Does the font of your website match your stationery? Is your logo fresh and contemporary? Consistency is key when it comes to branding, writes Kerryn Ramsey.
Does the font of your website match your stationery? Is your logo fresh and contemporary? Consistency is key when it comes to branding, writes Being different and standing out from the crowd is a key element that can convert a quiet practice into a booming business. To differentiate yourself from the competition, branding is the tool that can give you a real advantage, especially if you really get it out there.
In the past, the concept of branding was often overlooked, particularly among small practices, but times have certainly changed. With an array of new practices popping up in the city and the suburbs, it’s important to set yourself apart—that’s where branding comes into it, you’ll want to employ a Digital Marketing Agency that resonates with you and your company, as well as what you’re trying to build. The marketing agency understanding your goals and views could be the difference between the marketing being successful or unhelpful.
This concept may seem a little airy-fairy to medically-minded practitioners—even a few marketing experts are fuzzy about the concept—but to simplify the issue, Carolyn Dean of My Dental Marketing touched on a particular example. It’s the friendly ‘happy tooth holding a toothbrush’ style of graphics that used to be popular in dental practices’ logos, signage and brochures.
“If a practice is utilising this graphic now, it’s time for an urgent redesign because it’s way too cheesy,” says Dean, who recently released her marketing tome, Fully Booked—Dental Marketing Secrets for a Full Appointment Book.
Although a logo is not a practice’s brand, it acts as the ‘face’ of your business—it’s what prospective patients see first. “Getting the right logo is critical,” says Dean. “It helps create and reinforce brand awareness.” The logo design’s colour, font and symbol can be replicated in various ways—on practice stationary, business cards, treatment plans, advertisements, the website and even the internal decor.
“The good old days when you had a website showing… a beautiful lady holding an apple, has absolutely no emotional connection with patients.”—Carolyn Dean, My Dental Marketing.
Dean points out that consistency is mandatory, although it’s common for a practice to slip. “Often a practice will pay for a professional logo design and bespoke stationery. Then the practice manager will whip something up in Word, then somebody else will have a go at doing something in Publisher, invariably using different fonts and colours. Suddenly, everything looks unprofessional and homemade, and that has a negative impact on the practice’s brand.”
Monica Benavides, director of Dental Fitout, reiterates this. “Consistency in every single element is essential as it communicates that point of difference.” While it sounds simple, it’s easy to miss the mark, particularly when an established practice is ready to improve its branding.
“It’s common for stationery to have been updated in the past decade but the signage outside the practice hasn’t changed. Another common mistake is not getting the right colour for the uniform. To get it right, it needs to match other elements at the practice and on the website,” says Benavides.
While a full branding revamp may be daunting, it’s a beneficial exercise. One of Dental Fitout’s clients, Smile By Design, is a case in point. Owner and principal dentist Dr Michael Tam, whose practice is predominantly cosmetic and implant-based, launched his Bondi Junction practice in 2012, followed by a North Sydney practice in 2015. In order to bring unity to both practices, Dr Tam wanted a brand that reflected his dental philosophy—“friendly, vibrant and professional”. To make all the elements work, he turned to Dental Fitout.
Dr Tam’s existing logo was applied throughout the practice, its colour and font used in other elements. This includes the website which now features photos of Dr Tam’s family, the friendly staff and examples of cosmetic work and implants. The corporate colours were implemented in the joinery, furniture and the practice fit-out generally.
Amiable, natural and personal images, such as Dr Tam’s online photos, provide prospective patients with a sense of ease and comfort. “It portrays a welcoming, family-friendly feel,” he says.
Carolyn Dean agrees that real people provide emotional connection between the practice and their patients. “When we talk to practices about how they should be branding, it’s absolutely about their people,” she says. “The good old days when you had a website showing a generic happy family with their false grins, or a beautiful lady holding an apple, has absolutely no emotional connection with patients or prospective clients.
“You need to put the dentists and the staff front and centre—on your website, on your brochures, on every piece of marketing. It’s also important to show images of the practice (such as the reception area or waiting room) as this will create positive feelings of familiarity with a practice.”
It was a big decision for Dr Tam to undertake a complete professional rebrand but one that has helped his business expand rapidly. “It’s important to have the logo integrate seamlessly with the fit-out designers to ensure correct colour themes and congruency through the practice,” he says. “Monica [Benavides] and her team definitely understood this and implemented it in our practice.”
Rather than try to entice everyone to your practice, effective branding can appeal to a specific audience or segment of the community. “The foundation of any practice is that they need to know who they are,” says Benavides. It could be a family practice or a high-end dental spa. Is it for cosmetically-oriented patients, seniors or parents of orthodontic-aged kids? “Branding can help you appeal to exactly the audience you want,” she explains.
Overall, a branding image is a way to communicate a practice’s points of difference clearly and consistently. In the past, it took time and word of mouth for people to discover that a dentist was an outstanding professional supported by warm and intelligent staff with a commitment to excellence. Now it’s possible to take that message to the world through purposeful branding.
