In this episode, Barbara discusses:
-What does your brand say about you?
-How can you strengthen your brand in the market
-How to build your brand reputation in the public
-What is Professional Brand Value
Key Takeaways:
“Your reputation and the perception of who you are is everything!” – Barbara Hales.
Connect with Barbara Hales:
Twitter: @DrBarbaraHales
Facebook: facebook.com/theMedicalStrategist
Business website: www.TheMedicalStrategist.com
YouTube: https://YouTube.com/TheMedicalStrategist
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/barbarahales
Email: barbara@barbarahalesmd.com
Books:
Content Copy Made Easy
14 Tactics to Triple Sales
Power to the Patient: The Medical Strategist
TRANSCRIPTION: (114)
Welcome to another episode of marketing tips for doctors. I’m your host, Dr. Barbara Hales. Today, I’d like to talk to you about your brand. What does your brand say about you? And how can you straight strengthen it?
Strengthening Your Brand
Strengthening your brand increases not only visibility and awareness but also strengthens your reputation with the public, who have become mindful consumers of their health. Studies show that despite any referrals by friends, family, or doctors, eight out of 10 people will go online to check out a doctor or health professional before making an appointment. The question is whether you are content to let other patients go to your colleagues instead of you or whether you’d like to grow your practice and increase your revenue. Will you win the competition? Think about who you are, what you provide, and the image that you would like to portray.
This reminds me of an event that happened to me last week. I won. An email announced me as a winner of dinner at a posh restaurant and a photo session sponsored by a portrait studio. Equally, I made the appointment for the following week and showed up with two outfits for the camera shots. When asked why I can and what I hope to get. I stated that new photos would be nice to fresh on my website. After getting dressed in print, I was led into a room with props and a photographer who directed me to stand or sit in various staid Victorian poses. After the session, I was led into another room where the photos were projected onto the wall, and I was asked to select the one I liked the best for printing and framing. The purpose was to point out the purpose of painting out imperfections and making it look like an artistic rendition.
Knowing Your Brand
At this point, I asked if they could send me the other photos in digital versions from my website and social media platforms for a fee. The response was strong and adamant. We do not provide services like that. This is a studio that provides portraits. Again, I asked for the other photos, the digital use, and was flatly denied. The response was that providing quality portraits is what they do. If they were to veer off, it was solely their brand. Everyone knows that they represent portraits.
And when someone wants one, they know to call their studio. They knew their brand. Others knew their brand name and were unwilling to compromise on that. The thing is, despite being disappointed, I knew they were right. Your reputation and the perception of who you are is everything—being a physician and a copywriter for the health community. I strengthen brands as part of what I do. This is what I am known for. Unlike most marketers, I am also a physician of medicine. This is unique.
Brand Value of Your Products and Services
Since I’ve worked in the trenches with you, I understand what you go through and what you do to attract your patients. There are various strategies that boost the perception of you being the best at what you do. And it would be great if others knew more about you. The hard-working and deserving professional brand value is what people perceive of your services and products. High-quality brands attract those mindful consumers as potential patients and retain those current patients of your practice. Continuously bolstering your brand is necessary for the long-term success of your practice. It is no longer a matter only of success now. It is a matter of survival.
3 Steps to Strengthen your Brand
Dr. Barbara Hales: There are three steps that you can implement now to strengthen your brand. The first is consistency. Having the same opinions, tone of voice, and language usage allows the mindful consumer to think of you and allows the research engines to identify you. Use the same colors, fonts, and shapes on all your assets, website pages, newsletters, emails, blogs, social media posts, packaging, and anything else you produce speed speak with one voice so that others can identify with you.
The second is credibility. As a professional, you will have degrees from universities and medical schools. People want to know where your training is from. Of course, they also want to see that you’re licensed in the state and feel that you’re practicing. This is also a good section to place your awards and any recognition you’ve received from associations, communities, and media.
And the third is satisfaction. Satisfaction comes from engagement and emotional connections. People need to feel that you are empathetic and caring. Having loyalty programs shows value to patients’ satisfaction is also reflected by ratings and reviews. This incorporates testimonials; you must have reputation management in place because if this area is left ignored and there are poor reviews, your practice can tank overnight.
Mindful of your Reputation
The value of your brand boils down to exclusivity or uniqueness. It’s how you set yourself apart from others in your field. You must be able to communicate well with others and be consistent throughout all marketing channels, all the while being mindful of your reputation.
To get more tips on branding and marketing for medical practices. Listen to the Apple podcast where I have done branding and marketing for the medical practice. Go to podcast.apple.com forward-slash us s forward slash podcast and look for my episode. This has been another episode of marketing tips for doctors with your host, Dr. Barbara Hales. Til next time.