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If you think only big corporate names need to think about things like brand names and logos, think again. Your brand says a lot about you and your business, and that’s as true for a one-person operation as it is for a multinational conglomerate. In this article we look at how creating a strong brand for your business can help set yourself apart from your competitors and lay the right foundation for the future growth of your business.
What is a brand?
Your brand is more than just the logo on your letterhead and business cards or your business name. It is your whole corporate identity. An effective brand tells the world who you are, what you do and how you do it, while at the same time establishing your relevance to and credibility with your prospective customers (your patients!).
Your brand is also something more ethereal. It is how your business is perceived by its customers. If your brand has a high perceived value, you 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 as 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 brand to dominate your niche.
Why do I need to create my own brand?
Differentiation
The main reason for creating your own brand is to differentiate yourself from your competition. New dental practices are springing up everywhere; you need to constantly be looking
for ways to set yourself apart from your competition - your brand can help to do that for you.
More effective, efficient marketing
Another good reason for creating your own brand is to make your sales force (even if that’s a sales force of one - you!) more effective and efficient.
Imagine if you (or your staff) didn’t have to spend time with a prospective new 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 business.
Another benefit of branding is that the efforts you expend increasing your brand awareness through promoting and marketing, automatically transfers to your products and services. So, even when you are advertising your brand, you’re indirectly also marketing your products and services.
How do I create my own brand?
OK, so you’re convinced you need to create your own brand. Where on earth do you start?
We saw earlier 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.
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. To this extent, your logo helps create and reinforce brand awareness.
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.
Consistent usage of business name, logo and identity
Your branding needs to be used consistently and frequently in everything you produce, whether that be letters to clients, business cards, brochures, invoices, treatment plans, advertisements, website, on the front door or shop front of your practice and the internal decor of your practice - colour schemes can be a powerful brand reinforcer.
Marketing and promotion of your brand
Once you’ve created your brand, you need to market and promote it, in addition to your services. This is how you establish your credibility and relevance to your target market. High brand awareness amongst your target market will allow you to more easily introduce a wider range of services as and when they become developed, without having to start over again selling who you are, what you do and how you do it first. Your brand has already presold you.
