Our clients rely on us to help manage their brand identity, but there are many surgeons on our mailing list who manage with an “in-house” team. And then there are some enterprising souls without an in-house team, who toil on their brand and marketing between surgeries. This list is for you: the six most common mistakes you may be making with your brand identity.
Mistake 1. No consistent look or message
A viewer cannot identify you as a consistent, reliable practice unless you have a consistent, reliable look and message. Your core building blocks are: logo, tag line, defined color palette, font selections, style of images, three traits/offerings unique to your practice.
Mistake 2. Not investing in things that bring you patients
The hard reality is, you can’t stay open if you don’t figure out how to get and keep patients.
It is important to have a delegated person to work with your marketing vendors. This person is the “keeper of your brand” and communicates your brand standards to all your vendors.
Mistake 3. Not “finding time”
Your marketing will never produce the best results if you don’t routinely schedule time for it. You scheduled coming to this conference, you schedule consults, you schedule surgery, you schedule conference attendance; schedule time to work on marketing projects on a weekly basis.
Mistake 4. Everybody’s doing it…
Reacting to marketing trends by jumping in rather than properly planning can lead to wasted dollars, wasted time and looking amateurish. Be sure you have time and a plan for it before jumping into the next social network or marketing scheme.
Mistake 5. Neglecting your current database
Your existing patients are the fastest way to a new booking. Are you maintaining that relationship? Are you giving them an easy opportunity to come back to you and to tell their friends about you?
Mistake 6. No established budget, no plan
If you run your marketing plan by your checkbook rather than by a plan and budget, you can fall into a classic trap: when patients are plentiful, you see no need to invest; when patients are scarce, you have no money to invest.
