Let’s talk about metrics. Everyone wants to see the numbers now. I get it, really. We all love looking at Cost Per Lead (CPL), Cost Per Acquisition (CPA), and Return on Investment (ROI) to justify our efforts. But here’s the deal—patients aren’t just numbers. They’re people, with real concerns, and they don’t always fit neatly into data sets. When strategies focus too much on metrics, it’s easy to lose sight of what truly matters—building trust, relationships, and delivering patient-centered care.
Metrics tell a story, but they’re not the entire story. In healthcare, it can take months, even years, for a patient to decide on surgery or treatment. Decisions are based on trust in their doctor, confidence in the practice, and how they feel about the brand – not on click-through rates or lead counts.
While I understand the pressure to show results, especially when reporting to stakeholders, healthcare marketing doesn’t work like retail. We’re not selling shoes or cars, where quick transactions are the goal. We’re marketing trust and care, and that takes time.
One of the biggest challenges I’ve seen is an over-reliance on analytics. Data is important for understanding customer behavior and monitoring campaign performance, but without considering the human side of the patient journey, you’re missing the bigger picture. Relying only on data is like diagnosing a patient without ever meeting them – you can’t see the full picture from a chart.
I’ve worked with practices where digital marketing efforts were performing well on paper, but patients weren’t converting because the calls weren’t being answered or staff didn’t know how to address inquiries. The marketing did its job, but the human element—the staff interaction—was failing. You can have the best-optimized campaign in the world, but if the staff answering the phones doesn’t know how to handle inquiries or follow up in a timely manner, your efforts won’t translate into new patients.
This is why marketing and operations must work together. It’s about playing the long game. In healthcare, you’re not just building a brand for today; you’re building relationships for the future. This ties into the 95:5 rule – where only 5% of your audience is ready to buy now, and the other 95% will need your services later. If you focus only on short-term metrics, you risk missing out on the long-term potential.
Success in healthcare marketing isn’t always measured by immediate numbers. It’s about creating a brand that sticks in people’s minds, so when they do need care, they remember your practice. Metrics are part of the story, but building a strong brand and nurturing relationships is the long game we’re all playing.
We’ll dive deeper into this in my next blog about digital marketing, where I’ll talk about how to balance lead generation with creating an exceptional patient experience and how digital marketers are truly the unsung heroes that deserve a medal. It’s all about building the right team, and not all digital marketers – or marketeers in general – are created equal. It’s about knowing when to rely on the numbers and when to trust the human element.
Because when patients finally pick up the phone, they’re not thinking about your CPL—they’re thinking about whether or not they trust you.
So, how’s your practice doing? Are you building that trust or just chasing the numbers? Let’s make sure your marketing and operations are working together to create a patient experience that lasts. Reach out today, and let’s talk about how to build a strategy that drives more than just leads—it builds relationships.