HMDG’s Top 5 Tips for Evidence-Based Marketing
Evidence-based marketing means focusing on outcomes that actually matter. Too many agencies hide behind vanity metrics that look good on paper but do nothing for your bottom line. This article is part of our Complete Guide to Marketing your Clinic. Below are five principles we use at HMDG to keep marketing accountable and outcome-driven.
1. Outcomes, not optics
Clicks and impressions look nice on a report but they do not pay anyone’s wages. If your agency bangs on about CTRs but cannot tell you how many patients actually booked from their work, bin them. It is no different from a clinician obsessing over how many people viewed their CPD post on LinkedIn. Utterly irrelevant if nobody walks through the clinic door. Evidence-based marketing means measuring appointments and revenue, not fluffy numbers designed to make an agency look clever.
2. Define success upfront
One of the easiest ways to waste money is to start campaigns with no clear definition of success. “More visibility” is vague and meaningless. Does it mean likes? Does it mean more people typing your name into Google? None of that matters if it does not lead to new patients. A proper goal is something you can measure, such as “20 new booked appointments this month.” That way you can hold yourself or your agency accountable. Without defined outcomes you are throwing money into the air and hoping some lands back in your pocket.
3. Measure properly
Marketing without tracking is commercial suicide. You need systems that connect spend with results. This means Google Ads conversion tracking set up properly, Analytics running, HotJar showing how patients move through your site, and intake forms that ask “Where did you hear about us?” If you hand out leaflets, fine, but add a promo code so you can measure response. Otherwise you are like a clinician treating a patient while blindfolded. You might get lucky, but it is not a strategy.
4. Trust the data, not your gut
In clinic, instinct can help you. In marketing, it will drain your bank account. The numbers do not lie. If a campaign costs £500 and delivers two patients worth £250, it is a failure. Do not keep it alive because you “like” the ad or because it feels like it must be working. Trust what the data tells you. Kill what does not perform, scale what does. It is brutal, but it is the only way to stop wasting thousands.
5. No copy and paste strategies
A solo clinic and a five-site group cannot run the same marketing plan. Copying what others do is lazy and usually wrong. Context is everything. Your pricing, your patient base, your availability all matter. Evidence-based marketing is about designing something that fits you, not whatever the latest Facebook group guru is shouting about. Stop borrowing half-baked tactics and start building strategies grounded in your reality
Marketing only works if you define success, track it properly, and kill what does not perform. Anything else is wasted budget. If you want the bigger picture, go back to our Complete Guide to Marketing for Clinics. Or dive into the next chapter: Marketing Budgets.
Part of the HMDG Clinic Marketing Guide
- Evidence-Based Marketing
- Marketing Budgets
- Leads & Funnels
- Booking Systems
- Pricing
- Websites
- Google Ads
- Social Media
- Blogs