What Does Your Dental Practice Name Tell Prospects?

There are a number of reasons you may be thinking about dental practice names. You could be purchasing an existing practice, rebranding your own, or bringing in a new associate. Whatever the reason, you have a number of choices that all boil down to knowing yourself, your neighborhood, and the specific target audience you are hoping to attract to your dental practice.

Why? Because in the business of dentistry, everything you do is marketing your dental practice. Including choosing your dental practice name.

You have a few paths to follow when you’re thinking about dental practice names.

Named After Owner Dentist: Dr. Steve Kind, DMD
Pros:

• traditional path
• air of professionalism
• good for small towns or communities where your family name is already well known.

Cons:

• Prospects might not know that DMD means dentist
• Need for rebranding if you take on a partner or sell
• Lost in the noise in larger centers.

Geographic/Local Dental Office Name: Smoky Mountain Dental Care
Pros:

• Can be emotional and & engaging
• Adds to Google Local Search algorithms to increases position in search results
• Stand Out from the crowd
• Brand stays strong after you sell
• Can play on unique nature of your geography or practice – something prospects are already connected to
• Puts the expertise of all providers on the same level playing field.

Cons:

• Could be confused with other practices … Dental Care of Smoky Mountain
• Adding new practices to your brand will be a challenge if the geographical landmarks are different.

Niche Dental Clinic Name: Cedar Springs Aesthetic Dental Spa Pros:

• Tells prospects exactly where you are, what you do, and how you do it
• Speaks directly to your target audience – make sure you have completed a thorough market area analysis
• Tells targets exactly what to expect.

Cons:

• If the area tapestry around your practice changes, your name and niche may too
• You may lose your bread and butter cases if you go too niche.
• Once you’ve decided on which direction you’ll go with your name, it’s time to brainstorm a name.

Ensure your dental practice name is…

Memorable – dental practice marketing starts with branding – you need your practice neighbors to associate your name with dental care and remember your name when prospects have a question or concern about their dental care.

Simple to say – your call handling team is using your practice name all day long – make it simple to say to help your call handlers answer the phone professionally – and easy for callers to understand and remember.

Representative of your practice culture & offerings – how does your dental practice stand out? If you’re the only sedation practice, have the most experience placing dental implants, or have pursued a specialty, include these details in your practice name.

Includes your city or neighborhood name – Local online search isn’t new, nor is it going away. If your governing dental association allows it, adding your city or neighborhood name will help with search results while establishing your dental practice as a local expert.

Once you have narrowed down your list…

Google your new practice name … look for how many search results come back for that practice name.

You’ll be competing with these results and you need to know two things…

• Prospects and patients will not be confused about the other results
• Nothing negative about a different dental practice shows in search results that could ever be confused with your practice.

Ensure your practice name complies with your state or provincial advertising guidelines. Some, for example, do not allow you to use the name of your city – you may want to touch base with your representative if you are choosing a niche or location-centered name.

Check with your state business & trademark offices to make sure you are legally allowed to use the name. Just because you can’t find the business name online doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. You’d be surprised at how many of our clients didn’t have websites before they started working with Patient NEWS.

Partner with a dental marketing agency that understands your unique needs as a dental practice owner when branding and marketing your dental practice. The dedicated team at Patient NEWS has been helping dentists Stand Out & grow for 25 years, and with the tools and expertise necessary to attract the right new patients to your dental practice, we’d love to help you too!