This week Quinn and I combed through the brands, websites, and social presence of ~300 Salt Lake City area businesses. Dental practices, to be specific. Of those 300, we found that only three had a brand that stood out to us.
That’s just 1% that are unique while HUNDREDS are carbon copy dental practices, all with the same boring smirk of a brand.
So…why should you care about dental practice branding?
Because this lame-o branding isn’t just common for dental practices, it’s common for most small businesses. When it comes to their brands (think logo, colors, typeface, personality) many think good enough is good enough.
Well, the boys at Fireside disagree. You deserve to stand out. You deserve to have a look and messaging that honors your best traits.
Your brand should make people feel something. And I mean something other than the same boredom they feel staring at the fish tank in a waiting room.
What’s more is that according to a report by Lucidpress, having a consistent brand can even increase your revenue by 33%. There are dollars on the line here, folks.
Cool, Got any Examples of a Unique Brand?
Glad you asked. To show you what I mean by looking at Boardwalk Smiles out of Davis County and what they’re doing vs. so many other dental practices.
They specialize in pediatric dentistry and have done a phenomenal job speaking to their audience of young folks. Their logo, site, and even their office feels like a skate or surf shop.
The doctor positions himself as “the doctor kids and teens will love.” Their giveaways aren’t a new tooth brush, they’re Vans skate shoes, iPads, and even merch you wouldn’t feel like a dork wearing.
Perhaps most impressive to me is how deftly they walk this delicate line. This could easily come across as a little “how do you do fellow kids” but instead, he seems genuine. Likeable. And it’s easy to see why kids would be drawn to him and the brand. Affinity like this matters to a kid who is minutes away from getting a cavity drilled. Want them excited to come back? Thoughtful branding can do it.
As you look at this brand vs. your own dentist, you’ll begin to see what I mean. Boardwalk is interesting. It’s worth talking about. We remembered them by name out of 300 practices we looked at. Can you say that about any dental practice other than the one you go to?
And it could be I’m biased a bit (I grew up wearing Vans and cruising Pac Sun looking for Hurley shirts) but I dig the vibe and if Davis County was closer, I’d definitely take my son there. That’s powerful branding magic.
So I Need to Make My Brand Unique. But like… How?
I genuinely think crafting a brand can be scary to people. It forces you to have an opinion, pick a lane, and in many cases, to be bold. Most take the easy route and do what they’ve seen rather than asking a better question: what could we be? And how does our visual identity reflect what we most care about and believe in?
And on that note, we believe that even in historically less exciting industries (accounting, perhaps), you can have an effective, unique, and resonant brand.
So why stop at good when great is right around the corner? Why be the same as the hundreds–thousands–of businesses doing the same thing you do?
Have some fun with it. Get creative. And if all else fails, give your friends at Fireside a call and let us help out. Your bottom line will thank you.
Ready to start your branding journey?
You know you deserve to stand out. You know you’re different. You just haven’t found your voice yet. Let’s find it together.