Feb

21

Create Your Dental Brand – Step 2


dental brand creation

 

WHAT YOUR BRAND SAYS ABOUT YOU

If you think only big corporate names need to think about things like brand names and logos, think again. Your dental brand says a lot about you and your business. And that’s as true for a one-person operation as it is for a multi-national conglomerate. Creating a strong dental brand for your practice can help set yourself apart from your competitors. So aim to lay the right foundation down for the future growth of your business and think about all your branding opportunities.

 

WHAT IS A DENTAL BRAND?

Your brand is more than just the logo on your letterhead or your business name; it is your whole business identity. This includes all printed matter that your practice sends out; the interior décor and external dental signage; your advertising, your services, your dental website and email communication. An effective brand communicates who you are, what you do and how well you do it. It also helps to create credibility and inspire trust in prospective clients. Investing in your brand will differentiate your practice from your competition in an ever increasingly competitive market.

 

HOW DO PATIENTS PERCEIVE YOUR BRAND?

Your brand is also something more ethereal. It is how your business is perceived by its customers. If your dental brand has a high perceived value, you will enjoy many advantages over your competition, especially when it comes to pricing. Why do you think people are prepared to pay more money for ordinary items of clothing with the initials “CK” on them? Perceived value. Perceived value is a result of a very effective brand promotion resulting in very high brand awareness.

You do not need to all rush out and start creating brands that are going to be recognised the world over. Most of us simply don’t have the time or other resources necessary. What we are suggesting, however, is that it is possible for your dental brand to dominate your niche.

Another good reason for creating your own dental brand is to make your sales force more effective and efficient. Even if that’s a sales force of one – you!

Imagine if you (or your staff) didn’t have to spend time with a prospective new dental patient explaining who you are, what you do and how you do it. What if your brand had already communicated that for you? You could spend all your time focusing on your job and the growth of your dental practice.

 

HOW DO I CREATE MY OWN BRAND?

Once you’ve decided you want to create a brand for your dental practice you need to consider some fundamental elements: your practice name and your dental logo.

We’ve seen that your brand needs to say who you are, what you do and how you do it. It needs to do all these things at the same time as establishing your relevance to and building credibility with your prospective customers. Needless to say, it is absolutely essential, if you are to build your own brand, that you yourself have a firm grasp of who you are, what you do and how you do it. So what do you need to do next?

The usual way to proceed is to decide on the name for the practice brand and the creation of your dental logo. If you get this right from the start, your dental brand will be easier to develop and remain strong.

 

YOUR DENTAL PRACTICE NAME

Your practice name should appeal to your target market. Traditionally dental practices have simply used the name of the Principal, the building, or the street. More recently dental practices are including the word ‘smile’ in their name, showing one of the main patient benefits.

With your customer at the heart of your brand and what you do, you may choose to create a unique name which will allow you to stand out. A professional brand and design consultant can help you with this process. Use the profile you’ve put together of your target market, and combine this with the values you would like to share with your patients. They will come up with a list and you can work together to make sure this truly captures your brand.

 

CREATE A LOGO FOR YOUR BRAND

Your logo is not your brand, but your logo should allow your brand to be instantly recognised by those familiar with it. Creating a strong logo identity will help to:

• Inspire confidence and trust in the patients and referring dentists
• Convey many qualities such as a high level of care, efficiency and professionalism
• Create a solid platform for all applications of your brand such as signage, stationery and dental brochures.
• Make your practice stand out amongst its competitors

A professional graphic designer will be able to capture your practice name, your brand philosophy and create a logo which will have clarity and impact. If you are serious about creating a brand which will stand the test of time, this investment will reap the rewards many times over.

Once your logo has been created, it should be able to be used consistently in variety of different media. It should be suitable for corporate letterheads and business cards, as well as for your website and corporate signage. You do not want a confusing mishmash of logos, banners, fonts and colours. Everything you produce needs to use the same, consistent style of logo so that, over time, your logo becomes synonymous with your brand. Instant recognition is what you’re going for here, so don’t dilute it by using several different logos for different purposes. Your designer can produce clear guidelines for you and your staff to use.

After your identity design is complete, the next phase of projects such as architectural design, interior design, signage and all other marketing materials should commence. You never know, your practice logo may then become a work of art as an architectural feature or even part of a bespoke piece of furniture.

 

STEP 3 – INVEST IN YOUR WEBSITE

Create the right dental website that becomes an amazing patient generator  >

 

WHO AM I?

Alex Nicolaou is a Brand Designer and Advertising Strategist who partners with company directors, dentists, specialists and entrepreneurs to grow their personal and professional brands. Having 20 years experience in dental marketing and a total of 30 years designing and advertising in all industry sectors, Alex knows how to make your brand get noticed and communicate with your ideal target audience.

Alex has always been artistic, creative and passionate about art and design. His natural talent enabled him to develop his career working on blue chip accounts for successful London based advertising and marketing agencies. The skills learned and experienced gained placed him in good stead for running his own business which he has successfully managed and directed for 20 years.

His expertise has helped dental practices and other businesses to win national awards for design, branding and marketing. If you want your business to turn heads, he’s the man.

Read more about Alex Nicolaou here >

 

DENTAL BRANDING & MARKETING

For more information call Alex Nicolaou on 01923 609770 to find out about making the most of your website marketing opportunities.
www.design4dentists.com >

 

Alex-Nicolaou3

Alex Nicolaou
Brand & Design Director

tel: +44 (0)1923 609770
email: alex@design4dentists.com
web: https://www.design4dentists.com