A healthcare marketing agency fee transparency checklist is the set of questions a practice asks before signing: what the monthly fee covers, what media is separate, how long the minimum runs, who owns accounts, and which fields appear on the monthly report. Catalyze Care publishes referral marketing at $5,000/month (3-month minimum), SEO management at $799/month, and paid ads management at $2,500/month (media separate). Agency overview: healthcare marketing agency. Proposal reading: how to read a healthcare marketing agency proposal.
In one sentenceAsk for published line items, media vs management, minimums, account ownership, and report fields you can check without a borrowed ROI story.
Why fee transparency matters for practices
Opaque retainers hide whether you are buying strategy, creative, media, or a data license. Practices lose months when the invoice does not match the work. Use published numbers as budget anchors, not as proof of results. Budget planning: healthcare marketing budget planning for mid-size provider groups.
Checklist before you sign
- Line items. Referral, SEO, paid, creative, and data called out separately when they are separate products.
- Media vs management. Paid ads management fees and media spend must be two lines. Catalyze Care publishes management at $2,500/month with media separate.
- Minimum term. Catalyze Care publishes a 3-month minimum on referral. Confirm SEO and paid minimums in writing.
- Account ownership. Google Ads, Meta, GBP, Analytics, and CRM logins stay under the practice domain.
- Report fields. Outreach volume, meetings, referrals received, booked appointments, ranks watched, spend, and booked-inquiry fields from intake. Not a promised conversion rate.
- Exit and data. How you keep lists, creatives, and login access if the engagement ends.
- Case studies with client names. Ask whether proof is named with permission or anonymized. Catalyze Care names case studies only with client permission.
RFP questions: healthcare marketing RFP and RFI questions. Scorecard: healthcare marketing agency RFP scorecard.
Published Catalyze Care fees as examples
- Referral marketing: $5,000/month, 3-month minimum.
- SEO management: $799/month.
- Paid ads management: $2,500/month, media separate.
Those numbers are fee anchors for planning. They are not CPC, ROI, or ranking promises. Channel choice: referral retainer or paid ads test month. Quarterly OKRs: healthcare marketing quarterly OKRs for practices.
Red flags in a fee deck
- One blended number with no media line.
- A fee deck that promises a fixed rank position or a fixed patient volume.
- Agency-owned ad accounts the practice cannot export.
- Reports that skip booked appointments and only show clicks.
Contract questions: questions before signing a healthcare marketing contract. When not to hire yet: when not to hire a healthcare marketing agency.
How to run the fee check in one sitting
- Print the seven checklist items. Bring them to the vendor call.
- Ask for written fees. Management, media, minimums, and who owns logins.
- Match fees to OKRs. Referral, SEO, or paid, using published anchors only.
- Require sample report fields. Activity and booked-inquiry fields, not a borrowed percentage.
FAQ
What should a healthcare marketing agency fee sheet include?
Separate line items for each service, media vs management on paid, minimum terms, account ownership, report fields, exit terms, and whether case studies are named with permission.
What fees does Catalyze Care publish?
Referral marketing $5,000/month with a 3-month minimum, SEO management $799/month, and paid ads management $2,500/month with media separate.
Is media spend included in the $2,500 paid ads fee?
No. Catalyze Care publishes paid ads management at $2,500/month with media spend billed separately.
Should an agency promise ROI or page-one ranks in the fee deck?
No. Ask for checkable report fields and published fees instead of rank, CPC, or patient-volume promises.