Let’s talk how a brand promise builds a stronger boutique medical practice brand and helps your team scale your vision, k?

Defining core values for medical practices is one of those things a lot of business consultants suggest. I've developed 50+ veterinary brands based on core values, so your girl knows a lil' bit about what it takes.

In that time, my process of creating values-based brands changed. (Not because my squirrel brain gets bored, but because it freaking made sense!) At first, I always worked with clients to define 4 core values for their independent practice. Then it became two, and now I give my doctors 0 core values.

Here’s why - and I’m gonna be very frank: It’s boring.

No one wants to sit and memorize ~our core values are empathy~ over and over. It’s not memorable and specific to your brand. I never did values exactly like that - because YAWN -but instead I always helped practice founders dig deeper.

We would figure out what the commonalities were between the values they held, and then we'd narrow it down. I got so efficient af with that process.

Now I still discuss core values with the medical founders I advise. I believe in values-based branding for independent practices. It builds patient/client trust, boosts employee retention, and gives leadership a cheat code to make decisions easier.

But after that initial core values discussion, I work with my team at The Snout Group to distill it down to ONE distinct brand promise.

Why does your boutique medical or veterinary practice need a brand promise instead of core values?

1) It’s actionable.

Wtf does "Trust is a core value!" tell your employees to do? Like, duh we want to act trustworthy in our business. But I want to set you up to scale your true vision for your boutique medical practice.

So instead of writing trust on a whiteboard in your office, we're going to make a brand promise. Let's say your vision is to create a vet clinic with an industrial feel that focuses on learning new skills and bringing a high level of veterinary care to clients at a price point that isn't the rip-off you see at some private equity-backed corporate groups. As you scale, you'll have to empower team members to make a lot of decisions to maintain that vision.

Your brand promise? Bound by integrity. Fueled by growth.

(This is a real example from my client, East Over Vet.)

2) It’s in branded language.

All the usual core values for independent veterinary hospitals are things like "Transparency," "Honesty," and "Education." I know because I've talked to a freaking ton of independent practice owners, and these are the words they give me.

But I don't build cookie-cutter brands, so we aren't going to do cookie-cutter brand values. Again - BORING.

We are going to use branded language to make a brand promise that's uniquely yours. With the example of East Over Vet, it's a very masculine and industrial brand. The voice of the brand honors that.

So "Bound by integrity, fueled by growth" feels uniquely them. It's memorable.

And being memorable matters when you want to scale a brand. This way, it’s something that your team will actually remember to use when making decisions. They'll feel empowered that they know how to maintain your vision as a founder, and they'll feel connected to your vision.

3) It builds your brand.

You can't just market generic core value words and build a brand. Because it's what? BORING! And boring doesn't build a brand.

When you have a brand promise, it's also a marketing tool. You can market these brand promises and use them as taglines so that you actually become known for them.

No one is going to remember that you value kindness or learning - yawn. Of course you do!

But "bound by integrity, fueled by growth" is the kind of thing that will look cool on a shirt one of your clients will wear to the local gym. And it will stand out cuz it's a unique, strong statement. Plus in this case, it sounds kinda bro-y an the gym bros will be all, "YEAH BRO!"

So YES - start the brand development convo with values.

But if you want those values to be something your team embodies, your community remembers, and you become known for - go deeper. Do a brand promise.

ENTER TO Win a Strategy call with me

Ditch the Boring Core Values for Your Veterinary or Medical Startup!

Let’s talk how a brand promise builds a stronger boutique medical practice brand and helps your team scale your vision, k?

Here’s why - and I’m gonna be very frank: It’s boring.