The dental marketing plan template for under-$2M practices.

A dental marketing plan does one thing: it forces the practice to make explicit decisions about acquisition, budget, channels, and accountability before money is spent. Below is the framework we use with clients on the first 90-day call. Eight sections. Two pages. You can use this template directly.

Section 1. Practice baseline (where you are today)

Document the starting point so growth is measurable:

• Annual collections (last 12 months)
• Average new patients per month (last 6 months)
• Current marketing spend per month. Be honest: include all platforms, tools, and team time
• Current channel mix (where new patients come from: word-of-mouth, GBP, paid ads, insurance directory, etc.)
• Hygiene reappointment rate (a leading indicator of retention)
• Case acceptance rate (rough estimate is fine)
• Top 3 procedures by production

Most practices have never written these numbers down. The act of doing so is half the value of the plan.

Section 2. 12-month goals (where you want to be)

Three numbers, written down, dated:

• Target new patients per month by month 12
• Target annual collections by year-end
• Target case-acceptance rate or hygiene reappointment rate (pick the one with most room)

Common honest growth ranges for under-$2M general practices:

• Startup or first 18 months: 50-100% growth year over year is realistic
• $500K-$1M established: 25-40% growth with sustained investment
• $1M-$1.5M established: 15-25% growth
• $1.5M-$2M established: 8-15% growth, then plateau without operational change

If your goal is 40% growth and the math above puts you at 15-25%, fix the goal or fix the operational ceiling. Don't pick an honest budget against a fictional goal.

Section 3. Target patient profile

Who you want more of. Two paragraphs maximum:

• Demographics: age range, income bracket, family stage
• Geography: primary zip codes you serve and want to grow
• Insurance profile: heavy PPO, mixed, or increasing fee-for-service share
• Case mix you want to grow: implant, Invisalign, cosmetic, general restorative

This section is what the ad copy, the landing pages, and the channel selection are aimed at. A vague target profile produces vague marketing.

Section 4. Budget allocation

Total monthly budget, split into the line items that will exist:

• Agency retainer or in-house marketing payroll
• Google Ads spend
• Meta Ads spend (if applicable)
• SEO / content development
• Tools and platforms (call tracking, CRM, scheduling, review-management)
• One-time and amortized (website, photography, video, brand work)
• Reserve for testing new channels

Use 3-7% of annual collections as the working benchmark for established practices, 8-15% for startups. See the cost guide for detailed ranges.

Section 5. Channel selection and sequence

Which channels are running, and in what order they get prioritized. Be specific:

• Always-on channels. What runs every month regardless: Google Ads, GBP, recall systems.
• Sequenced layers. What gets added in months 3-6: Meta Ads, SEO content, retention campaigns.
• Seasonal pushes. Calendar-tied campaigns: back-to-school, year-end benefits, New Year smile makeover.
• Test budget. A quarterly slot for trying a new channel: direct mail, podcast sponsorship, neighborhood event.

Section 6. KPI framework

What you'll measure, who owns each number, when you'll review:

• Lead-level KPIs: leads per channel, cost per lead (CPL), connection rate, conversion to booked appointment
• Patient-level KPIs: new patients seen per month, cost per acquisition (CPA), show rate
• Production-level KPIs: new-patient production per month, average production per new patient, case acceptance rate
• Retention KPIs: hygiene reappointment rate, recall completion rate, inactive patient reactivation rate

Each KPI has a target. Each target is reviewed on a cadence. The cadence is the discipline that makes the plan compound.

Section 7. Accountability and review cadence

Who owns the numbers and when they get reviewed. The cadence we use with clients:

• Weekly: 5-minute KPI dashboard check, lead volume and CPL only.
• Twice monthly: 30-minute working session with the marketing lead. Full KPI review, channel decisions, next-fortnight priorities.
• Monthly: 1-hour team training call covering front-desk lead handling, missed-call review, and treatment-acceptance coaching.
• Quarterly: 90-minute plan review. Actuals versus plan, channel allocation reset, next-quarter priorities.
• Annually: Half-day plan rebuild. Full reset, next-year goals, budget rebuild.

Section 8. 90-day execution roadmap

What gets built, launched, or optimized in the next 90 days. Specific, week by week:

• Week 1-2: Account setup, baseline measurement, kickoff team training
• Week 3-4: Campaign launch, landing pages live, call tracking active
• Week 5-6: First strategy meeting reviewing initial data, first round of optimizations
• Week 7-9: Channel layering (add Meta if not in Phase 1), retention systems activated
• Week 10-12: First quarterly checkpoint, plan refinements for Phase 2

By week 13 the foundation is operational. The plan becomes a working document instead of a planning exercise.

Want help building yours?

The 7-section practice assessment we run with prospective clients produces a working draft of all eight sections above, populated with your actual numbers and our recommendations. Free, 30 minutes, no obligation. The output is yours to keep whether you sign with us or not.