What should a monthly clinic marketing report show?

1. Booked first visits, by source. The figure that matters first. Show the month, the source and the trend. Note how it was counted. See measuring booked first visits.
2. Calls. Total, answered and missed, and calls by source where tracked. See call tracking basics.
3. Online bookings. Number started and completed, and which button or link was used.
4. Reviews. New reviews received, your current rating and whether you replied.
5. Spend. What was paid to ad platforms and, separately, to the agency. With ads running, cost per booked first visit.
6. Website basics. Visits, and clicks on the Book online button and phone number.

Present each against the previous month and the same month last year, if there is a history.

Numbers need a sentence of explanation. A good report answers:

• What happened? “Online bookings rose after we moved the button to the top.”
• Why do we think so? What was changed and when.
• What didn’t work? Honest notes build trust.
• What happens next month? Three or four specific tasks.
• What do you need from us? Photos, a decision, or a review push.

• Impressions and clicks on their own. They show activity, not patients.
• Ranking positions. They vary by place and device and can mislead.
• Online profile call counts. Google removed call history from Business Profiles in July 2024. The profile still counts taps on the Call button, but that misses calls dialled by hand and can’t tell you who called or whether they booked. Use your own tracking.
• Vanity totals, such as followers and likes, unless tied to bookings.
• Averages that hide a bad month.

Patient names or health details. Marketing reports should count things, not identify people. We don’t handle patient records and our reports never need them.

You should be able to open your own accounts, such as online profile, ad account, analytics and booking software, and see the same figures. A report you can’t check is a presentation. If something is hard to count, the report should say so and give the method.

Aim for a one-page summary with a short list of figures and notes, plus detail if you want it. It should arrive on a regular day each month. Walk through it on a short call if needed. See what a clinic should expect.

• Booked first visits: this month, last month, by source.
• Calls: total, answered, missed.
• Online bookings: started, completed.
• Reviews: new, rating, replied.
• Spend: ads, fees, cost per first visit.
• Done this month, next month, questions for you.