Stop Wasting Leads: How to Fix Marketing Leaks and Convert More Patients

Written by Ryan Torresan, Chief Marketing Officer at Peak Dental Services

In my last article, AI is Already Changing Your Life, Why Not Your Dental Group?, I explored how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the dental industry, from marketing strategies to operational workflows. Today, I want to tackle a related challenge: why so many dental groups and practices struggle to generate quality leads, convert them into patients, track them effectively from lead to treatment, and maximize their marketing budgets while proving ROI. Spoiler alert—it’s not just about money.

A common frustration I hear from dental groups and dentists is, “Why can’t I get better-quality leads? They’re the wrong kind of patients, we’re wasting our budget, and our marketing needs to be more creative.” The truth? These frustrations often stem from a lack of understanding of digital marketing fundamentals and operational inefficiencies. Success doesn’t just depend on lead generation; it hinges on what happens once those leads reach your front desk or call center.

Media Consumption Has Changed—So Should You

The way patients consume media has shifted dramatically in recent years. This applies to Gen Z (who rely on tools like ChatGPT for search) and people over 40 (streaming services dominate their attention). Yet, I still hear doctors dictating keywords to their marketing teams, believing that buying terms like “crowns” will lead to an influx of new patients. It makes me laugh every time—if you’re still doing this in 2025, you’re already behind. Digital marketing has evolved, and it no longer works that way.

For most dental practices, Google pay-per-click (PPC) advertising remains the backbone of marketing efforts. However, platforms like Facebook and Instagram are no longer optional—they’re essential. And TikTok should be on your radar. TikTok, in particular, has massive reach but requires frequent (almost daily), engaging content. Additionally, smaller tactics like community marketing and streaming services can supplement your efforts. But here’s the catch: for any tactic to succeed, you need good content.

Good Content Wins Every Time

Content creation doesn’t require a full-time production team – I get it, that can be expensive and unrealistic. A cost-effective alternative is hiring a crew for a single day of filming each quarter. This can generate months’ worth of content. Authenticity is key. Alternatively (or additionally), use your iPhone to capture moments like smile reveals, patient testimonials, technology demonstrations, or quick videos of your doctors’ sharing tips. Even a short clip explaining same-week appointment availability adds value. Just make sure to have media release forms signed by patients and team members.

Struggling with content management? AI-powered tools can streamline the process by cleaning up your content, scheduling posts, and even generating new ideas. With just two posts per week on each platform and a $100 monthly boosting budget, you can significantly increase your local brand visibility. For as little as $1,500 per month, third-party services can fully manage your social media presence while leveraging AI tools. This takes the burden off your office team – all you need is someone in your office to dedicate two 30-minute blocks daily—one in the morning and one in the afternoon—to engage with comments and messages. This responsiveness strengthens connections with your audience.

Content doesn’t have to be brand-new to be effective. It just needs to be engaging and reach audiences who haven’t seen it before. Think of the viral Ocean Spray video with Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams’ hitting #1 on Spotify or Friends becoming a Gen Z favorite on Netflix. The content wasn’t new, but it reached a new audience. Similarly, your dental group’s content doesn’t always have to reinvent the wheel—it needs to engage and resonate with a fresh audience. Whether through videos, photos, or blog posts, creative content drives reach and conversion.

If you’re struggling to generate content, consider slicing long-form pieces (new ones and prior ones) into bite-sized articles, videos, or posts. A robust content strategy doesn’t just bring in leads—it boosts visibility, strengthens your community presence, and fills appointment books.

Budget Is Not a Proxy for Success

Here’s a tough pill to swallow: your marketing budget is not a direct proxy for success. Effectiveness depends on how you spend and how well you convert leads into patients. Unfortunately, the dental industry also measures incorrectly at times, they measure on vanity metrics like impressions and clicks. I’ve never attended a board meeting in the last 10 years where someone asked, “Are our impressions up?”

Instead, focus on funnel metrics that directly impact your business:

Cost per lead
Missed call rate
Lead response time
Cost per scheduled patient
New patients who show up
Treatment acceptance rate

If you know what you’re doing, a dollar can go very far or if you are not effective you can burn a $100 bill quickly. The difference lies in strategy and execution. That is the story. Without strategy and execution, it’s easy to burn through your budget with little to show for it.

If your leads aren’t converting, the issue may not be marketing—it could be operational. High missed call rates, slow responses to web inquiries, lack of popular insurance options, poor patient scripting, or scheduling constraints (e.g., no appointments available for six weeks) are all common culprits. The key to success is understanding the entire funnel, from lead generation to treatment, identifying where there is leakage and aligning marketing, operations, and technology.

Stop Wasting Leads

Effective marketing brings in leads, you have a great cost per lead, but many dental groups are not as effective into turning them into scheduled appointments. In my experience working with dental groups and advising dental offices, it’s alarmingly common to see missed call rates of 20% or more—some even as high as 40%. Missing one out of every five calls isn’t just wasting valuable marketing dollars; it’s handing patients directly to your competitors. And let’s be honest—if calls are being missed at that rate, timely responses to website form fills are almost certainly being neglected at a higher rate, leading to even more lost opportunities.

Here’s how to stop wasting leads:

Answer the Phone:
Phone calls are your hottest leads. If your team can’t answer every call—likely because front desk staff are juggling other responsibilities—invest in AI solutions like Peerlogic or Resonate. These tools respond to missed calls by text via AI virtual assistant bringing your missed call rate to nearly zero, can communicate directly with your lead based on knowledge base customized to your practice, can schedule appointments directly into your Practice Management Software, and can help with non-scheduling activities like sending directions.

They also provide real-time analytics so you can track opportunities and improve performance. You can see marketing source and new patient opportunities vs existing patients plus what percent converted to scheduling. Giving you real time insights on how to improve scheduling. Reducing front desk team workload so they can focus on patients in the office and running the office.

Respond to Web Leads—Fast:
Patients expect near-instant responses. Use technology that routes web inquiries to a live agent or team member within a minute or two. Assign someone to handle form fills and live chat exclusively—it will pay off quickly.

These two steps alone can dramatically improve ROI.

The Future of Dental Marketing

Marketing leakage can occur at many stages, from scheduling to missed appointments to lack of follow up. While I’ll dive into CRM systems and measurement strategies in future articles, the key takeaway is this: the marketing landscape is evolving rapidly. AI tools for social media, content creation, and call handling are already transforming how practices operate.

In the coming year, expect trends like live social media shopping (think QVC for social platforms) to gain traction. Imagine your office promoting Invisalign specials or teeth whitening services through live videos.

AI isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a powerful tool. Whether you’re leveraging AI for marketing, partnering with third-party firms, or bringing efforts in-house, your success depends on your ability to adapt, respond quickly to leads, and measure performance at every stage of the funnel.

Embrace the Shift

The message is clear: marketing must own their role beyond lead generation, collaborating with operations and evolving together (or what I call MPOS = marketing + operations). The future lies in optimizing every stage of the pipeline, with AI playing a crucial role. Tools like Peerlogic and advanced AI-driven social solutions can help your practice stand out while maximizing every dollar spent.

Key Takeaways:

Adapt to Changing Media Consumption: Embrace platforms like Google, Facebook, Instagram, and AI tools like ChatGPT.
Prioritize Quality Content: Use authentic, consistent posts like patient stories and office updates. AI-powered tools can simplify content creation and management.
Optimize Lead Conversion: Focus on turning leads into scheduled appointments by addressing missed calls and delayed responses
Leverage AI and Metrics: Use AI for smarter social media, content creation and call handling.

For more insights or inquiries on marketing,
please feel free to reach out to me at
ryantorresan@gmail.com

Ryan Torresan is considered one of the leading marketing minds in dental and healthcare on what’s next in marketing, relevance, marketing that actually impacts DSOs and can be measured. With more than 10 years of DSO experience, Ryan is a marketing executive who steered a very successful career to reach the executive level at three of the largest dental support organizations (DSOs) in the US.

During his tenures, he earned promotions and awards after tremendous success in the digital marketing and social media space. He is also known to have transformed event, CRM and content marketing into lead generation. He has repositioned brands, navigated crisis public relations and driven incremental sales through office designs. He played a crucial role on executive teams that sold DSOs to private equity firms.