Dive in: How We Transformed Lead Economics for a Healthcare Provider: An 11x CRO Case Study
How 18 months of strategic CRO transformed a healthcare provider's lead economics, and why traditional optimization tactics kept failing.
An Introduction
When an Ontario-based multi-clinic denture and implant provider approached Foes in early 2023, they faced a fundamental unit economics problem. As the province's leading operator with a volume-based business model ($1,400-$1,800 per patient), they needed consistent high-volume lead flow to maintain profitability.
The numbers told a troubling story. Lead capture rate sat at ~1%, which is unsustainable for a volume business. Cost per lead exceeded $300 in peak months. They generated only 60-90 leads monthly across five clinic locations. Even optimized paid media campaigns couldn't overcome these economics. The fundamental constraint wasn't lead volume. It was lead capture.
For 12 months, we tested conventional CRO tactics: traditional healthcare landing page templates, generic form optimization, standard trust signals. The results? Marginal improvements. Conversion climbed from 1% to 3-4%. Cost per lead dropped to ~$150. Better than baseline, but nowhere near the 8-10%+ conversion and sub-$50 CPL needed to unlock aggressive growth.
The problem wasn't execution, it was approach. Traditional CRO optimizes within constraints. Breakthrough results require breaking constraints.
The Uncomfortable Conversation
After 12 months of iteration, we identified the real constraint: the client was marketing like a traditional healthcare provider in a commoditized industry. Generic landing pages. Clinical language. Service-focused messaging. Nothing that created urgency or emotional connection.
The solution required pushing leadership outside their comfort zone: direct response marketing principles applied to healthcare. Large, bold patient testimonials front-and-centre. Urgency-driven messaging about consultation availability. High-contrast visuals designed to capture attention. Language addressing patient anxieties and desires, not just clinical capabilities.
This approach felt uncomfortable to the family-owned business, almost aggressive after 20 years building a brand around trust and professionalism. But trust built over 18 months of embedded partnership made the decision possible.
"It felt uncomfortable. We'd spent 20 years building a brand around trust and professionalism. This felt like we were shouting. But I trusted that Foes understood what we needed, even if it made me uncomfortable." — Founder, Multi-Location Denture Clinic
The Breakthrough Results
Website Conversion: 1% → 11% (11x improvement)
Cost Per Lead: $300+ → <$50 (83% reduction)
Monthly Leads: 60-90 → 200-300 (3x increase)
Time to Breakthrough: 18 months of systematic iteration
The Implementation Journey
Implementation took several months and ~20 landing page iterations (including CDCP-specific messaging). We weren't just changing headlines. We fundamentally rethought how the website communicated value.
We captured patient stories, focusing on their emotional transformation, not clinical satisfaction.
We redesigned page layouts prioritizing emotional resonance over clinical detail.
We tested dozens of messaging, imagery, and page flow variations.
And then, around month 18, everything changed.
Website conversion didn't improve incrementally, it jumped from 3-4% to 11%. Cost per lead didn't decline gradually. It plummeted from ~$150 to under $50. Monthly lead volume didn't tick up modestly: it surged from 60-90 to 200-300.
Three Factors Made the Breakthrough Possible:
- Systematic foundation-building: The first 12-15 months weren't wasted. They established baseline performance, generated data, and tested hypotheses that informed what ultimately worked.
- Trust-based relationship: The uncomfortable conversation leading to breakthrough only happened because of 18 months of embedded partnership building trust and shared accountability.
- Courage to push boundaries: Incremental optimization wasn't going to deliver the step-change needed. That required willingness from both sides to try something uncomfortable.
Business Impact
The CRO breakthrough became the catalyst for everything that followed. With dramatically improved lead economics, the clinic operator scaled aggressively:
- Clinic expansion: 5 → 8 locations (+60%)
- Team growth: 7 → 12 denturists (+71%)
- Revenue growth: +18.3% YoY ($3.06M → $3.61M)
- Market leadership: 1,000+ government-funded patients served
But here's what didn't happen: they didn't add a single administrative headcount despite 3-5x lead volume increase.
How? The HubSpot operating system we'd built in Phase 1 and refined continuously created massive operational leverage. Patient scheduling, follow-up communication, referral tracking, revenue reporting, all automated and systematized.
This is the power of investing in capability building rather than just campaign execution.
Key Takeaway
Transformational results often require both systematic foundation-building and the courage to push beyond comfortable boundaries.
You can't skip to the breakthrough, but you also can't incremental-optimize your way there. You need both patience and boldness, and that combination is rare in traditional agency-client relationships.
Ready to build your growth advantage? At Foes, we embed as multidisciplinary operating partners to help growth companies move faster. We don't just strategize. We implement. Marketing, sales, operations, technology. Whatever you need, whenever you need it. Let's talk about your growth challenges.