Measuring the return on investment of your marketing efforts ensures you are not wasting time and money on ineffective marketing strategies.
Marketing ROI is measured by the total profit you receive, minus the marketing investment. Ideally, you’ll want a positive return on your investment, which means you are making more profit than what you’re spending to attract new patients.
Many orthodontists don’t bother tracking the ROI of their campaigns. This is a big mistake. According to a Nielsen study, “on average, advertising effectiveness could be increased 30 – 40%, simply by taking a look at how well your campaigns are performing.” The key takeaway is that you need to observe the performance of your marketing campaigns so that you can spend more on what’s working, and eliminate what isn’t. The end result is more money in your bottom line.
So how do orthodontists measure the ROI on direct mail pieces, commercials, billboards, and other forms of advertising?
Easy! You use SmileSuite, a presentation system aimed at turning consults into contracts. Within SmileSuite, you can create referral source tags, so you can track which marketing campaigns drive consultations and starts.
Here’s an example of how to track the ROI of a direct mail piece using SmileSuite. Begin by creating a referral source code labeled “Direct Mail – April 2019.”
Check back within a month or two, after you’ve compiled enough data from your consultations. Log in to StartAlytics, SmileSuite’s proprietary data engine, and pull up the referral source.
SmileSuite will unveil:
- The demographics and zip codes of patients who were referred by the direct mail piece. This will help you identify whether or not you are attracting your target patient. If you’d like more information on attracting your target patient, we think you’ll enjoy this article. LINK TO Improve your marketing ROI by honing in on your ideal patient with laser precision – Link to Marketing #1 Article
- How much production the direct mail piece generated. You’ll see the straight value this marketing effort brought to your practice. It should be at least 3x more than what you spent creating the direct mail piece.
- Patient conversion rates. This will show you whether or not the direct mail piece is resulting in starts. You may find the direct mail piece is generating many consultations, but they are not converting. This is an indication that this marketing effort is wasting time in consultations with patients who will never start treatment in your practice. It’s a strategy you’ll need to reconsider.
- Appliances patients are choosing. Again, is this marketing effort attracting your target patient? Perhaps you set a goal to generate more clear aligner business, but you’re finding that this direct mail piece is bringing in children. You may want to reevaluate its design, so that it is more aligned with your target patients’ needs.
Based on this data, you no longer have to waste time and money on marketing efforts that simply don’t work. Let SmileSuite help you make data-driven decisions so that you can increase the profitability of your practice.