The Importance of Soft and Hard Metrics in Medical Marketing: Measuring What Matters for High-Value Patients

Written by: Aaron Michael Buch

In a competitive medical world, understanding how your marketing efforts perform is key to attracting patients who need ongoing care, particularly those who represent high-value, long-term relationships. While increasing surgical volume is a major goal for many practices, the real challenge lies in identifying which marketing efforts are driving that growth. To do this, we need to look at two important types of data: soft metrics and hard metrics.

We have some interesting insight on this, as we’ve worked with healthcare practices of all sizes, and I’ve personally seen how important it is for doctors and administrators alike to have a clear understanding of their marketing performance. After years of working in the healthcare marketing space, I can tell you that tracking the right metrics makes all the difference in connecting with the right patients.

Let’s break down the key types of metrics medical practices should focus on, and how advancements like programmatic advertising can provide even deeper insights.

Soft Metrics: Gauging Awareness and Interest

Soft metrics provide a window into how visible your practice is and how much interest you’re generating in your community. While these numbers might not immediately translate into new appointments, they’re the foundation for building trust and awareness. Here are the main soft metrics worth tracking:

1. Impressions: Simply put, this is the number of people who saw your ad. The more impressions, the better your visibility. It’s especially useful for boosting awareness within your local area.
2. Clicks: A high click-through rate (CTR) shows your ad is compelling enough to get potential patients to engage further — like visiting your website or reading about your services.
3. Engagement: Whether it’s social media likes, shares, or comments, engagement helps gauge how much your content resonates with people. It can also show what types of treatments or services patients are most interested in.
4. Video Views: If you’re running video content, tracking how many patients watch your videos (especially how many watch them to the end) can help you understand what’s capturing their attention.

These soft metrics build a relationship with your audience, but they’re just the first step. The real question is, how do these interactions translate into patients walking through your doors?

Hard Metrics: Measuring Patient Conversions and Revenue Impact

Hard metrics provide a more direct link to the success of your marketing efforts. These numbers show how your campaigns are converting interest into tangible results, like new appointments and surgical bookings. Here’s what to watch:

1. 1. Conversion Rate: This tells you the percentage of people who took action after seeing your ad, such as booking an appointment or contacting your practice. It’s the clearest sign of whether your ads are driving patient interest.
   2. Cost Per Acquisition (CPA): How much are you spending to attract each new patient? Keeping CPA in check means your campaigns are cost-effective, which directly impacts your bottom line.
   3. Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): This measures how much revenue you’re generating from each dollar spent on advertising. It’s a great way to know whether your marketing is delivering strong financial results.
   4. Patient Conversion Tracking: One of the more advanced metrics involves tracking whether patients who saw your ad actually visit your practice. Using geo-fencing technology, we can see if a patient crosses into a “conversion fence,” indicating they’ve arrived for an appointment. This is one of the most powerful ways to understand the true effectiveness of your marketing.
      

Why Clarity and Simplicity are Critical

I’ve always believed that for marketing to be truly effective, it needs to be understandable — not just to the marketing team but to everyone in the practice. We’ve developed a dashboard that makes it easy to track both soft and hard metrics, and it’s been critical in making progress and keeping all parties on the same page. Whether you’re the surgeon or the office manager, you should be able to quickly see how your campaigns are performing without needing a marketing degree.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from years of working with healthcare professionals, it’s that time is valuable. Practices need clear, straightforward insights, not confusing reports. Using a dashboard similar to ours at Hexapoint, ensures you can track patient engagement, conversions, and overall ROI all in one place.

Programmatic Advertising: The Next Step in Patient Targeting

Traditional ads aren’t enough anymore. Programmatic advertising allows you to take patient targeting to a new level by using data to serve ads to specific patients based on their demographics, online behavior, and even the medical conditions they’re searching for. This means your ads reach the right people at the right time.

More importantly, with programmatic ads, we can track if a patient interacted with your ad and later visited your practice. This level of precision gives you confidence that your marketing efforts are truly driving patient acquisition.

Focusing on What Really Matters

Ultimately, your marketing success comes down to whether you’re attracting the right patients and growing your practice in a sustainable way. By tracking a combination of soft and hard metrics, and embracing technologies like programmatic advertising, you can ensure that your marketing strategies are truly effective.

At Hexapoint, we believe in providing transparency and clarity. Whether you’re working with us or another agency, it’s crucial that you have the tools and insights to measure what really matters: the health and growth of your practice.