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The Basics Of A Great Dental Brand
What Does Your Brand Say?
It’s easy to explain how Coke has become a brand after 100 years of advertising and marketing efforts, but sometimes, it is very difficult to explain how a dentist creates a brand with relatively few resources, in just one community, and in a short period of time.
It always starts with a great product, a great location, and a great in-office experience. However, many dental practices with all of these necessary requirements, (and they are all necessary) never really build a “brand.” Something else must be required and I’m going to try to explain it in very simple terms in this article.
Many marketing experts talk about brands, but for this discussion, lets not be so concerned about brand building as we are building a loyal community of believers in your dental services. We may even refer to them as patriots, fans and advocates. As a dental professional, you may not relate to actually building a brand, but you do think a lot about the group of people that prefer your products and services–your patients.
In the simplest of terms, brand building can be boiled down to the fact that brands are belief systems. Once you think of a brand as a belief system, you automatically understand the things that giant companies spend billions of dollars trying to obtain: trust, quality, vision, values, leadership, and on and on.
Four Simple Steps
Building a brand for a dental practice can be broken into four simple steps. These steps are critical to brand building for any small service business, but they are a perfect plan for any dental professional to follow.
Number 1 is a creation story. Apple Computer is about a couple of guys who built personal computers in their parent’s garage. Nike started with a guy making running shoes with a waffle iron. UPS was started by a fifteen year-old with a bicycle. Who are you?
Even if you don’t have a personal creation story, where were you born? Where did you go to high school? Where did you go to dental school? Are you married? Kids? Do you love dogs?
Branding pioneer Jack Trout asserts that the creation story is critical, simply because that story “is often at the heart of being different and successful.”
Number 2, what are you about? All belief systems have a creed that boldly claims what you believe in. Do you think different? Do you have any special training that influences your treatment philosophy? Do you provide an extra level of service, or do you provide any products and services that other dentists don’t?
Number 3. Once we know where you’re from and what you’re about, show us who you are. All great brands have visual icons or symbols that sum up who they are and what they’re about. The Nike swoosh. The Stars and Stripes. The Olympic Rings. Icons are not just logos and images, but they spark the other senses as well. The taste of McDonald’s French fries, the smell of BMW leather trim, the feel of a Tommy Bahama silk shirt, and the Coca Cola jingles we’ve all memorized.
Number 4. Every powerful brand has a set of sacred words that are associated with the product or service. These sacred words are found in every component of the brand’s packaging, advertising, and sales literature. The sacred words are constantly on the lips of every member of the corporate team. They are spoken by celebrity voices and show up at sports arenas, airports and the pages of Time Magazine. We believe the sacred words because they become a part of our subconscious and part of the fabric of our society.
The branding steps at work
Take Coke. The creation story is about Dr. John Pemberton creating a carbonated drugstore beverage. The creed is about “the real thing.” The icons are the shapely bottle profile and the Coke red ribbon. The sacred words include “Coke”, “It’s the real thing”, “Coke is it”, and other words exclusive to the Coke experience.
Consider the iPod. The creation story has to do with bringing Steve Jobs back into the Apple empire and the redesign of personal computing and Apple Corp. The creed is about delivering sound and pictures in portable ways like no other company has ever tried. The icons are the elegant design of the iPod and the striking two-color ads. The sacred words are the product names that surrounds the “i” universe - iPod, iTunes, iPhoto–a hip, naming convention that followers have stolen.
Is it working? Do Diet Coke drinkers get upset on the airline when they find that they only serve Pepsi products? Try taking an iPod away from its owner and replacing it with a Sony MP3 player.
When people believe, they belong. When they belong to the group that surrounds your dental services, they are willing to refer friends and family to your practice. Remember the last time you moved? Where did you find out about the best grocery store? The best church? The auto mechanic who wouldn’t rip you off? Probably from someone who already “belonged” to their group, someone who preferred them above all others and was willing to advocate that preference.
Branding is a process that can help you position your dental products and services by creating a community of people to surround them. Brands are built by providing products and services that people can believe in.
Don’t become another generic dentist
To the general public it can be difficult to differentiate one dentist from another. This difficulty has been magnified for decades, by dentists who offer no special competitive advantage or unique approach to dentistry. The shame is that with the cutting edge equipment, procedures, and high tech dental philosophies in place, it isn’t very hard to be special. Especially, since only a small percentage of the dentists in the industry seem to understand the unique opportunity that is before them.
Update your old equipment. Become comfortable with cosmetic dentistry. Invest in a laser and digital radiography. Spend some money perfecting your front office with one of the many invaluable patient education systems available. Expand your hours. Hire a practice management coach and perfect your craft. Then, when you have done these things and more, shout it from the top of your roof!
Joel Harris, is CEO and Co-Founder of Intelligent Dental Marketing one of the Nation's leading Dental Marketing companies focused exclusively on dental practices. Intelligent Dental Marketing provides powerful marketing tools to help dentists grow their patient base, increase their profit and improve their image. He can also be reached directly at 877.942.8855
Interested in speaking to Joel about developing your brand? Email him at Joel@thedentistsnetwork.net
Interested in having Joel Harris speak to your dental society or study club? Click Here.
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Planning Your Exit Strategy: Key Questions to Address
Part I
As we approach 2007, some of you may be reflecting on how your career will end. In any life transition, proper planning can be the difference between success and disappointment. If you are thinking of a practice transition in the next five years, today is a good time to get started. Designing a strategy, timeline and objectives will create the roadmap for your journey into retirement. In this two-part article, we’ll review 10 key points that you should consider to maximize a successful practice transition.
Look at The Big Picture
A realistic outlook is needed to properly strategize for retirement. In this issue, we’ll address 5 key questions to get the transition planning process started:
1. Can I afford to retire?
When wanting to retire collides with being able to retire, the outcome can be devastating. Enlist the services of a financial planner to quantify the answer through a retirement income need analysis, which will project what you will need to live comfortably, for how long, based upon your current assets. If a shortfall is uncovered, plan now so you can make adjustments to your lifestyle or income before it’s too late.
2. Will anyone buy my practice?
The condition of your physical plant will either help or hinder your ability to sell. If your practice has a worn out look, and if your equipment is old, finding a young dentist willing to buy could prove difficult. If you are going to practice five years or more, consider updating equipment, or updating your office through smart interior decorating. You will receive tax breaks for Section 179 expense or depreciation, as well as recouping some of the value when your practice is sold. Remember that in an urban or suburban area, competition will be fierce for buyers. Enhancing your physical plant will help you compete in the long run. For practices located in small towns or rural areas, more time is needed for recruitment of potential candidates since the number of potential purchasers is far less than in Metropolitan or Suburban areas.
3. Am I up to date with technology?
If you are one of the 10% of dentists who do not have a dental software program and you plan to practice at least two years, make the investment to automate. Most purchasers are skeptical of a practice’s potential if computer records cannot be accessed or generated. Generally speaking, investing in clinical technology is only worth it if you can derive benefit from it immediately.
4. How efficient and profitable is my practice?
Building up your practice before retirement is not counter-productive. In fact, increasing your net income for the years leading up to the sale of the practice may increase the value of your practice quite handsomely as well as possibly provide more funds for your retirement plan. Most practice’s benefit from professional consulting and making that investment should provide good returns.
5. What are my real estate issues?
Since most solo practitioners own their office space, special consideration must be made for the majority of buyers who will not want to purchase the real estate with the practice. Most buyers will want to pay rent initially and then make a purchase after a few years of practice ownership. If a deferred real estate sale is part of your future, be sure that your Agreement of Sale for your practice includes a future purchase option, which allows a buyer the first right of refusal to purchase the building. Not being able to sell your practice and your office space may detrimentally affect your financial plan. Work with a financial advisor to allow for this possibility.
6. Is my building worth more than my practice?
In cases where your real estate’s value is greater than the value of your practice, selling both assets together may create problems with funding for potential buyers. If a buyer cannot obtain funding for the down payment for the real estate transaction, you may need to become a landlord, until a purchase can be made. If so, be sure to charge rent that is comparable to other professional practices in your area. Set lease terms to a minimum of five years with a five-year renewal. This provides lenders with assurance that the tenant will remain.
In the next issue we’ll address five key points that you need to consider as you get closer to a practice sale.
Dr. Thomas L. Snyder, is Managing Partner of The Snyder Group, LLC, a nationwide practice transition and financial management consulting firm. With over 75 years of experience in the field, The Snyder Group can provide you a full range of services relating to practice transition matters and retirement planning. They can also be reached directly at 1-800-988-5674.
If you would like additional help regarding implementing an associate into your practice, email Dr. Snyder at Drsnyder@thedentistsnetwork.net.
Interested in having Dr. Snyder speak to your dental society or study club? Click Here.
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