right? I have a small mouth, so they have to put a contraption in my mouth. Same. You know, every time – they're like open wide. I'm like, this is as wide as it gets. And I think of the dentist now as having to go and get that dang contraption in my mouth, right? It's inconvenient. It's not that nice of an experience. Right, which it's not their fault. I will give them credit. But still, it's one of those where what can you do to make it great?

[00:29:22] And really with all of this, it really boils down to just is this place trustworthy and worth choosing? That's it. I mean, when you think about all this, you're like, wow, these guys are talking about all this kind of environmental stuff and these scents. I mean, do you want people to trust you? And to do that, you have to connect with them. So do you have any concrete examples that we can share with everybody? Yeah, I actually do.

[00:29:49] And this is the experience – I'll preface it with this. It went well. So this isn't like, oh, wow, it was amazing, and then it was totally bad afterwards or once I got there. I recently stayed at a hotel during AAO. It was just recently. And what I was able to see was some pictures we'll bring up for you guys. And this is what you walk into. First, it's a revolving gold, you know, revolving door. And this is a Hyatt. It's not like the Ritz. It's not like anything crazy.

[00:30:17] But they have taken a historic approach with sort of this elegance and formal, almost like a 50s look when you get up to the desk. It had these little, like, tassels everywhere. It was just really cool. I like that. I say 50s. I could be really off on the era. It's kind of giving me art deco in a way. Yes, very art deco, even the room.

[00:30:38] And so the first thing I noticed, and again, I'm a scent guy, so I walk in and I immediately smell this old-fashioned, just amazing, I can't even describe it. It almost had like this musk but not super masculine smell. And so every time I went back to the hotel, I'm like, yes, I'm here again. Yes. Sleep, you know, gym, all that, right? And we'll see the gym in a second. But the front desk, this is what I noticed.

[00:31:05] I get there, and they have specific language you know that they've scripted but made actually feel natural to where they were like, hey, just a gentle reminder, blank, blank, blank. They would say something. I remember those two words because I'm like, when have you ever heard gentle reminder? Yeah. But they say it in a way that's like, hey, I just want to remind you. Well, that's different than saying just a gentle reminder. You're like, oh, I actually feel served. I actually feel like I like to hear that, right?

[00:31:33] And so that was the first impression of a person there, the language they used, right? The environment, obviously you can tell it looks amazing. And then the lighting, right? You can see just obviously very warm lighting. You're not walking into, again, a hospital. I love the curtains. It's just got texture to it. Yes. The carpeting.

[00:31:57] Yes, there are some hard surfaces, but you're still getting this warm, it's opulent, but it's not gaudy. Exactly. Yeah. It looks like it could be overdone, but actually when you walk inside, there's actually some element of simplicity throughout. And I think that comes from that Art Deco era. But yes, you can look at this and think, wow, that's very glamorous. But when you're in the space, very well done.

[00:32:24] Light music that's just relaxing, a lot of places to sit. But for some reason, even if people don't sit, having places to sit actually helps, even if they stand. Because it has, again, like you said, a feeling that you're at home, right? And then I'll take you to the next thing that I thought was incredible. Let's just say we lived in this gym. This was a four-story gym. Wow. I've never heard of anything like it.

[00:32:49] I thought it was like an NFL facility because you've got this football field thing here. It looks amazing. And that's just one floor. And so I had to do a 15 to 20-minute walkthrough just to marvel at everything. It was 100,000 square feet of gym space. They had studio rooms with sessions that you could do Pilates and all kinds of things. Then they had a track.

[00:33:16] They had all of this turf, all the machines you could think of. I mean, if they didn't have it, then, you know, you'd be very shocked. They had sauna, steam room, cold plunge. I mean, there's a photo here of a cold plunge and a hot tub next to each other. And people were getting in one and getting out of the other. And let me just tell you, that's the coldest water I think I've felt. Really? Yeah. They were – I think it was like a brisk 46 degrees. Like it reminds me of like the Japanese, like their bathhouses and everything.

[00:33:44] They will have a cold plunge and like a hot bath and everything right beside each other. And just when I thought the hotel was enough just walking into it, she told me about the gym. And this is funny. I'm at the front desk and she's telling me about the gym. And she's like, yeah, we have this state-of-the-art gym here. I'm like, okay, everybody says that. Yeah. Right? State-of-the-art gym. It's going to be a little hotel gym, you know. Yeah, they got a treadmill from the 80s. Yeah. Three dumbbells. And I'm like, great, I'm going to have to go on a run, you know, do the Rocky run because it was in Philly, right? Which we didn't get to do.

[00:34:12] But when I go back – but yeah, so when I get there and she's telling me about the gym, I joke. I'm joking completely. I'm like, and a cold plunge? And she goes, yes, we actually do have a cold plunge. I can't tell you. I'm just like, wow. They are delivering on this as a state-of-the-art gym. And – well, and it's like you go to like Philadelphia or anywhere when you're traveling, you're not spending a ton of time at the hotel. Exactly.

[00:34:38] But it's like all of these amenities are there just in case you want to use them. Yeah. And when you're thinking about your practice, it's like, well, how, you know, how can I do that just in case? Right. And, you know, it's interesting too because there's a fine balance, right? Yes. It's not like you have – you have to have a movie theater in your practice. They're awesome. They're great. But it also doesn't mean you have to have nothing, right?

[00:35:06] So there's these extremes and, you know, to each its own. But what does your demographic look for? I think it has to come down to knowing your audience. And again, they know the people that are going to stay here are probably going to be looking for a gym like this. That's what I suspect because they wouldn't have this for no reason. Now, there were some residences above where they obviously could use it and the gym had an agreement with the hotel. But how amazing is that? Now, guess where I want to go when I stay in Philly? I'm going there.

[00:35:36] I'm not looking anybody else up. I'm not even going to try because they've won me over. And that's the branding that they were able to deliver on. Now, I could have gotten there and it could have been a dump. You know, it could have been old, like you said, treadmills. And I would have been like, oh, that was just another hotel. It's all good. I mean, they make me want to sign up for a membership program and I don't even live there. You're just flying back up to Philly every time. You know, and that's the impressive thing. Like Dr. Bryce, he literally was talking to me when we went up to Nashville.

[00:36:04] He was like, yeah, I just saw a dude. He drove from Louisiana up there to get his braces. Wow. Because he saw Dr. Bryce's practice and was enamored with it. He was like, I had to come to you. Wow. And he has a very unique brand. And so when you look at his website and the way that we designed it with, you know, a certain type of feel, he's going after a certain demographic. He knows who he's going after. Yeah. And that's not the only one.

[00:36:33] He's like, yeah, I've got people that are living all over and they'll fly into Nashville and, you know, like when they need a checkup or whatever. Wow. That right there, it's like, yeah, that's a pretty big, you know, leap. But it's like, what can you do in your practice that's not just, you know, back to this, not just your logo. Yeah. You know, it's like, yeah, your logo can look nice, but how about all of this stuff? You know what I mean?

[00:37:02] There's just so much more, you know, it's crazy. And I think Dr. Bryce is thinking about things as, and a lot of other practices do this well too. I think of a lot of other practices in my mind right now that I'm thinking of. They have a brand where they don't just have a great logo, which I do highly recommend having a great logo. Yes, yeah. I mean, we're not talking Comic Sans here, you know. No, you're not using papyrus. You didn't hear me say just go buy it off of, you know, a website. But, you know, it is so much more.

[00:37:32] I kind of like to think about it this way. I've actually been a part of, like, different marital counseling and things like that with other couples. And it's interesting because you talk about the marriage and dating, right? It's kind of like, and the wedding and all the things that are associated. And you look at the couple and they're super excited. They're really ready, you know, and let's just pretend like they got the logo and the name. They're ready, right? Yeah. Like, I know my last name is going to be this and we're going to be one. And so we're talking about leading up to the wedding.

[00:38:02] And you put so much work into the wedding. I mean, so much. I mean, I've heard hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on weddings, right? But something that some couples don't realize is, wait a second, there's a marriage after. Yeah. Right? So, like, okay, we put all this work into the wedding, all this effort, but we didn't plan for the marriage. And I think about that with branding.

[00:38:23] I mean, it's a funny example, but I easily relate to that because I'm like, I've seen, you know, so many people get so excited about that first step. And they forget there are, there's a lifetime of steps after it. Yeah. Like the brand. Yeah. And it's like, okay, you've got this hodgepodge because you're just, I'm just making it happen. You know, like you're, you're being scrappy, but at the end of the day, are you actually serve? Like it comes down to, are you serving the patient?

[00:38:52] Yes, that's right. And if they feel like, man, I just went into, you know, nothing bad about goodwill, but I just went into goodwill of an orthodontic practice where it was, it was just a hodgepodge of stuff. And it was like, I'm glad I still have teeth walking out. Yeah. And that's another thing that the, what you see when you walk into a practice builds a story in your mind about what that potentially could be.

[00:39:18] And if you've already put a story in your mind, you've already told your subconscious what it's going to be like. You've already, the practice is already lost. You know, that, that story has already been created by them. So who do you want to create the story? Do you want to create the story or do you want them to create the story? Yeah. You want to control that narrative and, and places like Disney and this hotel understand that because they've done millions of dollars in research.

[00:39:42] Well, Hey, let's take the wisdom, uh, which, which actually isn't just experience, by the way, wisdom is actually evaluated experience. Because if all you do is say, well, I'm, I've done this for 20 years, doesn't mean you actually learned anything. Right. So these companies have actually invested and learned from maybe failure from other companies. Let's take this wisdom that somebody else spent millions on and let's use it for our practice. And I think that's a wise way to go about your branding.

[00:40:09] So let's kind of put a bow on this, kind of bring everything together. What are some actionable steps that doctors, managers, just practices in general can start doing with their brand today? Yeah, I've actually got three things to take away. And I think these are things that every practice, no matter what specialty can do. And even business owners, if you're watching this podcast, I mean, uh, it really applies to everyone. But number one, I would say is clarify your brand promise.

[00:40:38] Those are the things I talked about earlier. Um, and, and really at hip, we have brand promises that, that we say, I mean, we're more than marketing, right? We take a holistic approach. Uh, those are things that we promise to our customers and the practices that, that partner with us. And so I would say you have to clarify that you have to sit down with your team and say, who are we and who we want, who do we want to be? And if you're a practice that's already, let's say you're 20 years in, you're like, well, how am I going to go and do that? I mean, I'm so far in, I can't just change things.

[00:41:08] It's not necessarily meaning you're going to change everything. It just means that you're going to take a good look at what you are and you're going to say, is that who we want to be? And if it's not, then just make some subtle changes. The truth is that the Titanic would have avoided that iceberg, right? If they had made subtle turns, but it was too late by the time they got to the iceberg, they tried to turn it as fast as they could. And it wasn't fast enough. And so going back to the iceberg analogy, I would say to do it now. Don't wait till tomorrow. Do it now.

[00:41:38] If you have any sense that you're maybe not delivering on your promises, then change those and become who you want to be. And another one is we provide a white glove experience, not one size fits all. I mean, we want to custom tailor things. So think about how you want to be the white glove experience for your patients. So number one is clarify your brand promise. Number two, I would audit your experience. This is where earlier when I said go in as a patient.

[00:42:05] Something I used to do at another organization I worked for is we had multiple campuses, locations, and I would not be at one of the locations that day and then go to another one. And I would just walk in as a guest. All right, I'm going to drive up to the parking lot. I'm going to see how the parking team parks me. I'm going to see what they say when they greet me. I'm going to see what it smells like when I walk in. Are the bathrooms clean? I mean, do a complete evaluation of everything inside your practice.

[00:42:31] That way you can see, is this what I want patients to experience? And if you don't like anything about it, guess what? You can change it, right? Yeah. So that's a huge step in this process is walking through as a first-time patient. What does it really feel like? And then finally, number three, I would say is involve your team. This is probably one of the most important ones because if your team does not get this, they're an extension of you. They're an extension of the brand that you want to be perceived as.

[00:43:01] So if they don't understand, if they don't live this every day, I mean, they're the ones delivering it, whether through, like I said, text, whether through email. I mean, I would take an audit at all of that as well. What does our communication look like? If I were receiving these messages as a patient, would I want to engage with this practice or would I say, no, I'm good. Let me try something else. It's just a small differentiating factor that you need. It's not actually as much as people think.

[00:43:28] So those three things, clarify your brand promise. Who do you want to be? Are you that? Audit your experience. Is it what you want people to experience? And then number three, involve your team because they are your brand. Yeah, they're going to be the ones that implement it in the day to day because you can only see so many people. They're going to be able to see your team is going to be able to see more people than you are. That's right.

[00:43:52] And if they're not bought into you shifting or redirecting it to where you might have wanted it 20 years ago. If they're not on board, then guess what? They've pretty much shanghaied your brand. That's right. Yeah. And you don't want that. Yeah. They have taken control over a narrative that you need to have control over. And that's why it's so important for them to be aligned. And here's where the iceberg comes in. So if you get all that right, everything above the surface will actually have meaning.

[00:44:22] So I know we kind of put a little iceberg, tip of the iceberg on visible. It is super important, but it's not meaningful unless all of this below is actually the foundation. I mean, you can look at, I mean, name your brand. Let's just go back to Disney. We've been talking about it. Regardless of what you think about Disney, when you look at Disney, you have a perception. Right?

[00:44:43] And so if they've done it right, then every time you see their logo or anything visual, you will then associate that with pleasant or unpleasant. Right? And so that's why it matters to have the bottom of the iceberg first when it comes to prioritizing what you want to be. And I would even challenge people, before you get a logo, before you get a name, do those things first. How do you want to communicate?

[00:45:13] What do you want to be perceived as? And I guarantee you, you'll come up with a name and a logo so much easier. So if you've ever been in a logo process and you're like, we just can't nail it. We can't figure it out. Well, have you established these things first? Because how are you supposed to create a logo that's going to represent the look and feel of who you are without actually knowing who you are? I love that.

[00:45:34] So if somebody wants help with their brand, getting their practice, dental, orthodontic on brand, how can they get with HIP to do so? Yeah. I mean, you can get with our team and we can do an audit of your practice. You can do it even a brand audit. Like, hey, why don't you look at my messaging or my logo, my colors? Is there something I can do?

[00:46:03] I mean, we offer all kinds of services that align with helping practices grow, not just in patients, but also in brand and website and all of those things. Right. Like I said, the holistic approach. Yeah. I love that. Well, there you go, everybody. That is this episode of the Grow Ortho podcast. We hope that you enjoyed it. Make sure to come back next week. We're going to have another awesome live stream. Matt, thank you for being on, my man. Such a pleasure. Thanks so much.