Bringing clinic patient acquisition in-house. A partner that genuinely thinks about profit, unlike previous agencies.

■ What they do
・Runs Shinjuku Surgical Clinic (7 minutes’ walk from Shinjuku station) and Omiya Central Clinic (5 minutes’ walk from Omiya station)
・Day surgery for varicose veins (15,172 cases across both clinics over 17 years, as of 31 October 2024)
・Day surgery for inguinal hernia (10,693 cases across both clinics over 17 years, as of 31 October 2024)
・Day surgery for dialysis access (1,372 cases in total over 17 years, as of 31 October 2024)

Olivier-kai Medical Corporation runs clinics that provide insured day surgery for varicose veins and inguinal hernia, as well as day treatment for dialysis access.

They felt that leaving patient acquisition to an advertising agency was not getting the most out of their advertising, and since June 2023 we have been supporting them in bringing their advertising in-house.

We spoke to Ms Asakura, who handles medical administration as well as marketing, about why they asked us for marketing support and what it has achieved.

About your organisation and role

Tabiraki, NowVillage
First of all, could you tell us your organisation and your role?

Asakura
I am with Olivier-kai Medical Corporation.
We run two clinics, Shinjuku Surgical Clinic and Omiya Central Clinic, and at both of them I handle reception and medical administration while also being responsible for marketing.

Tabiraki
You didn’t originally have any experience in patient acquisition or marketing, did you? How did you approach the work as the person responsible for marketing?

Asakura
At first I was allowed to sit in on the monthly meeting with the advertising agency.
I had no specialist knowledge, so I was only listening, but I made an effort to understand it bit by bit.
Gradually I became involved in checking ad copy and creating landing pages, and acted as the go-between with the agency while the doctors were busy. I often checked the numbers and what the agency was doing.

Your goals as the marketing lead

Tabiraki
Thank you. Next, could you tell us about your goals as the marketing lead?

Asakura
My goal as the marketing lead is to reach 150 operations a month across the clinics.
At the same time, the ideal is to keep advertising spend at around 10% of revenue.

Tabiraki

Thank you. How do you mainly attract patients at the moment?

Asakura
Online search is our main channel. We aim for organic search too, but most patients come through Google search ads. We also receive referrals from nearby medical institutions.

The problems before coming to us

Tabiraki
Please tell us about the problems you had before you asked us to support you in bringing advertising in-house.

Asakura
Before that, I often felt that the agency staff did not understand our treatments or our patients well enough. For example, we do not perform endoscopic surgery for varicose veins, yet the ads included content about it.
It was sometimes confusing, because it’s something you could tell just by looking at our website.

Tabiraki
That certainly feels like a gap. What other problems were there?

Asakura
Even after explaining again and again, it sometimes just didn’t get through. We know our patients well, but it is hard for agency staff to know them in detail…
As a result, the advertising didn’t deliver either, which was frustrating.

Tabiraki
If the advertising doesn’t go as hoped, that affects your target number of operations too.

Asakura
Exactly. We couldn’t work out why operations weren’t increasing, and in the end it always came down to “the landing page is the problem, so let’s improve it”, but even when we actually changed it we saw no effect.
I wondered whether spending more on advertising would help, but I had no knowledge of advertising, so the frustration just kept building.
I thought changing agency might change things, and we have worked with several agencies so far, but the situation never fundamentally changed.

Why you chose us

Tabiraki
Against that background you chose us. What made you decide to place the work with us?

Asakura
What really stayed with me was that you put a cap on the agency fee.
Generally 20% of ad spend is taken as a fee, and I had doubts about whether that was proportionate to the effect of the advertising, so the idea of a cap was refreshing.

Tabiraki
Thank you. Was there anything else that appealed to you?

Asakura
That you support bringing the work in-house, not just running ads on the client’s behalf.
I had been agonising that if leaving it to an agency wasn’t producing results, we would have no choice but to do it ourselves, but we had no specialist knowledge… So being taught while looking at our own ad account was extremely valuable.

What NowVillage actually did

Tabiraki
Please tell us what you actually worked on once our support began.

Asakura
For the first three months we left the running of our Google Ads to NowVillage. During that time they taught us the basics, using the advertising manual they shared with us.
After several training sessions doing real configuration in the actual ad management screen, we took over running the advertising from NowVillage.

Tabiraki
It has been about a year since you took over the advertising. Where are you now?

Asakura
Bringing it in-house is now almost complete.
I have also gradually started reviewing the campaigns I took over in my own way, and, to go into detail, introducing Performance Max ads and trying the maximise conversions bid strategy has started to show results. I get support from NowVillage at a monthly meeting, but I am able to run the advertising almost entirely myself.

Quantitative results

Tabiraki
Please tell us about the concrete results of the work with us.

Asakura
The number of operations and enquiries coming through advertising has increased substantially.
Specifically, operations were around 100 to 130 a month before we brought the work in-house; from about six months after bringing it in-house, they have exceeded 150 every month at a minimum, and there have been months above 200.

Tabiraki
You mentioned keeping advertising spend within 10% of revenue. How has the advertising cost side gone?

Asakura
Well, compared with last year we have cut advertising spend by around 1 million yen a month on average.
Meanwhile, the number of operations is up on last year, so I can really feel the CPA (cost per acquisition) coming down.

Changes in the atmosphere and culture internally

Tabiraki
Has our work brought about any change in the atmosphere or culture internally?

Asakura
I think it has gradually become known among the clinic staff that I am the one doing the advertising.
Before, many staff did not realise that patients come through advertising, but recently I feel that understanding has slowly been spreading.

Tabiraki
Because the agency used to run the advertising, it wasn’t widely known that you were the marketing lead. What specific changes has bringing it in-house made?

Asakura
For example, when I give my weekly work report, I now report in detail on how patients who came through advertising are doing.
By reading it, staff have come to understand how the advertising is actually producing results.

Tabiraki
So information sharing is improving. Doesn’t that also strengthen how staff work together?

Asakura
Yes, exactly. But personally I don’t think advertising is the only reason operations increased.
Advertising has certainly contributed to the increase in enquiries and visits, but I believe it is the strength of the whole team that actually turned patients into operations.

What sets NowVillage apart

Tabiraki
Having actually received our support, what would you say sets us apart?

Asakura
What sets you apart is supporting clients to bring the work in-house.
I think it is a unique service you don’t see much at other companies. The clear cap on fees also stands out. Some of the agencies I have dealt with in the past were vague about fees, so I think it’s good that this is clear.

Tabiraki
Thank you. Is there anything else you would say sets us apart?

Asakura
Well, when it comes to actually teaching us, you go through the account together with us and explain things in detail, and you reply quickly to questions in chat, so doubts can be cleared up straight away.
In everyday exchanges too, it’s easy to ask questions, or rather, I feel you genuinely care, which was reassuring.
There’s no sense of distance, or rather, we could communicate in a way that wasn’t stiff or businesslike, and I think I was able to talk to you quite casually and freely.

Tabiraki
Thank you. Is there anything from working with us that stayed with you?

Asakura
Overall every day brought something new to learn, so a lot stayed with me. In particular, the idea that “you shouldn’t spend too much money on advertising” was new to me.
NowVillage kept saying from start to finish, “Let’s stop relying on an agency and aim to stand on your own”, and unlike the agencies we had worked with before, I felt they were genuinely thinking about our interests.

What kind of company would you recommend NowVillage to?

Tabiraki
What kind of companies would you like to recommend our service to?

Asakura
I think it suits medical institutions in niche fields like ours. While many other clinics leave it to an agency, I think bringing it in-house makes it easier to get results.

Tabiraki
It does seem that things go more smoothly when staff who understand the service well run the advertising.

Asakura
Yes. Especially for medical institutions, the relationship of trust with patients is important, so in that respect too I think in-house is more effective.
Also, with the actual in-house support you teach patiently even if someone knows nothing at all about advertising, so I think I can also recommend it to companies that only have someone with no marketing experience but still want to strengthen their own marketing.

Tabiraki
We’re delighted to hear that. We will keep working to provide even better support, and we look forward to continuing to work with you!
Thank you very much!

Asakura
Thank you, and we look forward to it too!