Branding for Therapists: It's Easier Than You Think
A Simple 5-Step Guide to Branding Your Therapy or Coaching Practice
If you're a therapist and you've been told that you need to brand yourself and you're totally confused about what that means or immediately connect it to turning your practice into a sales pitch, I totally get it. I was reluctant too. Branding yourself, especially if your a solo practitioner, feels so "corporate."
I’m here to tell you that branding is everything. If you’re not intentionally branding, you’re still branding. Your lack of intention becomes your brand identity. Potential clients will feel your identity crisis. You’ll struggle to bring in clients because your marketing materials aren’t memorable, or you’ll attract clients you don’t want to work with because your identity is not clearly defined.
Before I say more, let’s review some definitions just so we know we are talking about the same thing.
A brand is a feature or set of features that distinguish one business from another. A brand comprises a name, tagline, logo or symbol, design, brand voice, and more. It also refers to a person’s experience when interacting with your business — as a client, social media follower, information-gatherer, or passerby.
Branding is researching, developing, and applying a distinctive feature or set of features to your business so that potential clients can associate your brand with your services. Branding is a continual process. It requires getting in touch with the heart of your clients and your business.
There are many benefits of branding a business and a full list may be better saved for a future blog post. But for now, the main idea is that branding gives your practice an identity; it gives clients something to relate to and connect with. It makes your practice memorable.
If a brand is merely a set of features representing your practice, I say, why not?
Note: If you have not yet clearly identified your ideal client, their pain points, and your value proposition, do that first. You can't create a brand identity without those things.
Your 5-Step Guide to Branding Your Practice
That’s it!
Now, just use your brand features consistently across all your marketing channels.
Suppose you're still asking why branding is essential. In that case, I challenge you with a counter-argument: Is there any time branding isn't necessary?
Your branding makes an emotional statement every time an ideal client stumbles across your business. The impact of that statement is what determines whether a potential client will become an actual client. I've said it before, and I'll repeat it: branding is everything.
High Five Design Co. by Emily Whitish is a design and digital marketing company in Seattle, WA. I specialize in custom One-Day Websites, Website Templates, and Content Writing Guides for therapists, counselors, and coaches.