The Marketing Strategies Behind Scaling a Startup from $0 to $3M in just 12 Months

Welcome to “The $3M Startup”

A behind-the-scenes, detailed look at the inspiring growth of Grove City Smiles.

Startup Strategies You Can Use

Whether you’re in a startup practice or not, this marketing and branding roadmap will help any practice achieve growth. We’ll uncover exactly what it took to help Grove City Smiles reach their goal of $3M in revenue after just 12 months.

Who is Studio Eighty Eight?

Studio EightyEight is dentistry’s story-driven marketing agency.

We believe dental practices don’t have to choose between a beautiful website and data-driven marketing. As an award-winning marketing agency, Studio EightyEight’s story-driven web experiences along with our performance-based packages give practices the best of both worlds.

S8E8.COM

Meet Dr. Michael Pappas

Dr. Pappas is an MBA graduate and previous owner of two acquisition practices. After successfully converting these two practices into successful ventures, he approached our team at Studio EightEight with a new project - his first-ever startup.

Introducing Grove City Smiles

Welcome to Grove City Smiles (GCS). Located in the Columbus, Ohio, region, Dr. Pappas established GCS with a mission to offer comprehensive, comfortable dental care. But like many startups, Dr. Pappas encountered an all-too-well-known challenge—attracting and retaining new patients fast enough to maintain growth and create ROI.

“We knew with a startup that it was going to be hard, that we had one impression on the community. We had zero patients and we wanted to change the perception of dentistry”

Dr. Pappas

Watch the $3M Startup Webinar with a Live Q+A with Joshua Scott and Dr. Pappas!

Putting A Plan To Action

With a clear vision set, our team at his side, and a brand-new 16-operatory facility - the comprehensive plan was put in place. A strategy including three essential keys for growth.

key1: Build an Authentic BrandKEY 2: THE MARKETING STRATEGYKEY 3: SCALING AND ADJUSTING
key #1

build an authentic brand

Key #1: Build an Authentic Brand

Stories and branding are powerful. They foster human connection in a way that nothing else can. It was critical that practice owners like Dr. Pappas stop and consider their story before we start telling others about a practice through paid efforts.

bringing out THE VISION

For Grove City Smiles, Dr. Pappas was passionate about creating a practice that was welcoming and non-judgmental.

S8E8 bringing OUT the VISION

“Smiles For Everyone”

Foundational to a great brand is a tagline that begins the story.

“Our whole thing is “Smiles for Everyone.” Dentistry for a long time has been a scary, scary place. We had to make it warm. We had to make it welcoming. We knew if we didn't have our brand exposed in a certain way, that doesn't happen.”

Dr. Pappas

Brand Consistency

Once the process is finished and you have a tangible story to market your practice, it’s essential to build the brand consistently across all touchpoints.

“You can have the best website in the world, the best ads, but if the patient comes in and the dots don't connect, you’re toast. Because then you start getting negative reviews.”

Dr. Pappas

Considering factors like:

Culture

Your practice's culture should embody your core values and story, creating an environment where staff and patients feel a part of your vision.

Space

Your practice’s design and ambiance should visually reflect the brand, making every visit a reinforcement of the story.

Team

Every team member should be a brand ambassador, and their interactions and service should reflect the heart and soul of your practice's story.

Mission

Your mission acts as the guiding star, ensuring that every decision and action aligns with your "why.”

Website Vs. Web Experience

A website is no longer good enough.  Practices should be thinking in terms of a “web experience” – an authentic, digital version of their in-person experience.

75% of Users make judgments about a company’s credibility based on visual design alone.

Source: Stanford Web Credibility Research

“This is how we want to show online. Because we all see it every day. Facebook, Instagram, our real lives. We see people post. We see products. There is a difference in how things are presented to the public.”

Dr. Pappas

Are you ready to start building your authentic brand?

Studio EightyEight is a comprehensive, digital agency that understands the need to connect with human patients while also delivering performance metrics.  Our team of specialists comes alongside your practice to (1) build the brand; (2) execute the strategy and (3) report the results.  If you’re interested in whether we might be a good fit for your growth goals, reach out. We’d love to chat.

set up a call
key #2

THE MARKETING STRATEGY

Key #2: THE MARKETING STRATEGY

Growing from $0 to $3 million wasn’t just about defining the brand, setting plans in motion, and hoping for the best. It was about creating a dynamic game plan that fit the business needs of Grove City Smiles as they grew and acquired patients.

Comprehensive Approach

Working with Dr. Pappas, we embraced a fully comprehensive marketing strategy to scale effectively from the launch date. A plan that included:

1

SEO

To make sure Grove City Smiles was one of the first results on Google for local searches soon as they could be, SEO was key to consider from the start.

“Expecting SEO to work right away in a fairly populated area is just unrealistic. You’re going to pay an upfront fee for it, but understand you're investing in it so you can harvest that later on.”

Dr. Pappas

2

Direct Mail

Dr. Pappas sent out postcard mailers to residents in the area for the first few months, giving them a tangible introduction to the Grove City Smiles brand.

“The strategy on day one was mailers. They were great. I think it was like introducing us to the community. It complimented everything really well. But they really plateaued and then started to dive after like month five and six.”

Dr. Pappas

3

Soft Launch

A soft launch among family, friends and community members allowed a trial run to gather insights into the operation. It gave them the opportunity to build a reputation online and tweak everything to perfection before the grand opening.

"We wanted to work out the kinks. So we did a ton of cleanings and during those days I would ask every patient to go online and leave us a nice review if they thought they had a good experience with us. Which was great for the actual launch date because then people were already seeing five-star reviews."

Dr. Pappas

4

Paid Ads

Dr. Pappas didn't shy away from investing in targeted ads. He made sure Grove City Smiles was showing up in any search and staying on the radar of potential patients.

Assertive Goals

As evident from his thorough marketing approach, Dr. Pappas recognized the need for bold yet achievable goals to meet his revenue targets. This required a budget that was equally assertive to support and drive that growth.

Committing A Budget

Marketing isn't just an expense; it's an investment in your practice's growth. Embracing this mindset, forward-thinking owners understand the importance of allocating budgets. Dr. Pappas’ approach focused on early investments to rapidly attract new patients and integrate them into the Grove City Smiles family.

“You’ve got to understand that marketing is an investment. Understanding you're gonna have losses at the start. But it's an investment. It's not an expense.”

Dr. Pappas

dental marketing as a subscription model

“We looked at dentistry as a subscription service. That's how we look at the new patient game. The quicker we get them into hygiene, the quicker we capture them and have recurring revenue over time. We were willing to go very aggressive early on to obtain that patient.”

Dr. Pappas

Finding The Formula

Dr. Pappas reversed the process to ensure his investment in paid advertising was on target. By calculating backward, he narrowed in on the exact budget required to attract an ideal number of new patients.

the digital ad formula
The power of Google ads is that it gives you a formula to work with. For instance:
$1,500
INVESTMENT
=
90
CLICKS
=
30
CALLS
=
7
NEW PATIENTS
=
$8,200
PRODUCTION
ACQUISITION COST PER NEW PATIENT
$215
AVERAGE RETURN ON INVESTMENT
$1,172

google forumla

Google Ads Results

With a carefully thought-out budget of $40,000 to $50,000 per month in digital ads, Grove City saw total new patient counts soaring past 225 each month.

$40K budget

Total Google Ad Spend

Total New Patients Per Month

“Going into a startup, we can either bleed for three years or we can accelerate. In the first 12 months, it ended up paying off and it worked.”

Dr. Pappas

Thanks to a bold budget and targeted strategy, Grove City Smiles saw its new patient acquisition cost dip below $200 within the first year. Coupled with an average revenue of $1,400 per patient, the return on investment became crystal clear.

Acquisition Cost Per All New Patients

Estimated Revenue Per New Patient

Paid Social Advertising

While Google Ads spearheaded the growth, diversifying into paid social media advertising played a crucial role. Through platforms like Facebook and Instagram, Dr. Pappas effectively showcased Grove City Smiles to the local community. 

With over one million impressions and an average of 2,000 clicks monthly, this strategy drove potential patients to the website and significantly boosted brand recognition.

FB/IG Impressions Per Month

FB/IG Total Ad SpenT

FB/IG Clicks Per Month

Does your marketing strategy need some tweaking?

Studio EightyEight is a comprehensive, digital agency that understands the need to connect with human patients while also delivering performance metrics.  Our team of specialists comes alongside your practice to (1) build the brand; (2) execute the strategy and (3) report the results.  If you’re interested in whether we might be a good fit for your growth goals, reach out. We’d love to chat.

set up a call
key #3

SCALING AND ADJUSTING

KEY #3: SCALING AND ADJUSTING

With a unique story being amplified through an assertive marketing budget and an all-encompassing strategy, the need for adjustments and increased capacity became apparent.

Adapting With Growth

As the patient base expanded, so did the GCS team. Adding more staff was essential to maintain Grove City Smiles' high standards of care. Additional doctors, hygienists, and team members needed to be hired to support the marketing growth.

adapting to growth

April 2022

total team: 9

Hygienists: 2

Doctors: 2

Total Ops: 5

july 2022

total team: 18

Hygienists: 4

Doctors: 3

Total Ops: 11

april 2023

total team: 33

Hygienists: 9

Doctors: 5

Total Ops: 16

Continued Optimization

As Grove City Smiles moved beyond its initial explosive growth phase, the focus shifted towards sustained success and long-term stability. They adjusted campaigns to fit the short-term and long-term needs of the business.

campaign adjustments

Emergency Campaign ad spent

Dental Implants ad spent

THE RESULTS

After setting a clear goal and dedicating 12 months of hard work, the results were in. With a thorough strategy and a well-planned budget, the growth achieved exceeded even Dr. Pappas' expectations.

FIRST 12 MONTHS

April 2022 - March 2023

$3.2 million

first calendar year

january 2023 - december 2023

$5.3 million

“The first 12 months, from April, 2022 to April, 2023, we did over $3 million, which blew our minds to think that in 12 months we did this.”

Dr. Pappas

WRAP UP

CLOSING OBSERVATIONS

$3M Is Not The Goal

Don’t get lost in the numbers. A practice growing from $0 to $3M is not the point, nor should it be the goal for most. The strategies discussed helped Dr. Pappas to achieve his goal, but they can also be used to help owners grow their practice to any level.

Apply the Tools and Formulas

Whether you’re a startup looking to break $1M in year one or an existing practice bringing on an associate and needing to increase new patients, the tools and formulas discussed in this resource can scale to suit your goals.

Mindset Matters Over Everything

Even with the biggest budget, a flawless strategy, and a team ready for growth, success isn’t achieved without the right mindset. It's the resilience and entrepreneurial attitude that Dr. Pappas embraces that prepares you for the challenges of growing a practice.

dr. pappas startup advice

At Studio Eighty Eight, we're here for you every step of the way.

Studio EightyEight is a comprehensive, digital agency that understands the need to connect with human patients while also delivering performance metrics.  Our team of specialists comes alongside your practice to (1) build the brand; (2) execute the strategy and (3) report the results.  If you’re interested in whether we might be a good fit for your growth goals, reach out. We’d love to chat.

set up a call

Your Story Is Worth It.

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