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Practice Branding for Dentists: Creating a Brand Identity March, 2022 Practice Branding for Dentists Creating a Brand Identity for Your Dental Practice What is a Brand? A dental brand is a holistic identity and emotional connection a practice has with its patients. It’s not the dental practice name. It’s not the practice logo. It is the sum total of people’s knowledge and experiences with the practice. The dental branding process is simply creating this same brand identity in the minds of prospective patients who don’t yet have first-hand experience with the practice. Dental branding includes… • Quality of the clinical services provided. • What past patients choose to say about their experiences. • Reviews of dental practices. • Someone’s “first impression” of the practice (online, this means the website). • The “atmosphere” of the practice as experienced by patients. • Empathy: Did staff and doctors really listen? If they did, was it obvious they actually cared? • Friendliness of staff and doctor • The modernity of the technology used. • The dental branding process is comprehensive, so it takes time to build trust which is the backbone of all brand identities. Do You Brand the Practice or Yourself? Before you do anything else, what is your brand vision? Are you creating a dental job for yourself, or are you creating a dental practice that is designed to live beyond your work life? Assuming you want to create an asset that is long-term, don’t use your name for the practice. The idea is to give the practice a brand identity other than you personally so that you can sell it to a successor. That doesn’t mean you won’t promote your name at the same time, because many patients look up a specific doctor, particularly if there’s been a referral. So it’s both to an extent, but a generic practice name is the first impression where you want to build brand equity, and the doctor’s name is secondary. What’s the difference between dental branding and dental marketing? Although they are often thought of as interchangeable, the differences are notable in their respective contexts. Marketing includes strategic decisions such as who to reach and what services to promote. For example, focusing on demographic segments of potential patients such as teens, and building up specific services such as tooth implants or orthodontics. Marketing also includes all activities designed to influence prospective patients. These activities will include building a website and implementing search engine optimization (SEO) for the site in order for people to actually find it Other activities may include a social media presence; perhaps adding a blog to the website; running advertising campaigns, or even doing a “new mover” program with postcards. If you aren’t careful, marketing efforts can run up a big, ongoing expense. Branding differs. Branding is the emotional and logical connection with patients. When advertising is the “how” that gets patients into a practice, dental branding is the “why” of choosing a dentist. Branding provides an initial context for the implementation of marketing strategies. Conclusion: The Importance of a Dental Brand? Emotion drives purchase decisions. People choose companies that they like and trust. Liking and trust are both emotional responses. So the primary purpose of your practice, beyond quality clinical expertise, is to establish strong emotional links with your patients. Identify Your USP Known as a Unique Selling Proposition, the USP tells the patient what makes you unique. This is the overarching theme which describes the different practices of dentists. One doctor might want recognition as having an intimate family friendly atmosphere while another might want to convey the feeling of modern offices with modern technologies. The USP should convey: • What transformative benefit will the patient obtain? • Why should I like and trust your dental brand. • What is it that sets your dental practice apart from others? What’s unique? The Brand Logo Lastly, the dental practice needs strong brand identities to attract new patients who will visit you for dental care. The practice’s logo is a symbol that strives to convey everything we’ve talked about above. It should be uncomplicated, memorable, and convey what we’ve talked about above. It’s easy to come up with a logo… it’s very difficult to come up with a good logo design. Is it Time for a Better Website? Dental professionals provide aesthetically pleasing treatments. Building an influential brand is indicative of technical prowess combined with emotional connections. If your website is outdated, does that mean your other technologies are outdated? Does your main content enable accessibility for people with disabilities? Is there quality content on the site? Does it have a consistent look and feel with the brand identity? All these factors are representative of your dental office. Specializing in healthcare websites and local SEO
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