Candid Case Study
When shopping for locations for brick and mortar Studios, Ashley and the Candid team quickly realized that their unique branding and service needs posed a major obstacle for most commercial landlords.
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When you are in the “smile” business, image is everything. When Candid started shopping for office space for their Candid Studios, they knew they needed locations that were centrally located, could accommodate their unique needs to treat patients on-site, and that would project the professional image associated with their brand. That’s why Candid partnered with Expansive as they build out their Candid Studios in major markets.
Candid delivers direct-to-consumer orthodontic treatments, providing invisible aligners at an affordable price. Unlike other providers, Candid gives patients the option to order an at-home starter kit or come for an in-person assessment at a local Candid Studio. Patients then use special smartphone scans that can be uploaded for remote review via the Candid mobile app, giving orthodontists the ability to monitor progress against treatment plans without time-consuming office visits.
Ashley Estes is Candid’s Senior Manager of Studio Operations. Part of her job is to oversee operations for Candid Studio locations. She helps streamline each Studio’s day-to-day operations and supports new Studio launches nationwide.
As a keeper of the Candid brand, Ashley is committed to delivering a top-tier, outstanding experience for both Candid patients and employees. She knows that visiting a Candid Studio has a huge impact on a customer’s brand experience, especially since it may be the first and only in-person touchpoint they may have with Candid. She also knows how difficult it is to find office locations willing to accommodate Candid’s unique needs.
When shopping for locations for brick and mortar Studios, Ashley and the Candid team quickly realized that their unique branding and service needs posed a major obstacle for most commercial landlords.
Each Candid Studio needed to be fully branded and customized to accommodate their patient experience model. This not only included maintaining a professional and modern appearance in a prime location, but also the ability to install dividers andflooring that are safe and sanitary. Studio spaces would have tobe reconfigured to accommodate patient privacy. They also had to have access to storage space, sinks for patients, and parking.
The biggest challenge that Ashley and the Candid team consistently encountered was finding a space that could accommodate X-ray machines, with their power requirements and need for radiation protection and regulatory compliance, not to mention the IT and security needs Candid faced to support both equipment and patient privacy.
When opening an early Candid Studio in San Jose, Ashley and her team looked at various office spaces but couldn’t quite find a location that met their site needs as well as the customization, infrastructure, and client experience modifications they needed – until they met with Expansive.
As property owners, Expansive had no difficulty supporting thecustomizations Ashley and her team needed in a timely mannerand at a price that made sense. The Candid team also benefited from the advantage of having an onsite team in place to help anticipate and remove any obstacles that came up.
“There’s a lot to do when we set up a new Candid Studio,” she said. “Expansive sees a problem, and they fix it before we even know it’s a problem.”
From small things like managing deliveries to bigger questions that may arise around building access, internet set up or customer parking, the community managers are there in real life, ready to help, which comes in particularly handy after Ashley’s team has left and day-to-day operations commence.
Partnering with Expansive has allowed Candid to extend its brand and deliver the best possible patient experience through their regional Studios. Patients regularly offer praise, noting how “clean,”“beautiful,” and “relaxing” the spaces are.
Candid patients aren’t the only ones benefitting from the Expansive experience. Ashley and her team have been able to grow their network and gain exposure by connecting with the broader Expansive community. When setting up new studios, other community members often stop by to introduce themselves, which gives them a chance to spread the word about Candid while making new professional connections.
Since that first location, Candid has gone on to open Studios inthree more Expansive locations including St. Petersburg, Miami,Houston, and Denver. Expansive’s development team has been particularly instrumental in this growth. Once armed with Candid’s specifications, they have been able to proactively identify and configure spaces to streamline Candid’s introduction into other cities of interest.
The Expansive development team and Community Managers have become like an extension of Ashley’s own team. Thanks to their hands-on approach, she and her team can focus on efficient rollouts and planning for future locations, rather than spending time on minor obstacles.
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