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brand, branding, marketing, practice, strategy

 

A digital strategy for any practice is the large sum of many smaller parts. One such part is branding. Branding, the overlook look and message of a company, really helps to up the professionalism of your practice.  Ideally, branding should play a significant role in shaping your overall marketing strategy

 

DO YOUR HOMEWORK

To begin to craft any kind of branding strategy, you first need to conduct an audit on your practice. Who is your target audience? What are their specific needs and wants? How can you best reach them based on their preferences? Once you fully understand the behavior and lifestyle of your target patients, then to build a strategy to directly appeal to them.

Analyze your own practice and your competitors. Find something that will make you stand out to people in your local region. What makes you unique and sets you apart from other practices? Do you offer a new or uncommon procedure? Do you speak a in-demand language for your region? Identify what makes you unique and embrace it. Also take a look at competing practices. What are their strengths and unique advantages? What are their weaknesses and areas of lacking? All of these details will come together to help shape your strategy.

 

DEVELOP A BRAND IDENTITY

Once you have determined the audience that you want to attract, you need to make sure that your practice is easily identifiable as a brand. Name, logo, color scheme and all pertinent information need to be the same across the board. Social media, website, business cards, print ads – every medium should represent your practice’s visuals in a cohesive and unified manner.

Also consider adding a brief, one-sentence tagline to your materials that really drives home what your practice values. This is the message that you put out into the world and want to be associated with. Is patient experience your top priority? Are you welcoming of patients from all economic backgrounds?  Let your values define your brand and attract the perfect patients for your practice.

 

PUT IT INTO ACTION

Now that you have the research and preparation in your pocket, it’s time to put them into practice. Allow your audit and branding to not only boost your marketing plan but to guide it. Keep your branding visuals consistent across all channels (both on and offline). Use what you learned about your audience to target your content and message to the people most likely to be receptive.

Are you branding yourself as the best patient experience in your area? Show it! Consistency doesn’t stop with your visuals. Every employee in your practice needs to be on board with your mission and working to uphold your core values. Consider creating an employee handbook that provides guidelines including what you expect in terms of patient interaction and engagement and how the brand is portrayed on social media. Staying true to the message you put out solidifies your credibility and builds trusts with your patients.

 

The successful medical practice is not simply just a company in their patients’ minds – it is a brand. People see the logo and the colors and can immediately identify the practice. They come to associate your practice with certain emotions and experiences – you must ensure that those remain positive. Building a strong and professional brand for your practice keeps patients happy, keeps your employees engaged and contributes to a great overall experience for everyone involved.