As a practice owner, you may often wonder: How much of my budget should I dedicate to marketing my practice and getting new patients?
This is one of the most common questions we get from our clients. Unfortunately, there's no one-size-fits-all answer. The "right" marketing budget depends on many factors unique to your practice and market. However, there are some guidelines and best practices to keep in mind.
Start With Your Goals
First, consider your goals. How many new patients do you need each month to hit your revenue targets? How quickly do you want your practice to grow? The more new patients you need, generally the higher your marketing budget needs to be.
You'll also want to think about the lifetime value of a new patient. For example, a weight loss patient who sticks with your practice for 2 years and refers friends is worth a lot more than a one-time decompression patient. This can help you determine the maximum you can profitably spend to acquire each new patient.
Test and Track Your Market
Next, you need to understand your local market's pricing and responses. Work with your marketing agency to test ads at different budgets to see the cost per lead and conversion rates. Track these metrics over time.
For example, we often start clients at $50/day and then scale up the budget while monitoring cost per lead. $100/day may get 2 leads in one market or 4 leads in another. There's no magic formula, so testing is critical.
Adjust Budget Dynamically
Once you've found an effective campaign, use your budget as a volume knob. Crank it up when you need more appointments and down when you're booked out. There's rarely a "set it and forget it" budget.
You can even adjust daily budgets based on day of the week if some days are busier. Just be sure to allow a few days for the algorithm to adjust before judging performance at each budget level.
Avoid Competing Against Yourself
A common mistake is having different ad accounts or agencies running overlapping campaigns. This makes Facebook compete against itself, driving your costs up.
Keep all your practice's marketing consolidated under our agency so we can optimize and adjust dynamically. Don't try to outsmart Facebook's algorithms - work with them for the best results.
Conclusion: Start Optimizing Your Budget Today
Determining the ideal marketing budget is a process of continuous testing and optimization. The "right" amount to spend will evolve over time as you scale your practice and the market evolves.
Work with us to start optimizing your budget today. We'll help you get the new patient volume you need to hit your goals, without overspending. You can schedule a free discovery call and we'll craft a customized plan for your practice.