Why More Ads Won’t Fix Your Health Brand’s Growth Problem
Every founder has heard it: “Just spend more on ads.”
That’s the default prescription from agencies, consultants, and even well-meaning advisors when a health brand stalls.
But here’s the reality nobody talks about: more ads don’t solve your growth problem — they magnify it.
In fact, if your engine isn’t tuned, pouring in more ad spend is like dumping gasoline on a leaking motor. You don’t go faster. You just burn through cash — and sometimes crash the entire vehicle.
The Myth of the “Ad Problem”
When campaigns underperform, it’s easy to blame the ads:
- “Our CPMs are too high.”
- “Facebook’s algorithm changed.”
- “Google just doesn’t work for us anymore.”
But ads aren’t the problem.
Ads are a magnifying glass. They don’t create growth — they simply broadcast what’s already there.
- If your offer is weak, ads won’t save it.
- If your funnel leaks, ads won’t patch it.
- If your messaging is confusing, ads just confuse more people, faster.
The Four Real Growth Problems Health Brands Face
After 26+ years in the trenches scaling DTC health, telehealth, and MedTech brands, I’ve seen the same four culprits again and again:
1. Misaligned Offers
Most health offers are built around what the founder wants to sell — not what the market wants to buy.
📌 Example: HIMSS reported that 70% of digital health solutions struggle with adoption because of poor market alignment (HIMSS report). A men’s health telehealth brand selling “comprehensive wellness optimization” when the market is searching for “testosterone therapy” is a textbook case.
2. Leaky Funnels
According to Invoca’s Healthcare Marketing Benchmark Report, the average healthcare conversion rate from lead to patient is under 4%. That means up to 96% of traffic is wasted.
I’ve seen it firsthand: brands paying $100+ per lead only to let them slip away because there’s no nurture, no appointment flow, and no follow-up.
Buying more ads into a leaky funnel is like buying cases of bottled water and punching holes in the bottom.
3. Compliance Blind Spots
FDA enforcement is not hypothetical. In 2024 alone, the FDA issued more than 500 enforcement actions against supplement, telehealth, and device companies.
One well-known case: Hims & Hers received an FDA warning in 2020 for marketing violations. Imagine scaling ad spend only to get hit with that letter.
Scaling ads without fixing compliance is like flooring a car with no brakes. You might get a quick burst of speed, but the crash is inevitable.
4. Obsession With Vanity Metrics
Agencies love to talk about CTRs, CPCs, and impressions. But here’s the hard truth: investors don’t care about clicks.
According to Pitchbook’s 2024 Healthcare Report, acquirers look at unit economics and LTV above all else. If you’re bragging about CPMs while ignoring contribution margin, you’re scaling traffic, not value.
👉 Pull Quote: “Clicks don’t get you a $100M exit. Profitable growth does.”
From the Trenches: A $600K/Month Supplement Brand
A DTC supplement company I worked with was convinced they had an ad problem. Their agency told them to double budget. They did.
Results? Sales flatlined. CAC went through the roof.
When I dug in, I discovered the real issue: no retention. No upsells, no bundles, no continuity, no email reactivation. They were burning money to acquire one-time buyers.
We restructured the offer, layered in continuity, and built an LTV engine. Within three months, average order value jumped 38% and CAC became sustainable.
Only then did ads start working.
👉 Pull Quote: “The problem wasn’t the ads. It was the engine they were fueling.”
Why Ads Must Be the Last Step — Not the First
In my Growth Architect Model™, ads are the final accelerator, not the starting point.
The order that actually works:
- Offer Architecture Pyramid™ → Build an offer the market instantly understands and wants.
- Growth Clarity Diagnostic™ → Audit for leaks, compliance gaps, and exit readiness.
- Revenue Engine Buildout → Lock in follow-up, retention, and upsells.
- Ads as Amplifier → Once the engine is tuned, then we pour on fuel.
Agencies reverse this. They start with ads because that’s how they bill. That’s why most plateau their clients.
The Cost of Ignoring This
Every founder who skips this process ends up in one of three places:
- Burned Out → Spending six figures on ads with nothing to show but stress.
- Banned → Losing ad accounts because compliance wasn’t locked in. (Just ask the supplement brands on the FDA’s Warning Letter list).
- Bought Out Cheap → Exiting at a fraction of valuation because they scaled traffic, not profit.
What to Do Instead
Before you increase ad spend, ask these four questions:
- Offer: Would a stranger understand and want what we sell in under 5 seconds?
- Funnel: Are we capturing, nurturing, and converting — or bleeding out at every stage?
- Compliance: Can we scale safely under FDA/FTC scrutiny?
- Metrics: Are we tracking investor metrics or agency vanity metrics?
When those are clear, ads stop being a money pit and start becoming your most powerful multiplier.
Final Word
Health brands don’t have ad problems. They have strategy problems.
More ads won’t fix a misaligned offer, a leaky funnel, or a compliance gap. But when you build a true growth engine, ads become rocket fuel.
So before you write your next $50,000 check to Google or Meta, ask yourself: Do I have an ad problem — or do I have an engine problem?
Because in this space, growth doesn’t come from “more ads.”
It comes from building a foundation that ads can actually scale.
⚡️ Before you spend another $10,000 on ads, run the Growth Clarity Diagnostic™. It will show you exactly where your funnel is bleeding — and how to stop it before you fuel it with more ads.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do health brands really need more ads to grow?
No. Most brands don’t have an ad problem — they have an offer, funnel, or compliance problem. More ads just magnify what’s broken.
What should I fix before scaling ad spend in healthcare marketing?
Ensure your offer is clear, your funnel isn’t leaking leads, your compliance is locked in, and you’re tracking investor-grade metrics like LTV and EBITDA. Fix the engine first, then fuel it with ads.
Why is FDA compliance important for advertising health products?
Non-compliant ads don’t scale. FDA or FTC enforcement can shut down campaigns overnight. Compliance isn’t just protection — it’s an asset that builds trust and ensures sustainable growth.
What metrics matter more than clicks or impressions for health brands?
Investors care about profitability, Lifetime Value (LTV), and exit readiness — not vanity metrics like CTR or impressions. Build for value, not just traffic.
