Podcast Summary

Podcast: Med Spa Success Strategies
Host: Ricky Shockley
Episode: Wednesday Thoughts: How Much Should a Med Spa Spend on Ads? (Supercharge Your Growth!)
Date: November 19, 2025

Episode Overview

In this solo Wednesday Thoughts episode, host Ricky Shockley dives into a critical question for med spa and aesthetics practice owners: How much should you spend on advertising to supercharge your growth? Ricky unpacks the balance between marketing efficiency and the power of simply investing more into what’s already working. Drawing inspiration from Alex Hormozi’s ideas and real med spa case studies, he explores why aggressively increasing ad spend can often yield the fastest, most significant growth—provided your numbers make sense.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Efficiency vs. Scale in Growth Strategy

• Ricky acknowledges the podcast’s frequent emphasis on marketing efficiency: lowering lead costs, improving close rates, optimizing customer acquisition, and maximizing retention.
• While these incremental improvements are important, he challenges listeners to also consider the value of simply “doing more of what’s already working.”
• Quote:

  "As long as your numbers are good, the key catalyst that's going to spur your growth and new patient acquisition the fastest is simply doing more." (00:34)

2. Lessons from Alex Hormozi

• Ricky references a key takeaway from an Alex Hormozi podcast: there’s often an obsession with optimizing for efficiency, but aggressive growth typically comes from scaling up activity that’s already working.
• He draws a parallel to med spas:

  "The fastest way to grow aggressively is to do more of what's already working adequately." (01:06)

3. The Agency Perspective & Diminishing Returns

• As a marketing agency, they tend to focus on optimization and worry about diminishing returns (e.g., increasing ad spend might eventually yield higher customer acquisition costs).
• Diminishing returns explained:

  "Diminishing returns would be something like you start to put more money into the system, and instead of spending $150 to get a new Botox client, you're now spending $200 to get a new Botox client. But you're still seeing more clients." (02:30)

• Nonetheless, as long as acquisition costs remain acceptable and profitable, it’s often better to emphasize volume:

  "Sometimes efficiency and quantity are moving in opposite directions...But as long as your numbers are still good and they're adequate, then the answer to faster and more substantial success really is more." (03:05)

4. Case Study Examples: Aggressiveness of Ad Spend

• Ricky shares two contrasting case studies from his agency:
  • Client A: 2,561 new patients and $1.9 million in additional directly traceable revenue from ads in under 18 months
  • Client B: 295 new patients and $400,000 after two years
• The primary difference? Aggressiveness of ad spend, not just efficiency or marginal gains.
• Quote:

  “The number one most common variable in the most substantial case studies—the correlating factor—is ad spend.” (04:56)

5. Understanding the Impact of Scale (ROI vs. Net Gain)

• Ricky illustrates that while ROI (return on investment) percentage might decrease with bigger investments, the total dollar amount often matters more:

  “If I could put $100,000 in a machine to make a million vs putting a million in to make two million...I have a 10x return on the first, a 2x return on the second, but I still made more money on the second example.” (07:29)

6. Takeaway: When to Ramp Up Ad Spend

• As long as your marketing numbers are “good and satisfactory,” being as aggressive as possible with ad spend can be the simplest answer to rapid growth.
• Massive action (not just tiny optimization) in both marketing and other areas is often required for breakout success.
• Final Recommendation:

  “If you're not achieving your growth goals and you know your numbers, the simple answer might be to be more aggressive with the lever that is your ad spend and your marketing investment.” (09:22)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Quantity has a quality all of its own.” (03:56)
• “Diminishing returns don't matter to an extent.” (07:13)
• “Sometimes the answer to faster, more substantial success is to be more aggressive with that ad spend.” (08:11)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:06 — Opening thoughts: The obsession with efficiency in med spa marketing
• 01:06 — Alex Hormozi’s perspective: Why aggressive action beats only optimizing
• 02:30 — What are diminishing returns and do they matter?
• 03:56 — “Quantity has a quality all of its own”
• 04:56 — Case study: Ad spend aggressiveness = bigger results
• 07:13 — ROI examples: Why net gains trump percent returns as you scale
• 09:22 — Main takeaway: If your numbers are good, do more with your ad spend

Tone & Language

Ricky’s delivery is practical, upbeat, and direct—anchored by real-world examples and actionable insights. He challenges business owners to move beyond caution, highlighting practical math over emotion.

Closing Thoughts

If you know your marketing numbers and they demonstrate profitability, consider scaling your ad spend aggressively. Optimization is important, but “massive action” is often the real driver of med spa success.

For deeper insights and personalized marketing strategies, Ricky offers a consultation session at medspamagicmarketing.com.