Chapter 13: How Much to Spend on Marketing?

How Much Should You Spend on Marketing?

Marketing is one of the most important—and most misunderstood—investments an orthodontic practice can make. Many orthodontists fear spending too much on marketing, worrying about wasted budget or negative returns. However, after growing my practice from 2 to 7 locations, I can confidently say that spending on marketing isn’t just important—it’s necessary.

In this chapter, we’ll cover the true cost of marketing for orthodontic practices, how to set an appropriate budget based on your growth goals, and strategies to ensure that you are getting the best return on your investment. I’ll share why I spend upwards of $30,000 a month on marketing, how that has paid off for me, and why under-spending can actually be a recipe for stagnation.

How Much Should You Spend on Marketing?

When you’re determining your marketing budget, the most critical factor is understanding how much growth you want. A successful orthodontic practice doesn't just survive; it thrives. And to thrive, it takes both strategic and consistent marketing efforts.

Marketing as a Percentage of Collections

• 5% of collections – Modest Growth: This budget is ideal for practices looking to sustain their current patient base and achieve gradual growth. It’s enough to keep you competitive but not enough to generate a significant increase in patient acquisition.
• 10% of collections – High Growth Mode: If you want to ramp up and experience faster growth, then 10% is where you should aim. This is ideal for practices that want to expand their patient base at a healthy rate and maintain a strong, consistent flow of new patients without over-stretching their budget.
• 15% of collections – Aggressive Growth: When I’m talking about aggressive growth, I’m referring to opening new locations or experiencing explosive patient acquisition. At this stage, I’ve found that allocating up to 15% of collections for marketing ensures that you can rapidly scale, dominate your market, and consistently feed your new locations with patients.

In my case, with over $30,000 a month in marketing spend, I am pushing for aggressive growth. This strategy has allowed me to add 5 new locations in the past few years while maintaining a robust patient acquisition pipeline. It has absolutely been worth it—especially when I gained over 3,000 new patients just in 2024 from paid digital ads alone.