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Disney for Dentists: How Walt’s Principles Can Improve Your Cash Flow by Jeff Anzalone, DDS

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My name is Jeff Anzalone and I'm a practicing periodontist in Monroe, Louisiana. I'm also a Disney fanatic, author and dental-practice growth advisor, so imagine how pleased I was to learn that the Disney Institute runs events specifically geared to health-care professionals. After attending several of these, I adapted a few Disney business and marketing strategies to my own practice, and these simple steps have had a dramatic impact on my business—and on my cash flow. I'm going to share a few of these strategies with you.

Going deep at the Magic Kingdom
Several years ago, a friend suggested I "go undercover" and apply for a Disney job. At first I thought he was crazy, but the more I thought about it, the more excited I became. I knew how successful and how profitable Disney is, and I thought if I could just learn one or two things to apply to my own practice, the time and energy would pay me back in spades year after year. And that's exactly what happened.

You see, secretly applying for a job and interviewing at Disney's "casting center" not only helped me with attracting, training and retaining great team members, it also inspired me to start a Disney-like culture in my practice.

For example, most dentists feel they must pay high salaries to their team members in order for them to truly be great. Yet, the majority of Disney's cast members have low-paying jobs (I was hired starting out at $8.25 per hour, with a college degree). So how do they get their cast members to truly care about their guests and go overboard with customer service? It all starts with Walt Disney's vision.

How to get your team members to go the extra mile
A well-known Disney success principle goes back to what Walt once said: "When I started on Disneyland, my wife used to say, ‘But why do you want to build an amusement park? They're so dirty.' I told her that was just the point—mine wouldn't be."

Walt knew that the first secret of success is being able to differentiate yourself from your competition. Without a differential, your patients simply can't answer the question, "Why should I work with you instead of the other guy down the block?" In Disney's case, Walt's vision for a clean and safe amusement park is one of the many differentials Disney theme parks have over their competition.

And it's no different in your dental practice. Without a differential, your patients have nothing special to discuss about you. And when patients have nothing specific to talk about, you're basically giving them no other choice but to make their decision to use you based solely on price. I don't need to tell you that there's absolutely no upside to this. The great news is, this can easily be remedied.

Remember, Walt Disney was known as "the man who could see tomorrow." He had a knack for understanding what needed to be done differently in order to continually succeed. And this difference between today and tomorrow can be boiled down to one small word. This small word absolutely terrifies most dentists.

The word is change.

Most dentists fear change. In fact, for most of my clients, even changing their fees makes them lose sleep for a few nights. However, if you want to continue growing your practice and increasing your cash flow, you must embrace new ideas, new ways of doing things and new opportunities. If you aren't willing to do this, you're basically surrendering your practice (and therefore your life) to mediocrity and to the outside world. And this is why so many dental practices are in trouble right now.

One huge change you can easily start with is one of the benchmarks of Disney's success: details.

Pay attention to details
Walt was a "hands-on" kind of guy. At Disneyland, he could be seen constantly strolling the parks, meeting with guests and experiencing attractions firsthand to observe how things could be better.

So ask yourself this question, and please be honest: Are you a "hands-on" kind of dentist? Do you routinely enter your building through the waiting area to view your practice through the eyes of your patients? If not—why? Walt knew that paying fantastic attention to detail regarding the little things is what matters if you want to accomplish big things.

Ultimately, we're in the service business. And in today's market, where mediocrity is the new "excellent" for most people in the service business, it doesn't take much to make yourself stand out in a good way.

The peeling paint, stains on the carpet and messy public restrooms all add up in your patient's eyes, and they really do matter. The solution for this is simple and inexpensive. Just start with the small things you can manage, and get your team involved to help.

Something else I learned during my "undercover" mission was that there is a training that all new employees (cast members) must attend. One of the first things shown during the training is a picture of a typical street located outside the park (Fig. 1), as compared to Disney's Main Street U.S.A., which is located inside the park (Fig. 2).

As you can see, the outside street is littered with trash, there is complete disarray, and nothing is orderly. On the other hand, Main Street is impeccable. The cleanliness and order of the park is crucial—it's part of what makes the Magic Kingdom so special. This commitment to cleanliness and order is ingrained in Disney cast members from day one, and it's why you'll find every cast member, from the CEO to the store clerk, picking up trash.

Repeat customers
Disney also knew that it's a lot easier to get more money out of existing customers than it is to get new money out of new customers. And this is why, no matter how small some families' incomes might be, they revisit the Disney parks. In fact, more than 80 percent of Disney's business comes from repeat customers. Eighty percent!

Obviously Disney is doing something right. As you probably know, ticket prices are not cheap, and they increase yearly. A one-day pass to the Magic Kingdom is now more than $100. This means a day with a family of four could cost $800 after factoring in food, rides and Disney merchandise (which you wind up buying, no matter what). That doesn't include hotels and airfare.

So how about your practice? What percentage of your revenue comes from repeat customers? Ask yourself, "How many of my own patients consistently return for continued treatment?"

One reason people return to Disney so often is loyalty. Many people are incredibly loyal to the Disney brand, simply because of the first-class treatment they receive from the Disney cast members. These cast members are empowered from day one to go out of their way to give their guests an incredible experience. In Disney's case, this empowerment is far more important than providing a huge salary.

Unfortunately, this is diametrically opposed to how most dentists run their practice. Most dentists overpay and then they micromanage their staff, which actually prevents team members from giving their patients a unique experience. Are you doing this in your practice?

It's a small world
Another reason Disney has so many loyal followers is that the cast members know little things do matter. What you might think your patients really care about, such as new technology, or whether their dentist has a big, fancy office, actually isn't something that concerns them.

Research shows that the No. 1 thing a patient really wants is to feel important. That's it! It's such a simple solution, yet so few do it. Once I realized this model was one of the main reasons Disney was successful with repeat guests, I began applying these strategies. The results have been, and continue to be, just short of amazing.

For example, last year a patient mentioned that she was looking forward to the birth of her first grandchild. We made a note about this in her chart. On her next visit, we asked her how things were going with her new grandchild, and she was astonished we actually "remembered" something so important to her.

When she left her appointment, do you think she went out and told her friends about how well her teeth were cleaned, or did she talk about how our office made her feel really special and important? Within a month of wowing this patient, she had already referred not one, but two family members to our practice, who brought in an extra $6,700 of revenue. This is how powerful this strategy can be.

Can you use an extra $6,700 in patient billings? I suspect you can, and this is why I encourage you to empower your staff. Once your team members realize they have the ability to make your patients feel special, they'll go out of their way to do so, but you must first give them permission. And you must go out of your way to lead by example and do the same thing.

Put on your mouse ears
Disney cast members know that one of the best ways to continue improving customer service is by "putting on their ears" and listening to their guests. Yet, we're all taught in dental school to focus primarily on the clinical aspects of our practice—not the patient-relations aspect. Acquiring precise crown margins or obtaining an accurate impression might be important to us, but it's definitely not the most important thing to our patients (if they are even aware of it).

The key to giving your patients what they really want is to frequently ask them. Disney constantly surveys its guests for feedback. Do you do this? Surveying your patients shows that you care about their opinions and you're striving to improve your service. Most dentists do not take advantage of this. If you want to differentiate your practice, listen to your patients and act on what matters most to them.

Is your practice frequently talked about?
Disney is adept at getting attention. You may remember how a few years ago, parents posted a video online that showed them surprising their kids with a Disney trip. The video went viral. So what did Disney do? They leveraged it by encouraging other parents to also record their kids, which turned into a heated competition. Do you think this got them talked about? You bet!

Most people who visit the parks return home and tell the stories of how they experienced a cool attraction, or how a cast member did something nice for them to make their family feel special. Are your patients talking about you, and if so, what are they saying? And if not, why not?

There's no better way to build a referral-based practice than to be talked about. Unfortunately, most practices are average and boring. And just like when it comes to dating, the No. 1 sin in business is being boring.

The bottom line is …
If you want to grow your practice—not just today, but today, tomorrow, and every tomorrow after that—then your practice has to include, at a minimum, these seven strategies:
  1. You should have multiple practice differentials.
  2. Develop a defined (written out) culture of consistent service that must start with you, at the top, being a hands-on manager.
  3. The owner should empower employees to carry forth that culture.
  4. Make certain the practice is dedicated to repeat visits from patients.
  5. Keep in mind that little things matter. Constantly evaluate these little things.
  6. Ask your patients for feedback often.
  7. Commit yourself to making your patients
    8. feel important. Provide the ongoing communication and service necessary to show them you care.
I now spend roughly 50 percent of my time consulting with other dentists on how to use these strategies I've developed to increase patient case acceptance with less resistance and stress, and to get new patients without working so hard for them.

For more information on how to use these secrets in your own practice, and to download your free Dental Practice Profits Tips sheet, visit www.dentalpracticemagic.com. ¦



A board-certified periodontist and marketing consultant, Dr. Jeff Anzalone also speaks to dentists and specialists across the country to help them learn effective ways to differentiate their practices. Dr. Anzalone is the author of "What They Don't Teach You in Dental School," "Everything You Need to Know About Dental Surgery," and "Great Dental Specialist Marketing." For more information on how you can learn the Disney secrets to a successful eental practice, go to www.dentalpracticemagic.com. .


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