General benchmarks put marketing spend at 1 to 12 percent of revenue. Healthcare-specific data runs lower, closer to 1 to 5 percent. Neither number counts the hours many DPC and concierge owners already spend on DIY marketing: social posts, website upkeep, local events. The better starting point isn't a percentage. It's what an open panel spot is worth, and what's already being invested to fill it, cash and time together.
The Benchmark Most Business Owners Reach for First
Search this question and the answer lands in the same range as any small business. The SBA’s own guidance doesn’t set one fixed figure. It points to research showing spend running from just over 1 percent of revenue up to nearly 12 percent, depending on industry.
That range assumes no ceiling on customers: retail, restaurants, professional services. A DPC or concierge practice has one, the panel. That single difference changes the math more than any industry average can.
Why That Number Doesn’t Hold Up for Membership Medicine
Tebra’s Healthcare Marketing Budget Benchmark survey tells a tighter story:
- 62 percent of independent practices spend 1 to 5 percent of gross revenue on marketing
- Growth-focused or newly opened practices run higher, closer to 5 to 12 percent
Most independent practices spend just 1 to 5 percent of revenue on marketing. A full panel is usually why: past a certain point, more spending doesn’t produce more revenue, only a longer waitlist.
The gap isn’t underinvestment; it’s structure. Most businesses can always sell to one more customer. A DPC or concierge practice can only enroll members until the panel is full.
What These Benchmarks Don’t Count
Those numbers measure dollars logged as a line item. They don’t count the hours many owners, especially at solo or small practices, already spend filling the panel without calling it marketing:
- Running the practice’s own social media
- Keeping the website current
- Staffing a table at a farmers market or health fair
- Handing out cards after a community talk
None of that shows up on a P&L as marketing spend. All of it is marketing spend, paid in hours instead of dollars.
That reframes the real question: whether the current mix, mostly unpaid hours plus whatever ad spend already exists, is actually working before adding more cash on top. Getting a clear-eyed answer usually depends on where the practice sits in its growth curve, since an Early Growth practice and a Scaling Stage one are asking that question for very different reasons.
The Key: Budget by Stage, Not by Industry Average
Two practices at the same revenue can need different budgets depending on where they sit in the growth curve.
- Early Growth (6 to 24 months): Usually filling something empty. A modest, bounded pilot tests whether a structured channel adds anything organic growth hasn’t. Our Core tier, $500 to $1,000 a month, fits here, enough to get a real read without disrupting cash flow.
- Scaling Stage (24 to 48 months): Usually already has something running. The question shifts from how much to spend to whether current spend is producing enrolled members, not just patient inquiries. What matters is cost per enrolled member, weighed against how many panel spots remain.
What Actually Moves the Number
A handful of other factors shift the right figure more than revenue alone does:
- How saturated the local DPC and concierge market already is
- How much of the panel referrals already fill without paid help
- The membership fee itself. Concierge fees ($150 to $400 a month) support a higher acquisition cost than most DPC fees
- Whether the website and intake process already convert visitors, since a leaking patient path wastes budget regardless of the number chosen
- How much current effort is already going into untracked DIY channels
A Simple Way to Set the First Number
Start from capacity, not a percentage:
- Decide how many open panel spots need filling this year
- Estimate what one enrolled member is worth over a defined period
- Set a monthly figure disciplined enough to test for 90 days
- Weigh that figure against what’s already going into unpaid DIY hours before adding it on top
That produces a number specific to the practice, not one borrowed from a business with an entirely different growth ceiling. It also keeps the DIY hours already going into the practice in the picture, instead of budgeting as if that time doesn’t exist.
The Growth Calculator models the inquiry volume needed to hit a specific panel goal, based on current member count, target size, and membership fee.
And if current spend doesn’t map to any of this yet, feel free to book a free consultation call before adjusting the number further.
Sources
U.S. Small Business Administration, “How to Get the Most From Your Marketing Budget”: https://legacy.sba.gov/blog/how-get-most-your-marketing-budget
Tebra, Healthcare Marketing Budget Benchmark Survey: https://www.tebra.com/theintake/medical-deep-dives/get-new-patients/survey-reveals-healthcare-marketing-budget-benchmarks-for-independent-practices
