I recently had a conversation with a client, which prompted me to post a short reflective video. She’s an excellent clinician with twenty years’ experience. She has a great team, a well-equipped practice, and consistently strong outcomes. But when I asked how things were going, she said, “I feel invisible”.

On paper, this dentist was doing everything right. She wasn’t struggling or failing, so there was no sudden crisis or moment of realisation. She was just…indistinguishable: the same as every other practice. There was no compelling reason for patients to choose her chair over one just down the road.

The good news was that she didn’t have a clinical or service issue, so there was nothing fundamentally wrong going on within the practice. But it did have a problem: its brand positioning was almost non-existent.

The silent problem

Brand positioning isn’t what a brand says about itself – it’s what customers think and remember about it, and how they make choices between alternatives. Strong positioning defines relevance, differentiation, and value in a crowded market.

The uncomfortable truth is that most dental practices don’t actually have a brand. They might have a logo, a colour palette, and a website, but a real brand encompasses a lot more. It means thinking about what you want to be known for, how you want to sound, and – importantly – how you’re positioned.

Without solid positioning, practices are essentially shoehorned into using “safe”, generic language. In this industry, we’re probably all familiar with phrases like, ‘Quality care in a friendly environment’ and ‘state-of-the-art dental clinic’. There’s nothing inherently wrong in this wording, but it could apply to almost any practice. It’s not unique or memorable, and it says nothing about what makes you different.

The unpopular truth is, most practices are doing largely the same thing. If you even sound like everyone else, patients will simply assume you’re the same. You’re not giving them a reason to choose you, or to even pick you out of the crowd.

But in this sea of “samey” faces, patients still need to make their decision, based on something. So, when your brand doesn’t stand for anything clear, a familiar pattern emerges:

• Patients compare on price;
• Enquiries become transactional;
• Marketing feels unpredictable;
• You accept patients who aren’t the right fit;
• And growth feels harder than it should.

This isn’t because you’re bad at dentistry. It’s because you’ve left a vacuum, and the market fills it with assumptions – the worst of all being, “All dentists are basically the same.”

Brand positioning isn’t marketing, it’s strategy

Brand positioning answers the question: why should a patient choose you, specifically? In this, I’m not thinking in terms of advertising straplines or messaging, but in real, practical terms, using language patients recognise. If we strip out any clinical jargon or vague promises, what can you really offer?

Positioning sits at the intersection of:

• Who you’re genuinely best placed to serve.
• The problem those patients feel most acutely.
• The way you solve it differently (and credibly).

To get there, ask yourself…

1. Who are you really for?

If your answer is “everyone”, you’ve already lost. And I promise: even if you think you’re for everyone, you’re not.

Are you best for:

• Busy professionals who value efficiency?
• Anxious patients who need time and reassurance?
• Families seeking continuity and trust?
• Patients investing in cosmetic or specialist care?

Being specific doesn’t limit growth – it focuses it.

2. What problem do those patients care about most?

Hint: it’s not, “they need a dentist”. This is more about channeling empathy and putting yourself in their shoes.

Are they trying to avoid…

• Fear?
• Embarrassment?
• Pain?
• Uncertainty?
• Wasted time?
• Feeling judged or rushed?

Strong brands speak to emotional problems before clinical solutions.

3. Why are you the logical choice?

This is where most practices hedge – and sound bland. But differentiation doesn’t mean claiming to be “the best”. It means being meaningfully different in a way patients can understand.

That might be:

• Specialist expertise (e.g. in children’s orthodontics, or cosmetic dentistry).
• A calmer, more human experience.
• Faster or more predictable outcomes.
• A service model that fits modern life.

If you can’t articulate this clearly, your patients can’t either.

What changes when your brand is properly positioned

When you know where you are, everything downstream improves. Because your website no longer needs to please everyone, it can focus on attracting and converting the right people. Your marketing can become targeted, making it clearer, cheaper, and more effective. And internally, your team understands who you’re for and why, meaning everyone working at your practice is on the same page and better able to sell what you do.

Instead of putting out generic statements, you can be far more specific. You might even build up personas with personalities to help refine your messages. Instead of saying, “We offer quality dentistry in a friendly environment” (yawn), you might say, “Specialist orthodontics for busy professionals – discreet treatment, flexible appointments, and predictable results.”

From here, a wonderful thing happens: the right patients begin to self-select. You’re no longer competing with every practice in your postcode, but attracting people within a category you own.

This means that:

• Patients choose your expertise, not your prices.
• Your margins improve.
• Marketing becomes an investment, not a gamble.
• Referrals increase (because people know how to describe you).
• Your practice becomes easier to run.

This is the virtuous cycle most practices never enter – not because they can’t, but because they never step back to define their brand properly.

Unsure where to start?

If your practice feels flat, plateaued, or harder than it should be to grow, don’t reach for another tactic, like more adverts or a website redesign (at least, not yet). Instead, begin with your positioning.

Start thinking about:

• Who you’re for;
• What problem you solve;
• Why your approach matters;
• And why patients should confidently choose you.

An easy starting point is asking yourself (and others in your practice) why patients already choose you. I worked with one practice that was continually praised for its friendliness; reviews often commented on its friendly team and warm welcome. For this practice, being friendly became an important and natural part of its positioning. Chances are, there’s something you’re doing that already makes you stand out.

If you’re reading this and thinking “this sounds uncomfortably familiar”, don’t worry – you’re not alone. I’ve got so many examples I could share of the difference made by brand positioning.

I’m always happy to host a complimentary brand consultation as an initial conversation to help you see where your practice is positioned today, and where the real opportunities lie. Just get in touch to set something up.

Sometimes the biggest growth opportunity isn’t doing more – it’s finally deciding what you stand for.