WRITER Paul Sallaway

How do you feel when you hear the word Apple? What about Volvo? Nike?

Whatever you feel – trust, admiration, disgust, even scepticism – that reaction is visceral, not analytical. That’s what a brand really is: a set of emotions that live in people’s minds.

Paul Sallaway explains how to leverage this to develop your own brand.

Why does it matter if brands conjure up emotions? Because emotion drives action, and logic simply rationalises it later.

At this point, you might think, “Sure, but those are billion-dollar companies. What does that have to do with my suburban eye care clinic? I don’t have the budget to build a brand.”

That’s a mistake. Because whether or not you participate, the market is going to define your brand for you. Branding has nothing to do with scale and everything to do with storytelling – who tells it, who hears it, and how those stories get validated.

YOUR BRAND IS NOT YOUR VISUAL ASSET

Your logo, colour palette, and typography are not your brand. They are brand identifiers.

To explain, let’s step away from the business world for just a moment.

Imagine it’s the 18th century and you’re out on the high seas. You see a ship on the horizon flying a friendly flag. You relax a little; it’s probably one of yours. But then, as it draws closer, that flag drops. And in its place, up goes a skull and crossbones.

In an instant, your stomach tightens. Why? It’s just a different piece of fabric, right?

That shift in emotion happens because flags – like logos – act as emotional shorthand. They carry meaning built over time through stories, experiences, and reputations. When we see one that we recognise, our brain instantly recalls everything we associate with it.

If people see your logo and feel trust, care, or expertise, the design has done its job. But the emotion comes from a deeper place: what you stand for, what people say about you, and how you make people feel when they interact with you.

YOUR BRAND IS NOT YOUR REPUTATION

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos once said, “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room”. Many people interpret that as proof that word-of-mouth alone can build a business. That’s dangerous thinking.

Relying on reputation without a marketing message is just hoping you get lucky. You are hoping the right people say the right things to the right audience. And luck isn’t a strategy.

Amazon didn’t rely on luck. From day one, it had a clear message: “To be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where people can find and discover anything they might want to buy online”. Investment in systems and training validated that promise; but marketing defined it.

YOUR BRAND IS NOT YOUR MARKETING

Marketing is the story you tell about yourself: who you help, the way you help them, and why it matters. All successful brands are rooted in a story.

• Apple tells a story about challenging convention.

• Volvo tells a story about safety and responsibility.

• Nike tells a story about personal empowerment.

All three spend billions on brand advertising, yet their marketing succeeds only because their products reinforce their reputation.

On the flip side, we’ve all seen companies with giant ad budgets and weak brands; their story is heard, but not believed. The customer experience doesn’t match the marketing message. And their damaged reputation is the receipt for that.

SO, WHAT IS YOUR BRAND?

Your brand isn’t something you own. It’s something you earn.

It lives at the intersection of the story you tell, the story others tell, and the authentic patient experience.

When story narratives and patient experiences align, you’ve built trust.

And that trust is your true brand equity.

WHAT’S YOUR 10-SECOND MARKETING MESSAGE?

Imagine you’re at a barbeque and someone asks, “So, what does [insert practice name] do?”

Would you give an answer that’s memorable – a soundbite that a person could easily repeat to a friend or family member the next day? Or would you fall back on a generic line like, “We help people see better”?

That single question exposes the strength – or weakness – of your brand. Because if you can’t articulate who you help, what’s remarkable about how you help them, and why that matters, you can’t expect patients, referrers, or even algorithms to get it right either.

If you asked any member of your team what your clinic stands for, could they answer in 10 seconds or less? It’s important because this message should be your clinic’s ‘true north’; the point of reference for everything that happens in-house.

Use the following message template if you are struggling:

WE HELP [.....] BY / THROUGH [.....] SO [.....] Some examples:

WE HELP parents safeguard their child’s vision BY detecting problems early and treating them effectively, SO their kids can see clearly, learn confidently, and thrive for life.

WE HELP people who value quality eyewear BY offering premium lenses and unique designer frames, SO they can enjoy clear vision and look their best with confidence.

WE HELP people who want to reduce their dependence on glasses or contacts THROUGH innovative laser eye surgery, so they can enjoy clear vision at work, at play, and in every moment that matters.

WHO DO YOU HELP?

You might be thinking, ‘We help everybody’. And technically, you wouldn’t be wrong – your doors are open to the public, and like most health professionals, you probably have a strong sense of service.

But if you’re being honest, is there a preferred patient? An ideal customer?

What does their story look like? What motivates them? What discomfort – literal or figurative – are they trying to avoid? What change are they hoping for?

At our core, humans seek help for the same three reasons: to avoid pain, to feel pleasure, or to raise our status. Every brand, whether it realises it or not, attracts a person looking for one or more of those things.

WHAT MAKES YOU REMARKABLE?

Bestselling author Seth Godin once described a road trip he took with his family.3 They drove past thousands of dairy cows, and his kids in the back seat didn’t look up once. Ordinary. Unremarkable.

But then he imagined something different – what if just one of those cows was purple? The car would screech to a halt. The whole family would pile out, take photos, and tell their friends.

Because it would be remarkable – literally, worth making a remark about.

Which begs the question. What’s remarkable about your eye care business? What’s YOUR purple cow? Because trying to please everyone leads to generic, forgettable positioning. The strongest brands stand for something clear – even if it’s something not everyone wants.

When Adelaide optometrist Robert Seiler opened his first practice three decades ago, he didn’t hide from competition – he walked straight into it. His clinic sat in one of the most crowded optical precincts in Australia, right beside a major chain. Instead of competing on price, he flipped the script and positioned himself as the premium option.

“The first sign of success was when I heard people walk past and say… ‘don’t go in there – it’s too expensive’, Mr Seiler recalled. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear!”

Mr Seiler focussed solely on internationally recognised designer brands – Gucci, Armani, Valentino – and curated them like a gallery.

The result? A clear point of difference, high-value clients, word-of-mouth buzz, and even competitors sneaking photos of his shopfront to see what he was doing differently.

WHY DOES THAT MATTER?

Author and TED Talk presenter Simon Sinek titled his best-selling book, Start with Why.2 So why does your practice exist? Think about your origin story and the purpose for starting a business in the first place.

Making money isn’t a purpose – it’s the by-product of executing your purpose well.

‘Why?’ is a more powerful question than ‘What?’. Most clinics have no trouble explaining what they do – eye exams, glasses, contact lenses, treatments – but stumble when asked why it matters.

Your ‘why’ isn’t just about providing vision care. It’s about what that vision enables: a child reading their first book clearly, a parent driving safely at night, a retiree seeing their grandchild’s face without blur.

Why is where meaningful professional activity lives.

HOW DO YOU GROW A BRAND?

You don’t grow a brand with one big campaign. You grow it through small, daily actions.

Every message, every review, every patient interaction is a deposit on your brand. Over time, they compound. Brand growth comes down to four things: consistency, reputation, service obsession, and patience. Get those things right and you build momentum.

Consistency

Most clinics start strong, then go quiet. That silence is brand death. Consistency isn’t glamorous – but it’s magnetic. Regular communication builds credibility, and credibility builds trust.

Want to grow your brand? Show up when others don’t.

Reputation Systems

Reputation isn’t luck – it’s engineered. Every satisfied patient is a potential advocate, but most clinics never ask.

Make it effortless to leave a review. Send your patients a quick text, with a QR code, and a genuine ‘thank you’ after each appointment. Reviews are today’s word-of-mouth – public proof that your story matches what you deliver.

Service Obsession

Patients won’t remember the optical coherence tomography model you used – they’ll remember how you made them feel through the service you gave them. Great service magnifies every marketing effort; poor service erases it.

Follow up. Anticipate needs. Fix small issues before they grow into grievances.

Patience

Brand growth is slow… until it isn’t. At first, it feels like no one’s watching. You post, email, refine, repeat – and nothing seems to move.

But trust builds quietly. Then one day, everything exponentially compounds.

• A patient refers three friends.

• A general practitioner remembers your name.

• A journalist calls for a quote.

• ChatGPT starts recommending you.

That’s momentum – the invisible flywheel of brand growth. But it only spins for those who keep showing up.

PRACTICAL STEPS FOR EYE CARE PROFESSIONALS

The bedrock of a strong brand is the day-to-day habits of your team. Here are some simple, repeatable actions that turn patient interactions into long-term brand equity.

Relentlessly internalise your 10-second marketing message. Make sure every staff member knows who you help, how, and why it matters.

Track your reputation. Track your total reviews, average rating, testimonial quality. Review these metrics monthly – if your brand isn’t being measured, it’s not being managed.

Humanise your practice. Show faces, stories, and community involvement through photos, video, and social media.

Host events. Invite your patients to a brand showcase party. Invite your professional peers for ‘lunch and learn’ sessions. Face-to-face connection builds brand loyalty faster than online ads could ever possibly do.

Stay connected online. Send regular newsletters and SMS promotion codes for those who’ve opted in for them.

Apply the ‘marginal gains’ mindset. Challenge your team to look for 1% improvements each week in service, communication, and presentation. Over time, those tiny upgrades create massive differentiation.

Do these consistently and your brand won’t just be recognised; it will be remembered.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Building a brand is hard work. And keeping it is harder – because once you’ve earned trust, you have to live up to it every day. That’s a struggle for all of us, including yours truly!

That’s the real challenge of brand building in eye care: staying consistent with the story you tell, the story patients repeat, and the experience that ties all that together.

When stories and experiences align, you’re shaping how people feel – and that’s the heart of every great brand.

Paul Sallaway is the founder, owner, and web strategist behind Optics Digital Marketing, an agency that exclusively works with optometrists in Australia and New Zealand. For a free consultation on your brand building journey, visit: opticsdigital.net.

References
1. Godin S. Purple Cow. 2005. Penguin Books.
2. Sinek S. Start with Why. 2011 Penguin Books.