Creating a Positive Image for Your Practice
Published in the October 2002 issue of MD News magazine
Jessica Munday, President

---

The art of marketing is largely the art of building a brand. There is more to branding than just creating a logo and selecting company colors or choosing your practice name. Branding is the sum of experiences your customer has with your practice. By creating positive experiences you are creating patient loyalty and retention.

There are several steps you can take to orchestrate a positive image for your practice. They include:

Develop a set of tools to strengthen and project your brand.
This includes choosing a brand name (i.e. your practice name). Remember the best known brand names carry associations (for example: McDonald's equates to Golden Arches, kids, Ronald McDonald). You need to also select a symbol or logo to use in your communications. Select and use a consistent set of colors and fonts to aid in your brand's recognition. Add a slogan or tag line to your brand name, which is repeated in every ad you create.

Your practice may have already developed a set of branding tools. If that is the case you may just need to revisit this step to ensure your efforts have been effective. Asking yourself:

1. What associations does my practice name carry?
2. Does my logo accurately represent my practice?
3. Am I using a consistent set of colors and fonts in my communications?
4. Am I using my slogan/tag line effectively?

Offer superior customer service.
As I mentioned before, branding is the sum of experiences your customer has with your practice. Your customer service is a key component in that equation. From the moment your customer picks up the telephone to call your office, to their first step into your practice, you have an opportunity to leave an impression more valuable than any other branding strategy. Superior and distinct service is the most cost-effective marketing tool you can use. Loyal patients are more likely to comply with treatment, prescription and other elements of their care plans and less likely to leave your practice for another.

Create a truly branded experience.
Walk around your practice, observe staff and listen to how phones are answered. What is it like to drive into the parking area? Walk into your practice and up to the receptionist. Sit in the waiting area and read your marketing collateral. Wait in a patient room for 15 minutes. Call your office to make an appointment. What are all these experiences like? All of them shape the healthcare experience and reflect on your practice's image.

By taking these few steps you are working toward creating a balanced branding strategy for your practice that can reach its fullest potential. Look at your branding initiatives from the inside out. The greatest return on investment of your practice dollars and resources will come from satisfied patients and referral sources which stems from a positive practice image.