Once you have figured out WHO you want to attract and serve, the next step is to sort out your branding.

Your brand IS NOT your logo.

Your brand IS NOT your colours. 

Your brand is EVERYTHING.

But as they are the most tangible, this is where most entrepreneurs start. When, in reality, this is the very last part of your brand you should be defining…honestly!

Your brand is the intangible thread between you, your business and your clients. It is the heart and soul of your business.

By defining your brand clearly, you will have the tools to cohesively and consistently present you and your business to the world in a way that attracts the EXACT type of patient to your clinic.

When they find you on Google. When they stumble across your Instagram page. Before they’ve booked in. Before they’ve had treatment. While they sit in your waiting area. When they are sat in the treatment chair and in any interactions that follow. Your brand flows through every single interaction.

The goal when creating your brand is for it to be memorable - to differentiate your business from your competitors and create a lasting impression in the minds of your patients.

Unfortunately, many aesthetic business owners end up following the crowd, blending in with the competition, rather than standing out. They become vanilla and bland. You need to avoid this!

So, how do you sort out your brand?

Firstly, you need to understand that there are three elements to your brand.

1. How your brand LOOKS

2. How your brand SOUNDS

3. How your brand FEELS

You need to define each of these to sit down with your Perfect Patient Personas and work through the following sections.

HOW DOES YOUR BRAND FEEL?

Your ethos, purpose and professionalism should flow through your brand. This is at the heart of your brand.

To understand how you want your brand to feel, you need to have thought about, and be able to articulate the following things about you and your business:

• Purpose - why does your business even exist? Hint…the primary reason shouldn’t be “to get out of the NHS”! 

• Vision - what you hope to achieve through your business?

• Mission - how are you going to help others? What impact do you want to make?

• Values - what are your personal and professional values?

Spend some time thinking about your brand heart. This is the cornerstone of your brand.

TIP: Write detailed answers to the questions above. You may want to work on this with someone who knows you REALLY well. This will help you understand and articulate your brand heart clearly.

HOW DOES YOUR BRAND SOUND?

Often, an aesthetic business brand is an extension of the practitioner’s own personal brand - which is largely based on their character and personality. Some of the most successful aesthetic clinics have been built on the personal brand of the founding clinician, so lean into yourself to establish an authentic brand sound.

Think about how you want to come across to others when they interact with your business prior to meeting you? How do you want to be perceived online, on social media, in written copy.

Are you…

Responsible Playful Dry Edgy Snarky Cutesy Sarcastic Punny Witty Clever Silly Informative Scholarly Commanding Professional Authoritative Optimistic Empathetic Compassionate Trustworthy Blunt Confident Intellectual Clinical Funny Tolerant Insightful Humble Energetic Open-minded Generous Honest Caring Ambitious Loyal Enthusiastic Creative Patient Assertive … the list is endless!

TIP: List 5 adjectives to describe how you WANT your brand to sound and 5 adjectives to describe how you definitely DON’T WANT it to sound.

HOW DOES YOUR BRAND LOOK?

Only once you have decided who you want to serve and how you want your brand to sound and feel…then, and only then, can you decide on your logo and colours. 

These are the final piece of your brand puzzle!

• You must ensure that the colours and shapes you choose reflect not only your brand feel and sound, but they are relevant to your perfect patient personas.

If your primary perfect patient persona is an affluent, retired headteacher from Reading, a fluffy pink logo and relaxed tone of voice will not appeal to them.

Whereas, if your perfect persona is a younger person with less disposable income, who still lives at home and loves an episode of Love Island, a high end, navy and gold luxe brand identity with an authoritative tone of voice will miss the mark totally.

• View your logo and colours as memory devices…they should instantly be recognisable as yours.

• DO NOT LOOK AT YOUR COMPETITION AND RECREATE WHAT THEY DO!!!

This is the element of branding that practitioners often do poorly…sorry, but it’s true.

If you’re struggling to articulate your brand position or have made a hash job of DIYing your logo, consider enlisting the services of a brand expert or digital designer.

You can pay for a range of services from a brand audit/brand discovery (from £1000), to creating your brand identity (from £2000) to developing your brand guidelines (from £1500). This will provide you with all the assets and clarity you need to establish your brand quickly and easily.

THE AIM OF THE BRANDING GAME

The aim of sorting your brand out from the start is that your business is able to stand out and make a space for itself in your perfect patients minds, it’s easy for you to create consistent content across all channels and, over time, your brand builds equity as your reputation builds.

Your brand feel + your brand sound + your brand look must be cohesive…and must be applied consistently across all online and offline marketing channels.

Every element of your branding should speak to, and resonate strongly with, your perfect patient personas.

Don’t underestimate how important your branding is. Don’t bypass this important work at the start of your career. And if you’re already up and running, don’t be afraid to reassess your brand, positioning and patient personas and adapt each as necessary.