Building and Sustaining a Valuable Brand for Your Medical Practice
Where, When, and How to Get Started
In the growing field of membership-based medicine, building relationships with your members is not just a prerequisite to success – It is success. As such, one of the most important components of establishing a successful practice is building and sustaining a valuable brand. In a recent episode of the ROAMD podcast, Dr. Scott Pope sits down with Dr. James Pinckney II to discuss the finer points of medical practice branding for new clinics and “doctorpreneurs” who are just getting started launching their own practice.
“Dr. James” is the CEO and founder of Diamond Physicians, offers some practical advice as a starting point: “Details, Details, Details. Growing up, my father told me ‘Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance,’ or Pinckney’s 5 P’s.” He suggests starting with basic questions, such as what you envision the brand to look like, and feel like. Think about the ‘Why’ behind your medical practice branding, and establish a vision for the next five years. Do you envision multiple clinics and multiple doctors? This is important to do upfront, because once you have launched, it’s difficult to go back.
While he branded himself as “Dr. James” early on in his medical career (in residency), he chose to go with a different name for his practice, for the simple reason that he imagined other doctors would not want to come work at an organization named after someone else. Over the last decade, he’s been able to build a separate, synergistic relationship between his medical practice, and his personal brand.
Branding 101: Branding vs. Marketing?
When asked what advice he would offer to the many single physician shops who are looking to grow their business in a local market, Dr. James emphasizes the importance of distinguishing branding from marketing.
“Branding is not going to bring money and revenue; that’s marketing. But branding is just as important, because once your clients come to you, they’re going to need to understand who you are, why you do what you do, and really connect with your brand, and that’s what drives stickiness, and allows you to retain your membership.”
He describes marketing as the ongoing work to bring patients into the doors, including search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), as well as traditional boots-on-the-ground execution of going to different businesses, talking to prospects, attending industry events.
Finding Your Nomenclature
While the field has been awash in different terminology – Concierge care, direct primary care, membership-based medicine, to name a few – the most important thing is to make sure the consumer understands what your medical practice branding means.
“The word ‘DPC’ didn’t exist when I was thinking about my brand in 2010. It was concierge medicine, most people didn’t know what that was; most doctors didn’t know, and still don’t know what concierge medicine is. I wanted to connect to consumers in a different way. I wanted them to understand that this was not fee-for-service insurance-based medicine. This was a luxury product, that we increased the amount of time you get to spend with your doctor and the experience.”
Dr. James reveals that it’s okay to try different language that feels right to you, and to update how you are talking about the brand over time. “ I like the words ‘membership-based medicine’; I used that between 2010-2015. You pay a monthly or annual membership, and that is the product, and …while that vernacular didn’t stick, I still use that language all the time.”
Evolving your Brand Over Time
Dr. James recommends revisiting your medical practice branding every five years or so; this could mean refreshing the website, iterating the logo, and ensuring consistency across all media, especially social media and patient-facing communications. While he relates to bootstrapping operations while launching a new clinic, he emphasizes the importance to have a budget, however small it may be, dedicated to both branding and marketing your medical practice from the very beginning. It is also critical to ensure that as your revenue grows, you are increasing those budgets to keep up with scale.
With the adage of “starting with the end in mind,” Dr. James also encourages those at the start of their journey to think about how your medical practice branding should outlast you as an individual: “The brand should survive you; it should survive the creator. It should create a legacy, long after you’re gone. You want something that withstands the test of time. That’s what people should start with when they think about the brand.” He notes that this is especially helpful in thinking about hiring, growing to multiple locations, and setting yourself up for potential exit opportunities for your business.
Finally, he encourages everyone not to be afraid to make mistakes. He shares that when he started, he didn’t do a trademark search on the original name for the business and as a result, had to change the name early on. He also spent tens of thousands of dollars on different sports sponsorships that did not produce any new business; he attributes this to not knowing the difference between medical practice branding and marketing, as well as being an early mover in the space.
Dr. James’ parting guidance for branding new medical practices? “Make sure the brand aligns with who you are. You don’t want to copy someone else. Be authentic; people can sense authenticity; if your brand is not authentic, you will not be successful.”
For more insights into building a medical practice brand that stands the test of time, listen to our other episodes and be sure to visit ROAMD online to gain more insights into building membership-based medical practices that put relationships at the center of care.
Dr. James Pinckney II is the Founder and CEO of Diamond Health Inc., a medical practice dedicated to transforming healthcare delivery in America since 2012. He serves on the advisory boards of ROAMD and Equinox, as medical host for television’s Chasing the Cure Live, and as a member of the regional scholarship selection committee for the Jackie Robinson Foundation.
Dr. Pickney is passionate about healthcare reform and creating positive change through direct medicine. A graduate of Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Pinckney holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Wake Forest University and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Family Medicine. He achieved recognition on the Dallas Business Journal’s 2015 Who’s Who in Health Care and the Super Doctors’ Rising Stars lists.
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