Marketing Your Dental Practice: The Importance of Branding

Why is the importance of branding so overlooked?

Face it, when you see that red bulls eye, your brain immediately screams Target! Wouldn’t that kind of recognition help your practice?

Personalized dental health products can help brand your business. Branding is a connection between an item or service and the general public at large. You want people to see an item or use an item and immediately associate it with your business or practice.

Branding creates loyalty, and loyalty equals repeat clients. We’re talking about getting your name out there. Giving to patients at your practice creates brand loyalty. Every time that a patient utilizes the personalized toothbrush, personalized dental floss or personalized dental hygiene kit that you have provided, he/she begins to associate that item with you and with your practice.

Personalized dental health products are a way to keep your name and the name of your practice right on the front line, right in the hands of your patient. Think about how personalized dental health products could heighten your business. Let’s say you give a patient a personalized toothbrush or a personalized toothbrush kit during his/her visit for a cleaning. What happens? The patient uses and associates those products with you, and he/she remembers you. Include your logo, website address and/or phone number; whatever you believe to be most important and recognizable to your patients.

If you specialize in pediatric dentistry, add your logo to a child size toothbrush in a popular color or a rainbow of colors! Kids are hardly ever excited about dental health, but throw in a couple of personalized dental health products that kids actually like and well, you’re on the way. Don’t let the guy next door become better known just because he has branded his practice and you haven’t. Without branding, would Coke®, Pepsi® or Dr. Pepper® be where they are today? It’s not likely.

Each company created a unique brand that put it into the minds of consumers and let them equate specific conditions with those items. For Coke® it became the red and white logo and the saying “Have a Coke® and a smile!” For Pepsi® it’s all about the Pepsi generation! For Dr. Pepper® it became “The one you crave.” As you can see there are many products out there, but it is their brand that makes them unique.

Branding should be a large part of your marketing mix. Not just for items you can hand out, but in ways you can create an experience that will endear you to your clients. Your brand speaks for your business. Is your practice tailored to children and families? Do you specialize in orthodontics? Do you have experience with geriatric or other specialty dentistry? These specializations are conveyed through branding. You can continue the process of branding by creating a web site that allows you to communicate with your clients and really tell them who you are.

Your business site should contain content that is relative to your business and to your clients. Think of it as a conversation with the client and tell them what you want them to know about you and your product. Use personalized dental health products and other marketing tools to make your practice and make your unique brand stand-out among the others.
Branding creates loyalty and loyalty creates repeat customers.