Poor branding is an issue that medical practices encounter all the time; but did you know that these issues negatively impact the patient experience? If something is missing or seems out of place, your patients will be able to detect it.
At first, you might roll your eyes and think, how bad can a small lapse in brand consistency really be?
It’s a big deal! To your patients, branding represents dependability and professionalism, and this kind of trust plays a huge role in patient loyalty.
There are areas where your branding might be lacking, and perhaps you’re not even aware of them. Let’s look at a few of these areas, and discuss what can be done to clean them up.
The Patient Experience
When developing a brand from the ground up, every medical practice should keep their patients in mind. Many times, medical practices roll out their brand without any regard to the patient experience. Obviously, this can be detrimental.
For example, if you’re a pediatrician and brand your practice with a black and white style guide with serif fonts, you’re not taking your target demographic into account. You should be aiming to create a brand and an environment where children feel comfortable and want to return to your practice.
Brand your practice in a way that is going to attract and retain more patients from your target demographic. Create a place where patients want to be!
Brand Recognition
Similarly, patients are more likely to trust something they recognize. A great logo or facility can often accomplish this.
How many times do customers choose Coca-Cola over another cola brand? Clean, recognizable branding usually wins out over any competitor.
So, build something unforgettable! When patients are faced with the decision to choose between your practice and another practice, the familiarity of your brand will be a key factor.
Brand Consistency
Nothing is worse than a logo, a header, or content that doesn’t match its website, its style guide, or any other elements of your practice’s brand. When something appears out of place, it sticks out like a sore thumb. This is only amplified in the patient experience.
Do you know what this does to your patients’ perception of your brand? Though patients usually won’t express what they’re thinking, they usually view branding consistencies (particularly blatant inconsistencies) in a negative light.
Do they not care about how odd this looks? Are they just not smart or creative enough to catch such a slip up? If they can’t put the proper time into branding, what does this say about their practice?
And even if they’re not quite this critical, they still notice the inconsistency.
Make an effort to run through all of your brand elements on a regular basis. As you add things over time – whether it’s a new article, a new web page, or a new room in your facility – it’s not uncommon for an inconsistency to slip through the cracks. Consult with your team and make sure that there is uniformity at every turn.
Interior Design
Have you ever seen a new medical website that has been rolled out, only to find that the medical practice’s facility doesn’t match at all? We have.
Branding doesn’t only involve your online presence. It involves your offices, your staff, and even your core values. The brand should define the space.
If your website has just gone through a brand refresh but your print materials and interior design haven’t made the same jump, you’re going to create a confusing patient experience.
Walmart’s blue and yellow color palette is used on their website, in their marketing materials, and throughout all of its stores. If you ever walked into a Walmart that was decked out in orange and green, you’d immediately detect the inconsistency and wonder whether it was a Walmart store at all!
Target is red and white. Starbucks is green. McDonald’s is red and yellow. These massive companies have become iconic because there is consistency in every area – including their stores and their offices.
Of course, branding can be tricky. It takes a keen eye and great attention to detail to maintain brand consistency throughout all areas of your medical practice.
If your practice could benefit from branding and marketing services – whether it’s a brand refresh, a website tune-up, or a set of professional videos that convey what your brand is about – contact the team at filmMED today!
We’ll make sure your branding is up to scratch and integrated throughout your entire practice, so that the patient experience is optimized at every level.
