You’re starting your business and are now thinking of developing a brand. One of the key elements of a brand is your business name. You consider what you like and what you know. You think of a name that you feel captures you and your service or business perfectly. In the medical industry, often times doctors choose to keep it simple and use their name “Dr xxx” as their business title.
So… you have chosen a name, but will it work as a brand?
Although you might think the name is ideal, the real questions is does it convey what the business is about and does it encapsulate your brand as a whole? More importantly, will your clients identify with it? Unless the client already knows you, why would they attribute any brand meaning or loyalty to you as a business? Although you need to love your brand (you will have it for a lifetime), the power of a brand isn’t so much about what you like, but how powerful it is in reaching your client.
In simple terms: the purpose of investing into brand development is to help to get your client involved, interested and invested into your business.
When developing a brand for your business we need to begin by asking a few questions.
- Who are we trying to reach out to and identify with?
- What are we trying to convey? (the tangible and intangible elements of your business)
- Will the brand allow for business growth?
1.Who are we trying to identify with?
Naturally, many of us initially develop an idea for a brand based on our knowledge and perceptions of what we do as a business. However, we need to consider what is our client’s knowledge and perception of our business?
We want to develop a brand that allows your clients to clearly understand what you do and that they can relate to. By doing this we are giving your client the chance to attribute a sense of connection with your business.
You might have different elements to your business that is targeting different types of clients and you brand development also has to take that into consideration.
2.What are we trying to convey? (the tangible and intangible elements of your business)
The tangible elements of our business are often quite simply conveyed in our business name. For example if we created a brand “Sydney Surgeons” it appears to be clear and easily understood, it conveys what the practice is and where its located, but it’s too broad. We obviously would want to specify what type of surgeon. But that doesn’t cover the intangible elements of your service which is what people relate to and buy into.
In many cases a tagline can be the lynch pin of a brand as it can clearly articulate the intangible elements of your business and set you apart in the mind of the client. Intangible elements can be very powerful in creating your brand strength. They can be used to create expectations such as excellence or be principle and values based around things like care and trust.
In the car industry, the intangible values of the brand are heavily relied upon to sell their products:
Jeep: Don’t hold back (amongst others)
Mercedes: The best or nothing
Toyota: Oh what a feeling
3.Will the brand allow for business growth?
Your brand has a greater opportunity for growth if it’s not just about you. Not so long ago, it was the standard in the medical industry for specialists to name their business after their personal name, i.e. Dr Joe Bloggs – Rheumatologist. There is weight behind a name, particularly a trusted and well established one.
The limitations are that it doesn’t allow the business to grow and expand or to attract in other professionals and different elements. It also doesn’t allow for the business to be duplicated, sold or transferred when Dr Bloggs decides to expand or retire as it relies completely on his personal presence. With this in mind it’s important to consider early on whether your brand is better established as an entity.
Where to now?
These three questions are only the early beginnings of developing a brand for your business. At CJU Medical Marketing we believe it is essential to begin the brand development process with a strategic marketing workshop. A strategic marketing workshop will help determine your business strategic plan and in turn will ensure that your brand is supported and positioned by an overall process that will help achieve your business goals. Contact the team at CJU Medical Marketing to organise a strategic marketing workshop to assist in brand development of your business.
