Do you have authentic dental branding? The reviews are in.
The brand image for your dental practice is the foundation for all of your dental marketing. It’s what creates the first impression people have about you before they even step foot in your office.
But what about after they visit you? Does the reality of who you are meet the expectations they had? If not, that mismatch can make your dental branding seem less than authentic. And that can lead to disappointment and even diminish the amount of trust your patients have for you.
Identifying a potential brand image problem actually isn’t that difficult. If you want to know if your branding is hitting the mark or not, you don’t have to look any farther than your online reviews.
Read your patient reviews to see if your branding is accurate
Hopefully you have numerous patient reviews collected and published online. If so, what you need to do first is compile them all and read through them one by one. Highlight the adjectives that patients use to describe you and note which ones are mentioned most frequently. Then, try to sum up in a few words who you are overall in the eyes of your patients.
Next, it’s time for the moment of truth.
Go to your dental website and imagine you are a potential new patient visiting your practice’s homepage for the first time. Looking at your own logo, visuals, wording, tagline, and other branding elements, what would your first impression be if you were in their shoes? If you had to come up with your own list of adjectives to describe yourself and your practice, how closely would that list match up with the ones you compiled from your real reviews?
If the two impressions are in alignment, congratulations! Your branding is authentically representing who you really are in the eyes of your patients.
On the other hand, if there is a mismatch, you might want to reconsider your existing brand image. It’s possible that either the personality of your office has evolved since your brand was established or (more likely) there was little or incorrect thought put into your branding in the first place.
For example, if patients frequently use words like “fun” and “lively” to describe you, but you would definitely think “serious” or “conservative” by looking at your website, you have an obvious contradiction that needs to be addressed.
The good news is that it’s never too late to either refresh your brand or re-brand completely. That may sound like a complex and even expensive undertaking, but consider how much money you will be losing if you continue to try and attract and retain new patients with branding that is misleading. And in most cases, a rebrand can be a huge boost to a practice’s visibility and bring more new patients through the door.
Need some brand aid?
At Golden Proportions Marketing, we are experts at developing brand identities for dentists! Our DNA Dental Branding process creates truly unique, authentic dental branding based on who you really are. Contact us today to learn more and get the brand you deserve!