How a Plastic Surgery Practice Saw a ROI of $1,964.00 Per Dollar Spent
By Candace Crowe | 5 minute read | July 13, 2023
Problem
What does it cost? Is it worth it? “… ROI in the broadest of terms, is a measure of what you get back compared to what you put in.” ~ Wendy Lewis
One of the biggest problems with marketing is knowing what gets you the most qualified leads; the patients you can serve the best. Millions of dollars are spent on marketing plastic surgeons. It would be helpful for practice owners to know the real value of the money they spend on their various marketing channels.
According to Google Analytics and our experience here at Candace Crowe Design, before and after photos are one of the highest viewed content on a website for plastic surgeons. Most before and after galleries drive traffic, but we believe they should also produce leads with a name, phone number, email, procedure they are interested in, a collection of photos they like, along with a provable ROI.
“As a general rule, businesses should aim for a return on investment (ROI) of at least 3:1 for social media advertising. This means that for every dollar spent on advertising, the business should earn at least three dollars in revenue.” ~ Neil Schaffer
If your ROI is 2:1 or less, you are loosing money on your marketing.
Let’s take a look at the ROI on various channels of marketing that aesthetic practices generally use:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Determining ROI on SEO takes some work as there are no reliable sources to provide you with a measurement.
To know your unique ROI, you’ll need to know the number of your internet leads, your conversion rate, the amount of money brought in from those leads and the amount of money you spend.
Google Ads (pay-per-click)
“Businesses make an average of $2 in revenue for every $1 they spend on Google Ads.” ~ Google Economic Impact Report
Google and Digital Ads
This is another one with no reliable data for. So, we’ve looked to a reputable industry leader for their take on it… Adobe.
According to Adobe, most digital marketers strive for an average ROI of 5:1—a measure of profit that’s $5 gained for every $1 spent on a marketing campaign.
Local Optimization (NAP—Name, Address, Phone)
Google Business Profile (GBP), Healthgrades, RateMDs, Vitals, Yelp, Yahoo are a few of the most important directories and review sites.
Of these, your Google Business Profile is the most important. With Analytics you can track the number of phone calls that come through your GBP. There are no costs related to your GBP other than the time you invest to keep updated. To figure your ROI on your NAP, divide your revenue generated by the number on inquiries generated.
Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok
This is another one that is difficult to figure. So, we’ve looked to Hootsuite, a reputable industry leader. They have an excellent calculator on their site you can use. Here is the link:
https://www.hootsuite.com/tools/social-roi-calculator
Email Marketing
Email’s one of the quickest ways to revenue and a lot of reliable research has been done on the platform. We know this channel works well when done well. Beauty in; beauty out, garbage in garbage out… “Email $36 to $45 for every $1 spent.” ~ statista
BRAG book’s MyFavorite’s Lead Generator
To figure the ROI for Cruise Plastic Surgery, we set a time period, calculated the number of leads, determined the revenue generated by the leads and divided it by the money paid for using our software. The results: 77 MyFavorite leads brought in $149,240. With a cost of $7,800, that is a return of $1,964 per dollar spent or a
What is BRAG book? Learn more.
Blogging vs Before and After Photos
Blogging has been promoted as a way to improve your SEO. The question is: how well does it work? In a comparison study of blogging vs a before and after photo strategy it was found:
READ MORE
Using software specifically designed for plastic surgeons vs other galleries
BRAG book makes things quick and efficient through robust SEO defaults and custom entries. Adding a set of photos is the fastest way to create search optimized web page. BRAG book’s software automatically creates a search optimized image. This means it automatically: optimizes the image file names, schema and structured data for SEO, image title, alt tags, and makes images mobile friendly. Simple to use text editor for detailed case descriptions.
Easy & Quick Uploads
Upload a set in 5 minutes or less
Unlimited training and support
Dashboard photo edit tool with auto-exposure, overlay cropping, aspect ratio and censoring tools
Dashboard social export tool to easily download your set into a social media template
Integration partner with 4D EMR and Red Spot Interactive
SOLUTION
A Better Lead, A Better ROI
“Data quality equals higher marketing ROI.” ~ Forbes.
Even though it takes several touch points for a potential patient to decide to have their treatment or surgery done by you or your practice, it’s important to know the channels that produce the most quality lead. Research done by RxPhoto found that “An overwhelming majority, 74.8%, will not consider a practice without a before and after gallery.” RxPhoto
So, why not make your gallery a lead generation tool that gives you their name, email, phone number and a collection of the photos they like? That’s the power of BRAG book’s MyFavorite’s feature.
The MyFavorites tool captures the attention of a potential patient, helps them identify a realistic outcome and shows them your expertise.
You “own” the before and after photos you have consents for. Invest in your practice first. Other types of marketing are pay to play and when it’s over, it’s over. Before and after photo marketing is money in your marketing bank.
By Candace Crowe
President / Artist
References: