Many dental practices judge online campaigns with a single question: “how many enquiries came in?”. It is a starting point, but it is not enough. A campaign can generate lots of enquiries and very few patients, or few enquiries of very high quality.
Here are the six metrics we recommend checking every month, in this order.
1. Cost per lead (CPL)
This is the budget spent divided by the number of enquiries received. It is useful for comparing different channels and campaigns, but on its own it is misleading: a low CPL with low-quality leads costs more than a high CPL with leads ready to book.
2. Contact rate
How many enquiries were actually called back and reached? If the front desk replies after two days, a good share of the contacts have already gone elsewhere. This is where a CRM with instant notifications and automatic replies makes the difference.
3. Appointments booked
The percentage of contacted leads who book a first visit measures the quality of the phone conversation and the consistency between what the campaign promises and what the practice offers.
4. Show rate
How many patients actually turn up for the appointment? WhatsApp and email reminders the day before and a few hours before significantly reduce missed appointments.
5. Treatment quote acceptance rate
This is the bridge between marketing and production: how many of the treatment plans presented to new patients are accepted, in number and in value. If marketing brings in patients but acceptance is low, the problem is not the campaign.
6. Patient acquisition cost (CAC)
Advertising budget plus management costs, divided by the number of patients who accepted a treatment plan. Compared with the average value of a patient, it tells you whether the campaign is truly an investment.
A note on the rules
In Italy, healthcare communication is regulated by Article 1, paragraph 525, of Law 145/2018: only information useful to ensure the safety of care and transparency (qualifications, activities, organisation, prices) is permitted, without promotional or suggestive elements. Every campaign must be built with this in mind.
Where to begin
If today you do not know at least three of these numbers, the first step is not to increase the budget: it is to set up tracking and a CRM. With our free check-up you can see in a few minutes where to act.