Everyone recognizes the Nike swoosh, Starbucks' weird 2-tailed siren/mermaid, and Apple's...well...apple. Successful companies recognize the power of branding when it comes to connecting with people. While branding is far more encompassing than a logo, there is no doubt that branding is an important step in the life and health of a business. The same holds true for your practice! So, here is how branding helps you connect with more sick and suffering people.
The first step you'll want to take is to clearly define who you are and what you do. What are the key characteristics that are essential to your practice? What is unique about the way you practice (i.e. the new patient experience, your specific UC technique, and other core values)? Take the time to write all this down and maybe even brainstorm with your staff. Here's why:
If you may have already thought this through before, this will most likely be a quick step for you. Still, we do recommend taking it so you can have laser focus. Or, you may have never thought through your core values and are wondering if it's even that important. If you want to share a potent and articulate message...yes it IS important. To give you a hand, here is a link to our core values brainstorm. This free resource will help guide you on this key step.
Once you have clearly identified your core values, it's time to embody them with a logo and possibly a tagline. While taglines are not crucial, they definitely help if your message is not evident in the name or logo of your practice. For example, "Chicago Healthcare Clinic" is too broad and unclear. But then adding a tagline of "Bringing you health with Upper Cervical Care" will add clarity.
If you already have a logo, show it to a dozen or so people and ask them what they think. Maybe it's time to redo it. Lot's of businesses periodically tweak their logos to keep them fresh and relevant. If you haven't come up with a logo yet, here is a helpful blog that can guide you in your design: CLICK HERE.
With your core values in the front of your mind, and a logo and tagline in hand, it's time to spread the word. The important areas to consider are your website, social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc), blogs, and any other articles. Review each of these areas and view them through the lens of your core values. Do they match? If they do, then move on. If they don't match then take some time to make modifications.
Just so you have a good starting point, I'd begin with your website. Solid website branding helps you connect with more sick and suffering people. you'll want to look at each page and make sure the message is on point. Is your logo clearly seen? Does the overall message reflect who you are and what you do (aka your core values)? After the website is dialed in, you should be able to knock out your social media and blogs rather quickly. The key areas to hit are your "about" sections on social media, any"bios", and "author" sections on blogs.
Sometimes it can take a trained eye to really review your online message. If you'd like assistance, we're here for you. Clarifying your message (branding) is what we do! Just give us a ring.
If a patient or potential patient comes in contact with any of your content, there should be no disconnect within your message. So, as you go through your online and office content, make sure there is continuity. For example, if you changed your logo, it should be updated on all letterhead, email signatures, website, blogs, etc. Beyond that, if you have a tagline or vision/mission statement, they should all have exactly the same wording and placement. The whole point is that you are presenting a unified front so people clearly understand your branding.
For the upper cervical practice, branding helps you connect with more sick and suffering people. Identifying your core values, designing a relevant logo/tagline, establishing online branding, and ensuring continuity are solid steps to take. Your efforts to bring clarity to who you are and what you do will be better understood and resonate with people. Clear and effective branding will also help your current patients to share your message with others. This means a higher likelihood of referrals!
Be sure to use the resources provided and let us know if we can help.
Go team upper cervical!
