The campaign
We ran this Meta campaign for 30 days. The ads went to people within 15 miles of the clinic who had shown interest in chiropractic care, physical therapy or pain relief.
$1,434.97 in ads brought in 97 leads through a simple form inside the app, at $14.79 per lead. 23 of those leads booked in (24%), so each new patient cost $62.39.
What the first visits brought in
This clinic's first visit is $160.
23 patients × $160 = $3,680 in first-visit revenue.
That's $2.56 back for every $1 spent, before a single follow-up visit. The ad spend was paid back at the first appointment.
Revenue over time
At this clinic, the average patient brings in $600 in revenue over their time as a patient.
23 patients × $600 = $13,800 in revenue from $1,434.97 in ads.
The return
That's a 9.6× return: $9.62 back for every $1 spent. Each new patient cost $62.39 and brings in $600 in revenue.
Why these leads cost more, and why that was fine
A lead here cost $14.79. On Facebook and Instagram, lead prices swing from a few dollars to well over twenty, depending on the market, how big the audience is and how much proven creative sits behind the campaign.
That swing is exactly why cost per lead is the wrong number to judge a campaign by. What matters is what a lead turns into. These leads were expensive and nearly a quarter of them booked, so the number that counts, the cost of a new patient, came out at $62.39.
Why nearly a quarter of them booked
Two things were working here. The ads went only to people within 15 miles who had already shown interest in chiropractic care, physical therapy or pain relief, so the audience was closer to ready than a general local audience. And the first visit is $160, which is a smaller decision than a $300 one.
Narrower audience, lower barrier, higher share booking. That is the trade every clinic makes when it sets its first-visit price.
What the numbers mean for your clinic
- $1,434.97 produced 97 leads and 23 new patients.
- Each new patient cost $62.39.
- The first visits brought back $3,680, which is $2.56 for every $1 spent, before anyone came back a second time.
- Over their care, those patients bring in $13,800.
The first-visit number is the one to pay attention to. A campaign that repays the ad spend at the first appointment funds itself: the money comes back before the next invoice is due. Everything after that is profit arriving over the following months.
At $62.39 per patient, 20 new patients a month would take about $1,250 in ad spend. Your figure will differ, but the method doesn't: take your ad spend, divide by patients booked, and compare it with what a patient is worth to you.
Questions clinic owners ask
Why did leads cost $14.79 here when other clinics pay a few dollars?
Market size, audience size and how much proven creative there is to run. Lead prices vary this much all the time, which is why we report what patients cost, not what leads cost.
Why did nearly a quarter of these leads book?
A $160 first visit is an easy yes compared with the $300 first visits common in cash-pay practices, and these ads were shown only to people who had already shown interest in chiropractic care or pain relief.
Is 30 days long enough to judge a campaign?
It's long enough to judge what a patient costs and what a patient is worth, which is what this case study is for. It isn't long enough to judge how it scales, how creative fatigues, or what the patients are worth a year later.
What would it take to get 20 new patients a month?
About $1,250 a month at this clinic's cost per patient. Your own figure depends on your prices and your market, but the method is the same: cost per new patient, times how many you want.
Should I lower my first visit price to book more?
Only with the full calculation in front of you. A lower price lifts the share who book and lowers what each pays on day one. Whether that trade is worth it depends on how many of them stay for care.
Does this work for a clinic nobody has heard of?
This is that version. These ads went to people who had never heard of the practice, with no warm audience and no existing following behind them.
How we count revenue
Revenue counts what new patients spend over time, not just the first visit. Each study multiplies its new patients by that clinic’s own average revenue per patient. First visit revenue is shown separately.