A solid and reputable dental brand is one of the most important things to work on to set your practice up for success. That’s because your brand reflects your dental business as a whole. This article will tell you everything there is to know about branding, including its benefits, elements, examples to inspire you, and of course, tips on how you can build a strong brand for your dental practice. Let’s get the ball rolling!
One common misconception many people have about branding is that it’s merely a logo or symbol. It actually goes deeper than that. Branding is all about creating meaning for a company’s products and services. It’s what every company needs to grab the attention of their ideal customers, to stand out from competitors, and to take their business up a notch or two.
As for dentists such as yourself, your brand is your promise to your existing and potential patients. It’s pretty much all the ways you establish a picture of your practice in their eyes. Your dental brand gives them an overview of your services, your staff, and your clinic. It gives them a reason to choose you over another dentist.
Here’s something to ponder on: With thousands of dental practices out there offering the same services and millions of patients looking for the same treatments, how will these patients know why you’re the go-to choice dentist if you don’t communicate it through your brand?
As mentioned, seconds ago, dental branding gives patients a reason to book an appointment with you, instead of your competitors. However, that’s just one of the numerous ways your business can benefit from branding. Here are others:
To be a successful dental business, you need to be recognizable. To be recognizable, you need to come up with the right branding, which means carving out a distinct style. The more unique your brand is, the more chances prospective patients will recognize you.
Good dental branding can foster trust when you show everyone that you always fulfill your promises as their dentist.
Emotional connection is what transforms a prospect into a lifelong customer. With the right branding, you can definitely establish that with your patients. Various branding strategies, such as sharing your practice’s values or sending an empathetic message, can help you connect with your audience on a deeper level. Eventually, this connection can result in a sense of commitment to your practice.
One of the most effective ways to entice people to your dental office is by offering something unique and valuable – something that your competitors don’t offer.
.jpg)
For your dental branding to resonate with your target audience, you need to understand the elements first. Knowing how to use each of them is key to creating a memorable brand that acquires new patients and keeps old ones.
Your mission statement and brand values are the cornerstones of creating strong dental branding. Your mission statement defines your purpose for existing. Why did you start a dental practice in the first place? What are you hoping to achieve with it? On the other hand, your core brand values are the guiding principles that shape every aspect of your dental business. They’re there to motivate you!
Also called “brand book” or “style guide,” brand guidelines refer to a set of rules explaining how you should present your brand. Basically, the purpose of these guidelines is to help businesses like yours maintain a consistent look across all points of contact with patients and prospects. Brand guidelines are comprised into a tangible document that will:
Brand books usually contain the following details:
Be sure that your brand guidelines can be read and understood clearly by everyone in your dental team.
Next to your name, your logo will be the most notable aspect of your dental brand. That’s why you should take a reasonable amount of time conceptualizing it. Heck, it’s the face of your business. You wouldn’t want to get stuck with a logo that doesn’t make any sense! As you’re brainstorming ideas, think about who you are as a brand, how you want potential patients to perceive you, and what your inherent purpose is. These should be theyour driving force behind your design strategy. Remember, your logo will be on your clinic, business cards, dental website, and perhaps merch if you have – so be sure to design it the best way you can!
If you still haven’t set up a dental website yet, you better start one as soon as you finish reading this! Or whenever you’re free, at least. Think of your website as your practice’s digital real estate. When potential patients visit for the first time, they should be pleased with everything they see. In other words, your site should be visually attractive, easy to navigate, and reflect who you are as a brand. Here are several tips you can use:
If you’re looking for a way to form emotional ties with your patients, media assets should be your best bet. Media assets for your dental branding can be in the form of images, videos, product explainers, commercials, or patient testimonials. These assets will have you perceived as a credible dental practitioner, as long as you follow these tips:
A good rule of thumb is to use as many unique and high-quality photos as you can. Why?
Well, besides the fact that they help build trust with patients, they can significantly improve the success of your marketing, advertising, and sales efforts. So, what are these photos that we speak of? Here’s what:
Your dental team. Team photos have always proven to be a beneficial way to build a dental brand. Patients want to know more about the people who will take care of their teeth, and this is their chance to get acquainted. It’s light-hearted photos like these that can turn prospects into new patients.
Also, avoid relying too much on stock photos. They will only do the exact opposite. Plus, they tend to increase ad costs, and you definitely don’t want that!
Is it really dental branding if there’s not a single video in sight? Absolutely not.
Here are video ideas that will surely build trust and commitment:
What makes you different from the competition? Why should people choose you out of the hundreds of other dental practices in your city? Your answer right here is your unique selling point, aka your USP. In a nutshell, a USP is the single thing that makes you stand out, or shall we say, better, than your competitors.
Your dental branding USP should make a statement. It should be compelling enough to convince someone to choose you over everyone else. It should make dental patients fall in love with your brand.
You might now be wondering how you can go about creating and refining your own unique selling point. Here are some pointers to give you a head start:
Now, for the final part: Your brand-building strategies. Ready to learn what they are? Go ahead and keep on reading!
Folks love nothing more than a brand that who keeps it 100% real. They prefer companies that openly talk about their products, history, objectives, and even flaws. Having a transparent dental brand means being honest and upfront with patients. You have to be the “what you see is what you get” type. However, always remember to use caution when disclosing information.
For instance, talking about politics is never a good idea, and it can only do more harm than good to your practice. What if you proclaim your support for a political party, only to discover that most of your potential patients have the exact opposite view?
Another no-no in brand transparency is talking about your business woes, personal problems, or other negative topics. Keeping your message honest doesn’t mean you have to include the skeletons in your closet. Nobody wants a frowning brand.
When we say meaningful engagement, we mean having real interactions with your audience. Always make an effort to respond to them whenever they’re reaching out to you, both online and offline. Thank patients who leave a review, reply to those who are commenting on your social media pages, or be the one to reach out first by making polls or sending emails.
Now this one’s a no-brainer. No consumer wants to buy a product or service from brands they don’t trust. Companies who have successfully instilled trust and loyalty in their consumers religiously follow these principles:
Realistically speaking, dental branding can take months, or even a year, if you do it without a team of digital marketing experts by your side. We at Digital Resource have been working with dentists in all parts of the US - from designing innovative logos and performing dental website optimization, to growing their online presence. If you’re interested to learn more about what we do, please contact us! We look forward to hearing from you.