Healthcare marketers face two persistent challenges: the rising cost of acquiring leads and the lengthy decision-making process of patients. Since the pandemic, competition for digital ad space has surged while privacy rules have limited precise targeting. As a result, advertising spend has grown while conversion rates have declined.
This reality is most visible in competitive fields such as refractive surgery, dentistry, and aesthetics, where each qualified lead can cost hundreds and patients often take months or even a year to commit. In such long decision cycles, a reasonable return on investment is only achievable if relationships with leads are actively preserved. That requires efficient systems for capturing consented contacts and the technology to securely store, segment, and regularly engage them across channels.