Request An Appointment
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
(If you DO want to work with Studio8E8, be sure to mention this podcast/ episode!)
Reach out to Studio8E8 here: https://s8e8.com/affiliates/tdm?utm_source=tdm&utm_medium=affiliate&wc_clear=true
In this week's Monday Morning Marketing episode, I'm joined by an industry expert and friend, Joshua Scott, from Studio 8E8. Today we're bringing to the spotlight the incredible success story of one of their clients who skyrocketed from 0 to a jaw-dropping 3 million dollars in revenue in just one year, all thanks to the power of digital marketing. Joshua unravels the secret sauce behind this remarkable feat, breaking it down into four essential components that underpinned their triumph:
1. Establishing a proven formula for scaling - Knowing your numbers and how to leverage them for growth. If you know 30 calls equals about 5 new patients, it will be easier to scale!
2. Crafting an efficient and conversion-focused funnel - Locking down all the platform strategies and best ways to drive potential patients to your practice.
3. Building brand authority - Boosting your organic SEO and becoming a trusted brand in your community.
4. Diversifying marketing budgets and efforts - Knowing where to spend more and where to spend less in your marketing budget. Should you market for more emergency cases, cosmetic, or big ticket items? The choice is yours!
Dive into this episode to get even more in depth on these proven digital marketing techniques!
You can reach out to Joshua Scott here:
Website: https://s8e8.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshuascott/
Other Mentions and Links:
For more helpful tips, strategies, ideas, and marketing advice:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedentalmarketer/
The Newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2031814726927041
Michael: Hey Joce. So talk to us about Google Ads. How can we utilize this, or what advice, suggestions, or methods can you give us that will actually help us attract new patients through Google
Joshua: Ads? Hey, Michael. Dude, so always so good to be here with you. I love these, these Monday morning marketing minutes.
I don't, I don't know if that's it. That's it. That's four s Monday morning, marketing Minute. I don't know. I think it's maybe one day. Yeah, I'm, I'm adding, I'm changing the title of your show. no, but man, we just had a client, really cool client that went from a startup practice, a startup GP practice that went from zero to 3 million in revenue in year one.
And a lot of that was based around digital ads. And so I thought I'd bring in some of those keys that our team was like, here's why that happened into this episode. So I've got like kind of four keys that we observed from a high level on why his ads were so successful. Awesome. Let's get into it, man.
Awesome. So number one was he really understood how to scale a campaign. One of the things I tell people is one of the most valuable parts of a digital ad campaign is understanding the formula that you're building. fact, a lot of ways that formula is almost more valuable than the actual spend that's happening.
And so for instance, let's say you're spending a thousand dollars a month in Google Ads, and then that generates, I mean, we can put clicks in there if you want, but let's just make it simplify it. Like a thousand dollars generates 30 phone calls, which generates five new patients to the practice. So if we can establish that formula, well now, you know, okay, so if you're bringing on an associate, you're expanding, you want to grow faster, you're like, okay, we need an extra 20 new patients a month.
Now we got a formula for that. So we know that 20 would actually have to be a $4,000 investment to get 120 phone calls, which kind of tells you what your front office team needs to be able to handle. Mm-hmm. Which gets you the 20 new patients. So once he kind of understood that he started with a smaller budget early on, and by smaller, I mean, um, I probably should have started with this.
So he, when he initially started, we were spending 25,000 a month in Google ads. And once we got a handle on that, that formula, I think right now we're spending about 47,000 in one month on Google Ads. Wait,
Michael: 4 7 3 zeros, 4 7, 0,
Joshua: 0, 0, 0 0 per month. So basically half a million dollars on digital ads.
And you know, here's the thing though, like, if you spend half a million in marketing, but you can get to 3 million in year one, would you do that? You know? Yeah. So, dude,
Michael: so okay, talk to me about the formula then. So that was number one, scale the campaign, right?
Joshua: So number two was really creating a funnel with your ad campaigns. And so we, we know this word funnel, we've, it's, it's, it's out there, but it, it kind of gets, like, it's one of the probably, I don't know, like marketing trends that's coming through, but it's really nothing new.
And so with him, it was creating this, this funnel with different parts of it. So number one, like at the top is uh, what we call like a meta brand awareness campaign. So between Facebook and Instagram, You're using photography and video to just drive brand awareness. Like, Hey, we're here. New practice name recognition.
then using Google Ads so that then driving to Google Ads, which uses as a conversion point. So now they're clicking on that. They're going to the website. We're trying to get conversions from them. But then using, going back to Meta's platform, to remarket to them. So we have this like brand awareness, getting them, you know, now they're seeing Google ads and they're going to the website.
Now they're seeing the, the practice come back up in their feed for the next 30 to 60 days. Mm-hmm. So you're really kind of sophisticated approach to go, let's drive traffic down this funnel. Let's not lose it at just one exposure, but really figure out how to leverage all the platforms out there to do that.
Gotcha. Okay.
Michael: Okay. So then three.
Joshua: So three was really establishing brand authority. And what I mean by that is even though his campaigns were really successful, Building an entire successful business around digital ads is not really like, the best strategy and, and kind of impossible. And so, he used organic ss e o a great patient experience social media to really generate a ton of authority.
So at the same time, we're running this like high powered digital ad campaign. He's collecting 500 Google reviews in year one, average 4.9 stars. He's creating social media, uh, awareness and, and authority, and so, The way this plays into his, cost per click, then being lower because Google is now translating this as a high quality, website, high quality source when they return it.
So conversion rates go higher, pay per click goes lower, and all those things. Realizing it's not just about putting ads out there, it's all the things behind the scenes. Word of mouth, great patient experience, good social media strategy.
Michael: Hmm. Gotcha. So it, a lot goes on with number three, The s e o social media.
quality of the, what's he posting? The reviews? Yeah. All that stuff. Right.
Joshua: Yeah. And it's, and it's really realizing like digital marketing is a compliment to all the other things you're doing to build a business. You know, I think marketing, when you look at some of this, it's like if you go, Hey, uh, startup, zero to 3 million in one year, people are like, oh my God, how do you do it?
What's, what's the key? And the, the key is that there's not one key, you know, the key is like, There was 500 reviews. There was a legit social media strategy. There was, um, you know, pay per click, uh, sophisticated pay per click, with a serious budget to it. So, so I think that that's kind of where we were at, was like, there wasn't one thing here.
He was really building a solid business around an ad campaign.
Michael: Gotcha. Okay. So then number
Joshua: four. Number four, we called it diversification. And so it wasn't a set and forget type campaign. we built out, at first it was a general new patient campaign. 'cause he is like, Hey, we're opening doors, we literally need new patients.
And month one it was 170 new patients, it's climbed from there. It's gone up to low two hundreds. You know, it just kind of fluctuates a little bit. But we also build out emergency campaigns. We build out Invisalign campaigns. And so for him it was different seasons throughout that year of knowing. Hey, just added another doctor.
We've got kind of more margin in our daily schedule, so like, let's put 5,000 of that towards emergencies for the next 30 days. Mm-hmm. Um, hey, we don't have any margin for emergencies, so let's shift that budget over to Invisalign to get higher treatment type procedures into the practice. And so it's, it's kind of having your base built, but then having some other auxiliary campaigns that you almost pull levers on when you need it, based on the needs of the practice.
Gotcha.
Michael: So, Rewind a little bit. You said at the beginning y'all did a general new patient campaign. What's that look like? Yeah, so
Joshua: he was, you know, so a, a lot of us, like what I talked about, like brand awareness through, through the meta channels, uh, with a huge, huge spend in Google. ' cause the majority of it man startups, I'm a big believer in like, you just need new patients in the door.
let's go on Google. I think one of the misconceptions, Michael, around Google ad budgets I think there's two things. One is, You know, a lot of people will think like $1,500 a month for an ad campaign is a lot of money. I don't know that that is anymore. When it comes to acquiring a new patient externally through an ad platform, most agencies are probably gonna take 25 to 30% of that for a management fee.
So you roughly have a thousand dollars you're spending, and I would say right now I think a Google new patient costs 200 to 250 bucks. So if you spend 1500, we're looking at like four to five new patients. And sometimes those, and if you don't, you know, like if your team's not answering phones, right, or they're going to voicemail, it may not even feel like, this is where I think practices go.
We're not getting anything from this. I'm like, well, you are, but really we're only supposed to be converting four or five. The other part is he has scaled this to over $40,000 a month in his area. There's still room to expand that. And so even at 40,000, like he hasn't saturated that search volume. And this is in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio.
So I think people think like, oh, I'm spending 5,000 a month, and clearly we have to be number one. 'cause who else is spending that? And I'm like, I think that lid is way higher than most people think.
Michael: Yeah, half a million. This is, it's pretty up there, man. But yeah, you mentioned about like the brand awareness campaign.
And then you also talk about a new patient campaign. So when it comes to, opening our doors, what's the difference between a brand awareness campaign with Google Ads and a new patient campaign with Google Ads? Or is it the same thing? Yeah,
Joshua: the way we would define it is a brand awareness campaign is just meant to drive awareness.
And so a lot of that is like social media. You know, if you've got a great video, great photography, it's just the thing to get people interested. You're not necessarily trying to convert like. click here for an appointment. Like that's really not those messages. It's supposed to be a feel like an organic part of your social media feed.
So it's just name awareness, you know, A lot of it within was like, Hey, grand opening new practice in the area. Just stuff like that. People are like, oh, that's interesting. Didn't know. Mm-hmm. I, oh yeah, I just drove past that the other day. So that's brand awareness. A new patient campaign is really meant to get those conversions.
Like now this is where we ask, somebody's looking on Google and we're like, Hey, we're here. Click here and book an appointment or call. So you're trying to drive that, that conversion from it. And I think that that's an important differentiation. 'cause a lot of times, like if, if practices just have a budget for one.
They're a startup. I'm like, just, let's just go. New patients, get 'em in the door, you know, as best we can. If they have a more diversified budget, it always will drive better conversions if there's brand awareness sitting on top of an actual, like conversion campaign.
Michael: Gotcha. Do you ever, in your experience with all the practices you work with, see like a push and pull of somebody who's like, yeah, I'm doing my own Google ads, I do it in-house, or I do it myself and you know, we're getting 10.
15 new patients a month. But then there's that pool where it's like, I'm afraid to invest more if I'm doing it myself. You know, I can just increase more on my own. But really the time factor, plays a huge role. And then knowing what to do specifically within the nitty gritty, right? Like the details. Do you ever see that where it's like, uh, I don't know if I should, or, or, or No.
Joshua: Yeah, a little bit I would say. And, and it'd be interesting to ask some of the other agencies as well to get their feedback and I, but I would say we see less and less of that now. Um, five years ago, 10 years ago, certainly a lot of people managing their own campaigns, when you get into Google's like ad platform now, I'd be like, Michael, I, I got a big book here on my shelf.
It's, it was like, uh, from five years ago, like, like learning to, it is like Google certification book. Yeah. You know, it's like this big, I like went through the thing 'cause I was like, I, I want to understand this now when I get in that ad platform, I'm like, no way guys. I just, it's too far down the road. I would rather, you know, pay people to really be experts in that.
Mm-hmm. So I think the days of. Somebody really learning that, getting into it and building an effective campaign. it's more at an agency level now is my take on it.
Michael: Gotcha. So this is not a form where it's like the more money we throw at it, the more new patients you're gonna get.
It's more like, it has to be very strategic with it, or
Joshua: is it not? Yeah, no, I think it's both. I, I do, I think it's like we've gotta be strategic and, you know, maybe phase one is, is the strategy part of. What's the campaign look like and really building out that formula. Like, okay, if we're gonna invest, you know, X and we get this many phone calls and we're seeing this many new patients, I'm like, great.
Once that's established, I. Tell me what you want. do you want 50 new patients a month? Do you want, you know, he was like, we gotta open with at least 150 a month. It's like, all right, so let's reverse engineer that. They cost 250 bucks a piece. how much is that? You know? Mm-hmm. And so you kind of just start looking at those things and, and really understanding you've got control over that.
I. most of this comes down to just honestly, having the guts to make some decisions like that. Like I think most people would, if I said, give me half a million and I'll guarantee a $3 million startup, I think in theory that's like a really easy decision. I think that's a really tough one to make, as a, especially as a new business owner.
Michael: Yeah. That's tough. 'cause it's like, I don't know the guarantee, you know what I mean? Like, it's, uh, you wanna believe, you wanna believe and you wanna trust the, but then like, you know, people have been burned in the past and stuff like that. So it's like
you don't
Joshua: know that is you're, you're smiling 'cause you're smiling.
'cause you would feel the same way. Here here's, here's a little bit of backstory. So just so this isn't, feels like some super anomaly. This was his third startup. The first one went from one to 3 million in three years. The second one went from one to 3 million in two years. And so at each step he, so when he came to us, he actually switched, marketing companies came to us and said, I think I can go to 3 million in one year.
And it was like, yeah, I think you can, he actually has an M B A as well. He is a, he's a practicing dentist, but also has an his M B A. So there's some things there where I think he understands some of that marketing business, investment relationship where, and it's had like two other successful kind of patterns from it, where I think the first one he was, he would spend 25,000 a month on marketing.
The second one was like 35,000, and now this one's like 45,000. Mm-hmm. So it, you know, it's like he's stair stepping up, but um, so he didn't just come into the game like, here's half a million.
Michael: Oh yeah, I trust you a hundred percent. Here's, got you. No, that's interesting man. This is good. So awesome. So scale a campaign, create a funnel for your ad campaign, establish brand authority, and then Diversification. Awesome, man. I appreciate your time. So if anyone has further questions, you can definitely find Josh on the Dental Marketer Society Facebook group, or where can they reach out to
Joshua: you
directly? Yeah, if you're on Instagram, I, I'm there at, at Joshua Scott. I'm still in my dms in that account.
So tell me, you heard the episode, gimme a shout out, and then online www.seighteeight.com.
Michael: Awesome. So guys, as always, that's gonna be in the show notes below. And Josh, thank you for being with me on this Monday morning marketing episode.
Joshua: Thanks, Michael.