Imagine reading a case study that says an agency generated 100 patients. You look closer and discover the number counts form submissions. Those submissions may still have value, but they are not the same outcome you thought you were buying.
When you evaluate dental marketing proof, start with the meaning of the number before its size. A smaller, clearly defined result can tell you more than a dramatic headline with no measurement window or source. Use the checks below with any agency, including Matheny Media.
Keep the stages separate
The ADA's guidance on measuring marketing success separates inquiries from people who actually come into the practice. Your agency report should preserve that distinction instead of combining every stage under new patients.
| Stage | Example count | What the number means |
|---|---|---|
| Unique inquiries | 40 | Forty distinct people asked for information after duplicates were removed. |
| Appointments booked | 12 | Twelve people had an appointment scheduled by the reporting cutoff. |
| Visits attended | 8 | Eight of those people attended by that cutoff. Other outcomes remain separate. |
| Treatment starts | 3 | Three people started the defined treatment by that cutoff. |
In this invented example, reporting 40 new patients would be misleading. Reporting 12 appointments booked would describe one stage, not the eight attended visits or three starts. Someone who has not yet attended may be scheduled for a future date, so do not automatically label every difference a failure or no-show.
A real example, with its limits visible
That is the boundary of this example. It does not tell you the booking rate because an inquiry denominator is not provided here. It does not establish cost per booking because a corresponding spend figure and matching window are not provided. We are not filling those gaps with assumptions.
The useful follow-up is to ask what supporting material can be shared appropriately and which questions remain unanswered. Supporting evidence can be redacted or aggregated. A buyer does not need access to identifiable patient records to ask for a better explanation of a public marketing claim.
The case-study evidence checklist
| Check | Question to ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Outcome definition | Does this count inquiries, bookings, attended visits, starts, or something else? | Different stages cannot be compared as if they were identical. |
| Measurement window | What are the start date, end date, and follow-up cutoff? | A launch month and a mature campaign can describe different situations. |
| Denominator | Out of how many eligible inquiries or patients was this rate calculated? | A percentage without its underlying counts is difficult to interpret. |
| Counting rules | Are duplicates, existing patients, cancellations, and rescheduled visits handled consistently? | One person's repeated activity can otherwise inflate a total. |
| Attribution | How was the result linked to the campaign, and what other sources were involved? | A platform report and a practice referral record may answer different questions. |
| Financial definition | Is the amount production, collections, revenue, or profit? Which costs are included? | A revenue-style multiple is not automatically a profitability measure. |
| Source and verification | Who reported the number, and what redacted or aggregate evidence supports it? | Agency-reported proof is not the same as an independent audit. |
| Practice context | What location, treatment, staffing, existing demand, and financial relationship were involved? | A result from one office does not establish what another office will achieve. |
Check whether the numerator and denominator belong together
Suppose a report divides appointments booked this month by inquiries received this month. Some bookings may have come from older inquiries. That can still be useful activity reporting, but it is not necessarily the booking rate for this month's inquiry group. Ask whether the report follows the same group of people or simply totals events on the calendar.
The same issue appears when a case study pairs a long period of attributed production with a short period of ad spend. Ask for matching definitions and dates before calculating a multiple. If the data cannot be aligned, label the calculation as incomplete rather than trying to rescue it with a confident headline.
Treat production, collections, and profit as different numbers
Ask the practice or agency what production means in the report and whether adjustments are included. Collections describe payments received, which may arrive on a different timeline. Profit requires a defined view of costs. Advertising spend alone does not account for clinical delivery costs, agency fees, or every other expense involved.
A production-to-ad-spend ratio can be a useful descriptive number when its source and window are clear. It should not be relabeled as cash collected or complete return on investment. Have the practice's financial adviser help interpret any profitability claim used to justify a major commitment.
Decide what the proof is good enough to support
You do not need to reject every case study with a limitation. Decide whether it supports the question you are asking. A well-defined booking result may justify discussing an agency's process. It does not, by itself, justify a promise that your practice will produce the same revenue.
A useful agency conversation ends with honest evidence, clearly marked gaps, and a plan for measuring your own campaign. Keep that standard even when the headline looks impressive. It is how you turn proof into a better buying decision rather than a bigger expectation.