What You Need to Know About Branding
Many people talk about branding – What’s your brand? Does this partnership align with my brand? Is it time for a rebrand?– but what does that mean? Grace Rizza, founder and CEO of Identity Dental Marketing, is an expert on branding for dental practices and shares these tips with the Dental Peeps Network:
A brand is simply a visual identity that resonates with the intended audience. Creating one involves telegraphing what your practice is about to attract your ideal patients and set the right tone. “Think about your intended reputation,” Grace advises. “Whenever we’re building a brand, we’re actually building how people perceive you, and we want to identify this in a way that’s true to who you are.”
How do you go about creating a new brand for your dental office? When is it time to reevaluate the one you have now? First, determine whether your current brand or the brand you are envisioning rings true. Do the elements such as graphics, font, and tagline fit with what you’re about?
Grace gives the fictional example of a mature dental practice whose tagline is “Convenient, compassionate care.” That was accurate when the practice was founded, but times have changed: Cutbacks have forced this practice to scale back personnel. It no longer has weekend appointments. It no longer accepts insurance. The phone is not answered after regular business hours. In this case, rebranding around the office’s current strengths would be wise to meet patient expectations.
Creating a brand involves far more than searching for clipart of a smiling tooth! Grace notes that there is a psychology to choosing a name, font, colors, and symbols. First, you need to understand your intended audience and know how to attract them visually.
Primary colors and whimsical lettering may work well for a pediatric dentist, but not for a practitioner whose bread and butter is restorative work on seniors. It’s an obvious example, of course, but should get you thinking about what you want your brand to be.
Grace and her team at Identity Dental Marketing take the guesswork out of branding. They offer deep expertise in helping dental practices create unique, powerful, and effective identities.
Want Grace to answer a question about dental marketing? Email her at grace@identitydental.com.
