Ep. 209: Value vs. Vanity Metrics: What Urgent Care Centers Should Really Be Measuring
About this Episode
This week’s episode features a clip from our recent webinar, "Value vs. Vanity Metrics," a candid conversation about which numbers actually matter in urgent care marketing.
Too many clinics are still chasing clicks instead of patients, and it’s costing them big. We’re cutting through the noise and focusing on what really drives growth.
If you’re planning for a more profitable 2026, this episode will help you define success with metrics that matter — and finally hold your marketing accountable for real results.
Topics Covered
📊 The difference between branding metrics and growth metrics
💸 Why impressions, likes, and clicks can mislead your budget
📞 What “real” conversions look like (and how to track them)
📉 How to calculate your true cost per lead and cost per patient
🔁 Why repeat visits matter more than you think
📍 What local search visibility actually means — and how to improve it
“Vanity metrics brand your business. Value metrics grow your clinic.”
Nick Hoard, Patient Care Marketing Pros
What's up, Walkkins? Welcome fans,
00:00:08 - 00:00:13listeners, our best friends. Michael
00:00:10 - 00:00:14here. I'm doing a quick intro into this
00:00:13 - 00:00:17week's episode. So, it's actually a
00:00:14 - 00:00:19reflection of the webinar that we had a
00:00:17 - 00:00:22couple weeks ago and it's about talking
00:00:19 - 00:00:23metrics, value versus vanity. I love
00:00:22 - 00:00:25metrics. I'm a numbers guy. So, I had a
00:00:23 - 00:00:28lot of fun doing this, but I wanted to
00:00:25 - 00:00:29bring some interesting topics to that.
00:00:28 - 00:00:32So, a couple things to note for this
00:00:29 - 00:00:34episode. We're going to talk about the
00:00:32 - 00:00:37what metrics you're being you've been
00:00:34 - 00:00:38given by your agencies over time and are
00:00:37 - 00:00:40convinced are good things, but they may
00:00:38 - 00:00:41not be. They may be the vanities and
00:00:40 - 00:00:44what value metrics actually looks like.
00:00:41 - 00:00:45And we'll give real life examples where
00:00:44 - 00:00:47something looked great on the surface,
00:00:45 - 00:00:49but it was not at the end of the day.
00:00:47 - 00:00:51So, I wanted to touch on that and just
00:00:49 - 00:00:54let you guys know that this episode will
00:00:51 - 00:00:56be completely focused on numbers and
00:00:54 - 00:00:58just, you know, if you if you have
00:00:56 - 00:01:00reporting from your current agency or
00:00:58 - 00:01:02from your current marketing person, have
00:01:00 - 00:01:03you looked at the numbers and just
00:01:02 - 00:01:05digested what that actually means? And
00:01:03 - 00:01:07that's the whole point of this webinar.
00:01:05 - 00:01:08I hope you guys enjoy it and I'll catch
00:01:07 - 00:01:10you on the other side. So, let's
00:01:08 - 00:01:12actually get into the val uh vanity
00:01:10 - 00:01:15versus value. Uh, vanity is something
00:01:12 - 00:01:18that we kind of laugh at in our industry
00:01:15 - 00:01:19because it is the most pretty. That's
00:01:18 - 00:01:22why it's called vanity. The most pretty
00:01:19 - 00:01:23metrics you could see. Here's the the
00:01:22 - 00:01:26key ones that you probably get in your
00:01:23 - 00:01:28reporting all the time is impressions,
00:01:26 - 00:01:31clicks, likes, reach, number of
00:01:28 - 00:01:33followers. They look cool, right? Where,
00:01:31 - 00:01:37hey, I got you 100,000 impressions and
00:01:33 - 00:01:39and 4,000 clicks and 27 likes this week.
00:01:37 - 00:01:42Sounds amazing. But the problem with
00:01:39 - 00:01:44vanity metrics in general is that they
00:01:42 - 00:01:46don't actually mean anything in terms of
00:01:44 - 00:01:48dollars back into your clinic. It
00:01:46 - 00:01:50doesn't matter if you had a million
00:01:48 - 00:01:53impressions but not a single person
00:01:50 - 00:01:55booked because Google or Facebook will
00:01:53 - 00:01:56do that for you if you have it set up
00:01:55 - 00:01:59completely wrong because they're there
00:01:56 - 00:02:00to to make money off of you. So that's
00:01:59 - 00:02:02something that we're trying to focus on
00:02:00 - 00:02:04because we see it all the time when we
00:02:02 - 00:02:06see reporting come in from different
00:02:04 - 00:02:08agencies like, "Hey, we're picking up a
00:02:06 - 00:02:09potential new client." They said, 'Well,
00:02:08 - 00:02:12here's what the last report my agency
00:02:09 - 00:02:13gave me. And of course, it's always
00:02:12 - 00:02:15highlighting impressions and clicks,
00:02:13 - 00:02:17click-through rates, all these things.
00:02:15 - 00:02:19And we're like, well, that's cool.
00:02:17 - 00:02:21That's a cool benchmark, but it doesn't
00:02:19 - 00:02:22mean anything. And so, if we get and so
00:02:21 - 00:02:25that's what our goal today is to kind of
00:02:22 - 00:02:27educate you guys on what does it mean to
00:02:25 - 00:02:30have impressions versus all these other
00:02:27 - 00:02:32items? And and the quick answer is this
00:02:30 - 00:02:34list in front of you right now is cool
00:02:32 - 00:02:37looking, but doesn't actually help your
00:02:34 - 00:02:39business if ever. I'd say vanity metrics
00:02:37 - 00:02:41brand your business and what we're going
00:02:39 - 00:02:42to be talking about is value metrics
00:02:41 - 00:02:44that grow your clinic.
00:02:42 - 00:02:46>> Well, and even for us, so like at when
00:02:44 - 00:02:48we like run ads, impressions mean
00:02:46 - 00:02:50something to us to make sure the the
00:02:48 - 00:02:52campaigns are being seen, but that's all
00:02:50 - 00:02:53we really care about. Like, okay, yeah,
00:02:52 - 00:02:55it's being seen. Cool. That's all we
00:02:53 - 00:02:57care about the impression side. And each
00:02:55 - 00:02:59layer is a little bit different, but we
00:02:57 - 00:03:00also but we care about the end result,
00:02:59 - 00:03:02and that's what we're talking about
00:03:00 - 00:03:04today. All right, so that's the vanity
00:03:02 - 00:03:05metric. I hope that makes sense. You
00:03:04 - 00:03:07probably have heard it before.
00:03:05 - 00:03:08If you got questions, make sure you fire
00:03:07 - 00:03:10them off in the chat and Hannah will
00:03:08 - 00:03:12make sure she'll have them for us to
00:03:10 - 00:03:14review. Next is the value metric. So,
00:03:12 - 00:03:16this is where it actually makes a little
00:03:14 - 00:03:18more sense now. So, cost per lead,
00:03:16 - 00:03:21conversion rate. So, on conversion rate,
00:03:18 - 00:03:24like did they actually when they clicked
00:03:21 - 00:03:26the ad, that's not the conversion from
00:03:24 - 00:03:28clicking to actually taking an action
00:03:26 - 00:03:30like they called you or they booked an
00:03:28 - 00:03:31appointment. That's a conversion rate,
00:03:30 - 00:03:33right? And in cost per patient
00:03:31 - 00:03:34acquisition, like how much did it cost
00:03:33 - 00:03:36to get that patient to interact with you
00:03:34 - 00:03:38guys? Because that really does matter.
00:03:36 - 00:03:40Lifetime patient value. This one's super
00:03:38 - 00:03:42interesting because we have limitations
00:03:40 - 00:03:43on how far we see a patient come back in
00:03:42 - 00:03:45because we talk about repeat visitors
00:03:43 - 00:03:47all the time. You know, that patient may
00:03:45 - 00:03:49have come in for that one visit, but how
00:03:47 - 00:03:50often they come back? You know, that
00:03:49 - 00:03:52actually makes a big difference where
00:03:50 - 00:03:54that patient may be worth $200 today,
00:03:52 - 00:03:55but maybe they come back x amount of
00:03:54 - 00:03:56times and worth thousands later. You
00:03:55 - 00:03:58have to look at that and because there
00:03:56 - 00:04:01may be a certain type of patient you
00:03:58 - 00:04:03want the most of.
00:04:01 - 00:04:04Booked appointments of course matters.
00:04:03 - 00:04:06Search visibility matters. These are
00:04:04 - 00:04:07things where are you showing up where
00:04:06 - 00:04:09you're supposed to and then I think
00:04:07 - 00:04:11booked appointments probably one of the
00:04:09 - 00:04:13biggest piece that we can see and of
00:04:11 - 00:04:15course actual patients coming in your
00:04:13 - 00:04:17door which we talk about daily patient
00:04:15 - 00:04:19volume all the time. All right. So this
00:04:17 - 00:04:21is the the value and you know basically
00:04:19 - 00:04:23if you're buying marketing like buying
00:04:21 - 00:04:25from us or buying from anybody can you
00:04:23 - 00:04:27tie a dollar amount? Did they make you
00:04:25 - 00:04:29money or did you lose money with them?
00:04:27 - 00:04:31And that's where the value side comes
00:04:29 - 00:04:34into play.
00:04:31 - 00:04:36All right, real world example. I'm not
00:04:34 - 00:04:38joking. This is a real world. I didn't
00:04:36 - 00:04:40like just throw up these numbers for
00:04:38 - 00:04:42kicks and giggles. This was based on an
00:04:40 - 00:04:45audit that we did of an existing urgent
00:04:42 - 00:04:47care eight location urgent care. Um,
00:04:45 - 00:04:49these numbers are they're kind of
00:04:47 - 00:04:53insane, but it's real. So, this is the
00:04:49 - 00:04:57where the the vanity issue comes up.
00:04:53 - 00:05:02167,000 impressions in 30 days. Sounds
00:04:57 - 00:05:05amazing. I had 160,000 167,000 eyeballs.
00:05:02 - 00:05:05Look at my ad. Whoa, that's cool.
00:05:05 - 00:05:07>> Could be.
00:05:05 - 00:05:11>> That feels like uh Look at that old
00:05:07 - 00:05:13movie. Uh 13,600 clicks. That's a big
00:05:11 - 00:05:16number, too. That's so cool.
00:05:13 - 00:05:19>> Spent $117,000
00:05:16 - 00:05:21over 30 days. That's insane. By the way,
00:05:19 - 00:05:23you really don't need to spend that type
00:05:21 - 00:05:25of money on eight locations to get an if
00:05:23 - 00:05:27you did and you did it right, it would
00:05:25 - 00:05:28be amazing. But
00:05:27 - 00:05:30>> I'd say you could spend somewhere
00:05:28 - 00:05:31between 8 and 15,000 on that many
00:05:30 - 00:05:32locations.
00:05:31 - 00:05:35>> Yeah, you could and make an impact.
00:05:32 - 00:05:37Anyway, $17,000
00:05:35 - 00:05:41over 30 days, which is an insane amount
00:05:37 - 00:05:42of money. $437 patients booked. Doesn't
00:05:41 - 00:05:44even mean they actually came into the
00:05:42 - 00:05:46clinic. We just saw like the conversion.
00:05:44 - 00:05:47437 conversions.
00:05:46 - 00:05:49>> We didn't do this, by the By the way,
00:05:47 - 00:05:50this is just when we did an audit. This
00:05:49 - 00:05:52is an audit of an accountant. They're
00:05:50 - 00:05:56becoming a client, by the way. Um,
00:05:52 - 00:05:59anyway, cost per patient, $267 plus.
00:05:56 - 00:06:01This is terrible because you look at the
00:05:59 - 00:06:02front end, 167,000 impression. That
00:06:01 - 00:06:05sounds super cool. There's that vanity
00:06:02 - 00:06:08metric kicking in hard. Man, I saw that
00:06:05 - 00:06:11many that many people saw my ad. Bull it
00:06:08 - 00:06:13down to the actual uh value metric. $267
00:06:11 - 00:06:14a patient. Well, they're losing money.
00:06:13 - 00:06:16>> You're paying that patient to come in
00:06:14 - 00:06:18and see Yeah, you're literally paying
00:06:16 - 00:06:20the patient
00:06:18 - 00:06:22$100 more than what they're paying you
00:06:20 - 00:06:24to come see you. That's a losing. I
00:06:22 - 00:06:26literally when I saw this go through in
00:06:24 - 00:06:27the audit, I was like, how are how would
00:06:26 - 00:06:30they survive for five years? Like, how
00:06:27 - 00:06:31does this even function? Um, and it's
00:06:30 - 00:06:33just one of the things like it's just
00:06:31 - 00:06:35hard to kind of comprehend. Anyway, so I
00:06:33 - 00:06:37just want to expose that saying this is
00:06:35 - 00:06:38an extreme example. It's a real one. So,
00:06:37 - 00:06:41there's some out there that probably
00:06:38 - 00:06:43have seen this before. Um, and it's just
00:06:41 - 00:06:44that classic. It's one of those they set
00:06:43 - 00:06:46it up and just said whatever Google
00:06:44 - 00:06:49recommends we'll go for it and they just
00:06:46 - 00:06:50kept pressing apply all and it Google
00:06:49 - 00:06:52wants your money so they're going to
00:06:50 - 00:06:53keep increase. Oh, you need more budget.
00:06:52 - 00:06:55You need
00:06:53 - 00:06:56>> Google is like a 16-year-old child.
00:06:55 - 00:06:57>> Yeah, they're sucking your budget right
00:06:56 - 00:06:58out. So anyway,
00:06:57 - 00:07:00>> drain your wallet.
00:06:58 - 00:07:03>> This is a real example. This is a real
00:07:00 - 00:07:05problem. Uh I wish I was making this up,
00:07:03 - 00:07:07but I'm not. And there you go. All
00:07:05 - 00:07:09right,
00:07:07 - 00:07:11let's roll in. So, we love having a
00:07:09 - 00:07:12question breaking up the the sections a
00:07:11 - 00:07:14little bit here. So, first question out
00:07:12 - 00:07:16of the gate. So, uh Hannah just threw it
00:07:14 - 00:07:18on your screen. What's your number one
00:07:16 - 00:07:21marketing metric right now? Impressions,
00:07:18 - 00:07:23clicks, cost per lead, cost per p
00:07:21 - 00:07:27acquisition, lifetime patient value.
00:07:23 - 00:07:29We'll let it run for just a second.
00:07:27 - 00:07:31All right. So, we'll get the result in
00:07:29 - 00:07:34just a second. But I'll tell you though,
00:07:31 - 00:07:37um, and we know that people cool, cool.
00:07:34 - 00:07:38Cost per cost per patient acquisition
00:07:37 - 00:07:40number one choice there, which is cool
00:07:38 - 00:07:41to see. That's actually really great to
00:07:40 - 00:07:44hear. Uh, I was going to get concerned
00:07:41 - 00:07:46if impression clicks became the bigger
00:07:44 - 00:07:47response, but you guys are looking at
00:07:46 - 00:07:48the right things, which we do
00:07:47 - 00:07:51appreciate.
00:07:48 - 00:07:53All right, so the hidden cost. So,
00:07:51 - 00:07:55hidden cost side of things. So, why van
00:07:53 - 00:07:57major distract urgent cares? It it kind
00:07:55 - 00:07:58of goes back to it looks so cool. like
00:07:57 - 00:08:01it looks like we're doing all the right
00:07:58 - 00:08:03things like yeah we increased the ad
00:08:01 - 00:08:07spin and boom our impressions and clicks
00:08:03 - 00:08:09went up or we see this quite a bit the
00:08:07 - 00:08:11reporting that the dashboard that the
00:08:09 - 00:08:14agency gave you has all these metrics
00:08:11 - 00:08:17like we we have we use antalytics you
00:08:14 - 00:08:19can build out a report with 150 metrics
00:08:17 - 00:08:20but it it's just noise at that point
00:08:19 - 00:08:24like it doesn't make any sense it
00:08:20 - 00:08:26doesn't filter anything truly um if we
00:08:24 - 00:08:28had our ways we would just 100% say,
00:08:26 - 00:08:29"How many patients per day are you
00:08:28 - 00:08:32getting?" But we have to pull that from
00:08:29 - 00:08:34the clinic themselves. But yeah, you can
00:08:32 - 00:08:37get really because we've even seen it
00:08:34 - 00:08:40where a particular ad group throws
00:08:37 - 00:08:41everything off because the impressions
00:08:40 - 00:08:43were like high on one and it caused the
00:08:41 - 00:08:44other side to not look as good. So, you
00:08:43 - 00:08:46have to go through the noise to find the
00:08:44 - 00:08:49real answer. And that's one of the
00:08:46 - 00:08:50challenges where it's it's super easy to
00:08:49 - 00:08:52report on these items that have all
00:08:50 - 00:08:53these big numbers because it makes the
00:08:52 - 00:08:55agency look really good or the effort
00:08:53 - 00:08:57that you made looks really good. Even
00:08:55 - 00:08:59Facebook when you're inside their ad
00:08:57 - 00:09:00platform, they're going to focus on some
00:08:59 - 00:09:02things and then you have to dig a little
00:09:00 - 00:09:04deeper to see the actual leads that were
00:09:02 - 00:09:05being created because they like showing
00:09:04 - 00:09:07off those good numbers because they want
00:09:05 - 00:09:09to keep you going, right? Like that's
00:09:07 - 00:09:11part of the goal anyway. And then it
00:09:09 - 00:09:14will force you to say, "Well, you know,
00:09:11 - 00:09:15if I if I added another $1,000 a month,
00:09:14 - 00:09:16I got that much more impressions and
00:09:15 - 00:09:19clicks. Maybe I should add some more."
00:09:16 - 00:09:20Like, no, no, no. Let's see what did
00:09:19 - 00:09:23they actually create more conversions or
00:09:20 - 00:09:24did they distract you and create the
00:09:23 - 00:09:25same amount of conversion and just cost
00:09:24 - 00:09:26you more money?
00:09:25 - 00:09:29>> Well, I know in Facebook when I'm
00:09:26 - 00:09:31setting up a Facebook ad or a meta ad um
00:09:29 - 00:09:33when I'm dialing in the audience, it'll
00:09:31 - 00:09:35tell you this is your audience size,
00:09:33 - 00:09:38which is a complete vanity metric.
00:09:35 - 00:09:40>> Yeah. Like, who cares? And it's real.
00:09:38 - 00:09:41And even uh Google will say, "Here's the
00:09:40 - 00:09:44recommended budget. Here's recommend
00:09:41 - 00:09:46budget." I've never seen it say you have
00:09:44 - 00:09:46too much budget. I don't think I've ever
00:09:46 - 00:09:48seen that before.
00:09:46 - 00:09:51>> Never will. It never will. Now, we've
00:09:48 - 00:09:53seen campaigns not spend the budget, but
00:09:51 - 00:09:55that's pretty rare, too. Um, but no,
00:09:53 - 00:09:57it's they're very those platforms,
00:09:55 - 00:09:58they're there to make money and they
00:09:57 - 00:10:00want your money and they're going to
00:09:58 - 00:10:02make it seem like you have to spend
00:10:00 - 00:10:03every dime you have. Um, and there's
00:10:02 - 00:10:05always going to be somebody else out
00:10:03 - 00:10:06trying to outspend you somewhere. But if
00:10:05 - 00:10:09you're smart about it, you don't burn
00:10:06 - 00:10:12your dollars just to make yourself feel
00:10:09 - 00:10:14better ultimately. Anyway, so wanted to
00:10:12 - 00:10:15focus on that for just a second. Yeah.
00:10:14 - 00:10:16So when you start chasing, like I was
00:10:15 - 00:10:18saying, you start chasing the clicks
00:10:16 - 00:10:20instead of the patience, you just start
00:10:18 - 00:10:21burning dollars. And then all of a
00:10:20 - 00:10:23sudden, your profitability is not going
00:10:21 - 00:10:25up, it's just laying flat or going down,
00:10:23 - 00:10:26but you're spending more money, but
00:10:25 - 00:10:28nothing's resulting from now. I mean, we
00:10:26 - 00:10:31see that ourselves like when we increase
00:10:28 - 00:10:33ad spend for our own sales to help find
00:10:31 - 00:10:34urgent care, like we have to be careful
00:10:33 - 00:10:37like if we just keep increasing, are we
00:10:34 - 00:10:39just is the thing just spending dollars
00:10:37 - 00:10:41at that point and not really actually
00:10:39 - 00:10:44helping things out? Like even in our
00:10:41 - 00:10:45world, we love the conversion cost to be
00:10:44 - 00:10:47at a certain level, right? And then when
00:10:45 - 00:10:49we see it go above a certain level, we
00:10:47 - 00:10:50want to say, "Hey, there might be an
00:10:49 - 00:10:53issue here. Let's not just increase ad
00:10:50 - 00:10:54spend. Let's focus on refining what we
00:10:53 - 00:10:56have first, right?" And that's just
00:10:54 - 00:10:58that's business, right? Where you can't
00:10:56 - 00:10:59just keep throwing dollars at it and
00:10:58 - 00:11:01it'll just magically work. You know, you
00:10:59 - 00:11:05have to be very careful with the dollars
00:11:01 - 00:11:07you put out there. So, all right. Next
00:11:05 - 00:11:09question that we have in place here. How
00:11:07 - 00:11:13confident are you in your current
00:11:09 - 00:11:15marketing data? Data. Data.
00:11:13 - 00:11:15>> That depends on if it's Star Trek or
00:11:15 - 00:11:17real world.
00:11:15 - 00:11:21>> Yeah,
00:11:17 - 00:11:21>> data is a cyborg. Data is information
00:11:21 - 00:11:23you can use.
00:11:21 - 00:11:25>> You know, I used to work for an IT
00:11:23 - 00:11:25company that was they all said southern
00:11:25 - 00:11:28data.
00:11:25 - 00:11:29>> Southern data. I like that. That's good.
00:11:28 - 00:11:31>> And that's just the way it is. Anyway,
00:11:29 - 00:11:34so confident, very confident, somewhat
00:11:31 - 00:11:35not. I'll just look at the reports. So,
00:11:34 - 00:11:36we'll give youall just a second to go
00:11:35 - 00:11:37through that
00:11:36 - 00:11:38>> and then we'll come back to the answer.
00:11:37 - 00:11:40Somewhat confident.
00:11:38 - 00:11:41>> I like that. That's cool. That's an
00:11:40 - 00:11:43honest answer, right?
00:11:41 - 00:11:44>> I think if if I were to look at that, I
00:11:43 - 00:11:46would say, "Hey, listen. I think I know
00:11:44 - 00:11:47what I'm looking at, but I'm not 100%
00:11:46 - 00:11:48sure of some of these other areas."
00:11:47 - 00:11:48Let's keep going.
00:11:48 - 00:11:50>> Nice.
00:11:48 - 00:11:51>> Awesome. So, I want to take a few
00:11:50 - 00:11:53minutes and talk about the six value
00:11:51 - 00:11:56metrics that actually matter to your
00:11:53 - 00:11:58clinic. Um, and it works on multi
00:11:56 - 00:11:59clinics, too. That keeps clicking over
00:11:58 - 00:12:01there for some reason. All right. So,
00:11:59 - 00:12:03here's the first value metric we want to
00:12:01 - 00:12:04look at, and that is the cost per lead.
00:12:03 - 00:12:06The cost per lead is just simply the
00:12:04 - 00:12:08cost to generate a lead into your
00:12:06 - 00:12:10clinic. Um, I think the most important
00:12:08 - 00:12:11thing here when you're putting this
00:12:10 - 00:12:14metric together is to understand and
00:12:11 - 00:12:16define what a lead is to you. Uh, I can
00:12:14 - 00:12:19tell you what it is for us, the agency.
00:12:16 - 00:12:22We want to know did the did the the
00:12:19 - 00:12:25money, the cost, the investment lead in
00:12:22 - 00:12:28a phone call, did it lead in a request
00:12:25 - 00:12:31for directions to your clinic or did it
00:12:28 - 00:12:32go to your youruler page? Um, due to
00:12:31 - 00:12:35HIPPA compliance, a lot of times you
00:12:32 - 00:12:36can't track on the back end of that. If
00:12:35 - 00:12:37you know how to set that up internally,
00:12:36 - 00:12:38though, that's a great way to do it,
00:12:37 - 00:12:41too, is you want to set up that
00:12:38 - 00:12:42conversion um, the cost per lead on
00:12:41 - 00:12:44whether or not they actually went
00:12:42 - 00:12:45through the entire process. But at the
00:12:44 - 00:12:46end of the day, it's still a lead. You
00:12:45 - 00:12:48have not acquired them until they come
00:12:46 - 00:12:48into your clinic. Okay,
00:12:48 - 00:12:53>> real.
00:12:48 - 00:12:56>> So, going to the next one, cost per pis.
00:12:53 - 00:12:59um outside of the uh urgent care space,
00:12:56 - 00:13:02it would be cost called a uh customer
00:12:59 - 00:13:04acquisition cost, which is how most uh
00:13:02 - 00:13:05CPAs and all that that that's how
00:13:04 - 00:13:06they're going to view that. But for us,
00:13:05 - 00:13:08we're going to say cost per patient
00:13:06 - 00:13:10acquisition. And we have some numbers at
00:13:08 - 00:13:12the end of the slide talking about what
00:13:10 - 00:13:14these metrics should look like from a
00:13:12 - 00:13:15dollar uh perspective. But this is the
00:13:14 - 00:13:18cost for a patient to come through your
00:13:15 - 00:13:21doors. Um this isn't just a lead, this
00:13:18 - 00:13:22is a converted lead, right? So, we want
00:13:21 - 00:13:24to know what is the true ROI of your
00:13:22 - 00:13:26marketing. And if you don't know your
00:13:24 - 00:13:28actual uh patient acquisition
00:13:26 - 00:13:30acquisition cost, you'll never know.
00:13:28 - 00:13:33Here's the best way to do this, by the
00:13:30 - 00:13:36way. Take the total amount of dollars
00:13:33 - 00:13:38that you put into uh your marketing. And
00:13:36 - 00:13:39I'm not just talking about the ad spend.
00:13:38 - 00:13:41I'm talking about the total investments.
00:13:39 - 00:13:42Do you have somebody that you pay for
00:13:41 - 00:13:45social media? Do you have somebody that
00:13:42 - 00:13:48you uh an agency? What is what is their
00:13:45 - 00:13:50cost? Um what is the cost on ad spend?
00:13:48 - 00:13:51All of these things should add up. and
00:13:50 - 00:13:54then divide it by the number of patients
00:13:51 - 00:13:55that you got that month. Now, better if
00:13:54 - 00:13:56you know that they came from these
00:13:55 - 00:13:59certain channels, and we'll talk about
00:13:56 - 00:14:01that. So, what is the conversion rate?
00:13:59 - 00:14:03All right, these you really want to
00:14:01 - 00:14:04break down by source anyway, whether
00:14:03 - 00:14:07you're running Google ads, search engine
00:14:04 - 00:14:09optimization, um do you have a postcard
00:14:07 - 00:14:11outreach that you do, uh all of these
00:14:09 - 00:14:13different sources, but what is the
00:14:11 - 00:14:17conversion rate? Basically, is if I put
00:14:13 - 00:14:19it if if if a thousand people saw my ad,
00:14:17 - 00:14:22how many of those turned into a lead?
00:14:19 - 00:14:25That is your conversion rate, right? So,
00:14:22 - 00:14:27I saw 22 patients. I'm sorry, I got 22
00:14:25 - 00:14:30leads and a thousand people clicked on
00:14:27 - 00:14:33my ad. Then your conversion rate is 22%.
00:14:30 - 00:14:35And that's strong. That's strong. Um, so
00:14:33 - 00:14:37we want to let you diagnose uh the
00:14:35 - 00:14:38funnels that you're using. The reason
00:14:37 - 00:14:41you want to know this is so that you can
00:14:38 - 00:14:42take, all right, this ad is working
00:14:41 - 00:14:44based on this landing page that they're
00:14:42 - 00:14:45going to and they're booking visits on
00:14:44 - 00:14:47this page. You want to know what's
00:14:45 - 00:14:49working so you can refine that. All
00:14:47 - 00:14:50right? And we want to track by channel.
00:14:49 - 00:14:53Again, this is going to be your Google
00:14:50 - 00:14:54ads, your SEO, your outreach, your boots
00:14:53 - 00:14:54on the ground. Y
00:14:54 - 00:14:56>> right.
00:14:54 - 00:14:59>> Um, all right. Number four is the
00:14:56 - 00:15:01lifetime patient value.
00:14:59 - 00:15:03Saw a number on this the other day. Wish
00:15:01 - 00:15:06I could tell you what it was for every
00:15:03 - 00:15:08single clinic in every situation, but if
00:15:06 - 00:15:11you're looking at the the lifetime
00:15:08 - 00:15:13value, typically it's a fiveyear span
00:15:11 - 00:15:17for for a patient. That's that's how how
00:15:13 - 00:15:19often people um stay in a CRM or a
00:15:17 - 00:15:22system, right? So, if the customer
00:15:19 - 00:15:23lifetime value I'm sorry, if the time
00:15:22 - 00:15:25frame is five years
00:15:23 - 00:15:25>> and they're coming to the clinic twice a
00:15:25 - 00:15:26year,
00:15:25 - 00:15:27>> there you go.
00:15:26 - 00:15:30>> Right? So, you're looking at an average
00:15:27 - 00:15:32visit of 10 visits a year. I'm sorry, 10
00:15:30 - 00:15:35visits total for that client and then
00:15:32 - 00:15:38you multiply it times $100, then your
00:15:35 - 00:15:40lifetime value is $1,000. If it's $120,
00:15:38 - 00:15:42then it's $1,200. Yep. Right. So that's
00:15:40 - 00:15:46the way you come up with the lifetime
00:15:42 - 00:15:48value of your patient. Even better if
00:15:46 - 00:15:50you can tie that lifetime value to who
00:15:48 - 00:15:52they bring in. Are they bringing in
00:15:50 - 00:15:54their spouse? Are they bringing in their
00:15:52 - 00:15:56children? These type of things that can
00:15:54 - 00:15:58increase the lifetime value. The other
00:15:56 - 00:16:00thing that can increase the lifetime
00:15:58 - 00:16:03value is the ancillary services that you
00:16:00 - 00:16:04may offer. Do you offer weight loss? Do
00:16:03 - 00:16:06you offer other types of services that
00:16:04 - 00:16:08would bring them in for something other
00:16:06 - 00:16:11than an immediate need? Well, we even
00:16:08 - 00:16:13see that too in our tracking where if we
00:16:11 - 00:16:14were able to track the initial phone
00:16:13 - 00:16:14call that they made,
00:16:14 - 00:16:16>> right?
00:16:14 - 00:16:18>> We have something in our software called
00:16:16 - 00:16:19patient or jour client call journey.
00:16:18 - 00:16:22>> Call journey. Yep.
00:16:19 - 00:16:24>> And it shows they went back and made the
00:16:22 - 00:16:26same call. So we have a couple of
00:16:24 - 00:16:27clinics that are three, four plus years
00:16:26 - 00:16:30old. And we have some patients that call
00:16:27 - 00:16:31back in and we can scroll back years and
00:16:30 - 00:16:33see like, oh, so we generated them
00:16:31 - 00:16:36originally and they keep coming back
00:16:33 - 00:16:38into our system every six months or
00:16:36 - 00:16:40every year pretty consistently and they
00:16:38 - 00:16:42have different needs every time.
00:16:40 - 00:16:43>> You bring up a fun point there that we
00:16:42 - 00:16:45don't have in the slideshow, but thank
00:16:43 - 00:16:48you for doing this. And that is a uh
00:16:45 - 00:16:50original lead or a unique lead versus a
00:16:48 - 00:16:53a repeat lead. And if you're on Ring
00:16:50 - 00:16:54Central or Weave or you name it,
00:16:53 - 00:16:56something like that for your phone
00:16:54 - 00:16:58system, it's going to tell you if you go
00:16:56 - 00:17:01in and look, it should tell you if it's
00:16:58 - 00:17:02a unique call or a repeat call. Um those
00:17:01 - 00:17:05repeat calls, you're like, "Ah, I pay
00:17:02 - 00:17:07for a repeat call." Maybe you did, but
00:17:05 - 00:17:08it's worth it. They came back. I Well,
00:17:07 - 00:17:11and that's the thing too that we keep
00:17:08 - 00:17:14that we remind our urgent cares. uh
00:17:11 - 00:17:16branding is so difficult in your niche
00:17:14 - 00:17:19and so or industry and so people don't
00:17:16 - 00:17:19fully remember where they went every
00:17:19 - 00:17:20time,
00:17:19 - 00:17:21>> right?
00:17:20 - 00:17:22>> Or they can't even tell you where
00:17:21 - 00:17:23they're going. They just know they're
00:17:22 - 00:17:26going to that urgent care and they can't
00:17:23 - 00:17:28tell you when to get the bill.
00:17:26 - 00:17:30>> Um and so that's that part where like it
00:17:28 - 00:17:31may be repeat, but it may been totally
00:17:30 - 00:17:33unique to them because they don't
00:17:31 - 00:17:35remember a year ago where they went.
00:17:33 - 00:17:37Well, here's another thing you really
00:17:35 - 00:17:39have to pay attention to as well is that
00:17:37 - 00:17:41very few people go to
00:17:39 - 00:17:42michaelelsurgentare.com.
00:17:41 - 00:17:44>> What they do is they go to their search
00:17:42 - 00:17:46bar and put in michael's urgent care and
00:17:44 - 00:17:48then they click on on what would appear
00:17:46 - 00:17:50to be Michael's urgent care, which if
00:17:48 - 00:17:52it's on Google, um, if you're running
00:17:50 - 00:17:53ads properly, you're going to be at the
00:17:52 - 00:17:54top of the page, they're just going to
00:17:53 - 00:17:54click that. You're going to pay for it
00:17:54 - 00:17:55again.
00:17:54 - 00:17:57>> Yeah.
00:17:55 - 00:17:59>> So, no way to combat that. Here's the
00:17:57 - 00:18:00here's the reason you want to run ads on
00:17:59 - 00:18:02your name anyway. This is free. You
00:18:00 - 00:18:04didn't pay for it, but you're going to.
00:18:02 - 00:18:06Um, this is why you run what we call
00:18:04 - 00:18:07brand defense ads where you run at least
00:18:06 - 00:18:10a hundred bucks or something like that
00:18:07 - 00:18:11on the on your own brand because if not
00:18:10 - 00:18:12your competitors will.
00:18:11 - 00:18:15>> Yeah.
00:18:12 - 00:18:17>> All right. So, value number five is
00:18:15 - 00:18:18booked appointments from the marketing.
00:18:17 - 00:18:20Again, at the end of the day, we want to
00:18:18 - 00:18:22know who booked an appointment. Now,
00:18:20 - 00:18:24this this this
00:18:22 - 00:18:26isn't an acquisition cost, but you do
00:18:24 - 00:18:28want to know who booked. So, um, if I
00:18:26 - 00:18:31generated 100 phone calls, we know
00:18:28 - 00:18:33somewhere to the tune of 65 to 70% based
00:18:31 - 00:18:36on all of the data that we have. 65 to
00:18:33 - 00:18:3870% of those are going to book an
00:18:36 - 00:18:39appointment either over the phone or
00:18:38 - 00:18:41they're going to walk in or they're
00:18:39 - 00:18:43going to hit your online and book. But
00:18:41 - 00:18:45you need to know that number. What is
00:18:43 - 00:18:47the number of booked appointments that
00:18:45 - 00:18:49originated from your marketing efforts?
00:18:47 - 00:18:51Uh, leads are great. Uh, I get it.
00:18:49 - 00:18:54They're fun. They look good. Again,
00:18:51 - 00:18:55leads if not careful can also be a
00:18:54 - 00:18:57vanity metric. Yeah. Right. But we still
00:18:55 - 00:19:00want to measure those leads.
00:18:57 - 00:19:01>> Yep. Yep. And when the book visit and we
00:19:00 - 00:19:04also recognize too a booked appointment
00:19:01 - 00:19:06doesn't necessarily mean a patient.
00:19:04 - 00:19:07>> There's a really good chance for sure,
00:19:06 - 00:19:10but it is something because there's just
00:19:07 - 00:19:12limitations like we there's no clean way
00:19:10 - 00:19:15of saying that patient actually connect
00:19:12 - 00:19:17all the way back. You know, PHI is just
00:19:15 - 00:19:19a challenge with all that. I will say
00:19:17 - 00:19:21this though, uh the the clinics that
00:19:19 - 00:19:24really have it together, that really
00:19:21 - 00:19:26have it together, they go through their
00:19:24 - 00:19:27online scheduler and they say, "These
00:19:26 - 00:19:29are the 10 that booked today or the 20
00:19:27 - 00:19:31or the 50 or whatever that booked today
00:19:29 - 00:19:33and these are the ones that showed and
00:19:31 - 00:19:35they send a text message or they make a
00:19:33 - 00:19:36phone call to the ones that didn't and
00:19:35 - 00:19:38say, "Hey, I saw you booked but you
00:19:36 - 00:19:39didn't make it in. Did you get the care
00:19:38 - 00:19:40that you needed?"
00:19:39 - 00:19:41>> Yeah. And that's
00:19:40 - 00:19:41>> You want to talk about showing some
00:19:41 - 00:19:43care?
00:19:41 - 00:19:45>> Yeah. And we actually see that quite a
00:19:43 - 00:19:47bit. Um, if just to let you know, so we
00:19:45 - 00:19:49do some front desk training and one of
00:19:47 - 00:19:52the big things we'll push on and this is
00:19:49 - 00:19:54like a an extra bonus pro piece because
00:19:52 - 00:19:54you have to be very intentional with it,
00:19:54 - 00:19:56>> right?
00:19:54 - 00:19:58>> They missed an appointment. If your
00:19:56 - 00:20:00system doesn't have a way to reach back
00:19:58 - 00:20:02out to them immediately after 15 minutes
00:20:00 - 00:20:04or at least tell your front desk to call
00:20:02 - 00:20:06them and just say, "Saw you missed the
00:20:04 - 00:20:08appointment. Do you want to rebook?" And
00:20:06 - 00:20:10they may say, "Oh, I forgot. I got
00:20:08 - 00:20:11distracted. Who where's your location
00:20:10 - 00:20:13again?" And you know, those the
00:20:11 - 00:20:15conversations you'll have um and you'll
00:20:13 - 00:20:18get them right back. We even witnessed
00:20:15 - 00:20:20one where the front desk told somebody
00:20:18 - 00:20:23incorrect information
00:20:20 - 00:20:26that morning and we had the doctor call
00:20:23 - 00:20:29that same patient with us talking on the
00:20:26 - 00:20:31phone, which was funny. And uh he booked
00:20:29 - 00:20:33that patient to come in that afternoon
00:20:31 - 00:20:34because he saw an opportunity like I'm
00:20:33 - 00:20:35I'm going to see if they still need
00:20:34 - 00:20:37help. And that's what he did and it
00:20:35 - 00:20:39worked. See, but like we've said like it
00:20:37 - 00:20:41has to be very intentional. It can't be
00:20:39 - 00:20:42halfhazard because it just won't work
00:20:41 - 00:20:44properly. Uh but it's something we
00:20:42 - 00:20:46definitely encourage.
00:20:44 - 00:20:47>> I would I would say carve out time uh
00:20:46 - 00:20:48middle of the day and end of the day to
00:20:47 - 00:20:48do repeat calls.
00:20:48 - 00:20:50>> Yep.
00:20:48 - 00:20:52>> All right. Uh last one is the local
00:20:50 - 00:20:55search visibility. I know this sounds
00:20:52 - 00:20:56pretty obvious, but are you showing up
00:20:55 - 00:20:56when people need you?
00:20:56 - 00:20:58>> Yep.
00:20:56 - 00:21:01>> Are you showing up when people need you?
00:20:58 - 00:21:04Um this can be we're going to talk about
00:21:01 - 00:21:06the map threeack um which is the Google
00:21:04 - 00:21:08map section of of a search. Uh but
00:21:06 - 00:21:10ultimately are they is your visibility
00:21:08 - 00:21:12can be tied to your social media. Your
00:21:10 - 00:21:14visibility can be tied to the Google ads
00:21:12 - 00:21:16that you're running. Um when I say local
00:21:14 - 00:21:18visibility, I am talking about the map
00:21:16 - 00:21:19threeack. So in the anatomy of a Google
00:21:18 - 00:21:21search at the top you're going to have
00:21:19 - 00:21:23the ads. The next thing that you're
00:21:21 - 00:21:25going to see is that map threeack. They
00:21:23 - 00:21:27only hold three urgent cares in that map
00:21:25 - 00:21:30threeack and you absolutely want to be
00:21:27 - 00:21:32one of them. All right. Um that's going
00:21:30 - 00:21:33to be driven by your rankings. That's
00:21:32 - 00:21:35going to be driven by the reviews, the
00:21:33 - 00:21:37citations that you build through
00:21:35 - 00:21:38directories, services like Yex and
00:21:37 - 00:21:41Bright Local and things like that.
00:21:38 - 00:21:44>> Um, here's the thing. I I'm glad I'm
00:21:41 - 00:21:46glad Hannah put this in here is that the
00:21:44 - 00:21:49most common search term period is urgent
00:21:46 - 00:21:52care near me. And so what you want to do
00:21:49 - 00:21:54is within proximity of your clinic,
00:21:52 - 00:21:56either in your clinic or up to three to
00:21:54 - 00:21:57five miles out, run a search on your
00:21:56 - 00:21:59cell phone, run a search on your
00:21:57 - 00:22:01computer, and just put urgent care near
00:21:59 - 00:22:02me. That is the best indicator on
00:22:01 - 00:22:03whether or not you were showing up
00:22:02 - 00:22:04locally
00:22:03 - 00:22:05>> specifically. Do it in Google Maps on
00:22:04 - 00:22:06your phone.
00:22:05 - 00:22:07>> Absolutely.
00:22:06 - 00:22:10>> And you'll see exactly what's happening.
00:22:07 - 00:22:11And that gives you a real in inclinator
00:22:10 - 00:22:12of indicator of
00:22:11 - 00:22:14>> I like inclinator. Inclinator.
00:22:12 - 00:22:17>> That's a new good word.
00:22:14 - 00:22:19>> Take the indicator of who your true
00:22:17 - 00:22:21competitors are because we get all the
00:22:19 - 00:22:22oh it's the so and so down the street
00:22:21 - 00:22:24over here. Maybe
00:22:22 - 00:22:26>> not according to Google. But when you go
00:22:24 - 00:22:29walk outside your claim, we say like hop
00:22:26 - 00:22:31in your car, drive to the next gas
00:22:29 - 00:22:34station or restaurant, a popular
00:22:31 - 00:22:35restaurant, just pull up your phone, say
00:22:34 - 00:22:37urgent care near me, and you'll see your
00:22:35 - 00:22:39competitors. Hopefully, you'll see you
00:22:37 - 00:22:41and that's a good thing. But if you just
00:22:39 - 00:22:43don't see you and you're down the list
00:22:41 - 00:22:45or it's like the classic that shows your
00:22:43 - 00:22:46pinpoint but doesn't give a name beside
00:22:45 - 00:22:48it yet, it's because you're not that
00:22:46 - 00:22:49important yet to Google.
00:22:48 - 00:22:50>> Love it.
00:22:49 - 00:22:54>> All right.
00:22:50 - 00:22:56>> Well, all righty. I hope those numbers
00:22:54 - 00:22:58and those real life examples did not
00:22:56 - 00:23:00scare you. Maybe they encourage you.
00:22:58 - 00:23:01Maybe you're like, "Well, gosh, that
00:23:00 - 00:23:02sounds like my clinic right now. Hope
00:23:01 - 00:23:05they weren't talking about me." Probably
00:23:02 - 00:23:08not. But I wanted to show like this is
00:23:05 - 00:23:09what is what we deal with on a regular
00:23:08 - 00:23:11basis. So, let me ask you, are you do
00:23:09 - 00:23:13you have an audit out there that you
00:23:11 - 00:23:14haven't ran in a long time? would you
00:23:13 - 00:23:16like for us to come in just check things
00:23:14 - 00:23:18for you? Compare the metrics of what we
00:23:16 - 00:23:21know is good metrics, not vanity
00:23:18 - 00:23:22metrics, and just see what we can do for
00:23:21 - 00:23:24you there. Also too, there will be a
00:23:22 - 00:23:25link to the webinar itself so you can go
00:23:24 - 00:23:28watch and and complete because what we
00:23:25 - 00:23:29put in this episode is a snapshot of the
00:23:28 - 00:23:31whole of the thing, not every single bit
00:23:29 - 00:23:32of the webinar. And then we always have
00:23:31 - 00:23:35resources for you guys. We want to make
00:23:32 - 00:23:37sure you get those as well. And I hope
00:23:35 - 00:23:39that when you went through this episode,
00:23:37 - 00:23:41you thought about your numbers and you
00:23:39 - 00:23:43thought, is this really what I want to
00:23:41 - 00:23:46know more about or can I dig deeper and
00:23:43 - 00:23:48connect all the dots and making sure I
00:23:46 - 00:23:49am focused on the value, not the vanity.
00:23:48 - 00:23:53Thanks again for listening. We'll catch
00:23:49 - 00:23:53you on the next one.