Growth, D2C Marketing & Referral Development
Centers do not fail because the technology underperforms. They fail because volume never shows up.
Ideal clients
- Operating centers
- New launches
- Repositioning assets
- Network strategies
Typical outcomes
- A referral engine that produces measurable patient flow
- Positioning that holds up against the local competitive set
- A BD function with real accountability, not slogans
Proton centers don't fail because the technology underperforms. They fail because the patients, referrals, and market positioning never showed up. We focus on what actually moves volume, direct-to-consumer demand and a referral engine that produces measurable patient flow.
Filling a proton center is a different problem from filling a typical oncology service line. The referral physics, payer dynamics, and patient decision journey are specific, and most centers under-invest in the parts that matter most.
We build practical growth strategies grounded in how patients and referring physicians actually behave around proton therapy, not in generic healthcare marketing playbooks.
Sample scope
- Direct-to-consumer (D2C) patient acquisition strategy
- Referral development and physician engagement
- Market activation and launch support
- Positioning, narrative, and competitive differentiation
- Sales and BD team structure and accountability
- Digital, content, and paid media programs sized to the catchment
In a decade, D2C went from a line item to the front door.
US healthcare D2C spend has compounded across every digital channel since 2015, and the mix has shifted. Patients now discover, evaluate, and self-refer through search, social, content, and AI long before they meet a physician. The practices that own this funnel are quietly compounding patient volume against the ones that haven't built it yet.
US healthcare D2C marketing spend, 2015–2024
Digital acquisition has moved from experimental line item to the dominant patient-growth channel. Hover any year to see the mix.
In 2015, paid search was nearly half of healthcare D2C. By 2024, social, content, and AI-native channels combined are the larger share, and they're still the fastest growing.
AI & Generative Search is the fastest mover of the last five years, growing roughly 20.0× , most practices have not yet built a muscle here.
Patients now research, compare, and self-refer through digital channels long before a physician referral arrives. Practices that own this funnel compound volume; those that don't subsidize it for competitors.
Often engaged in combination.
Feasibility Analysis
Get the foundational decisions right before they become expensive to undo.
Turnaround Services
Centers do not need a new strategy deck. They need someone who has lived inside one.
Buy-Side Advisory
Diligence built from the inside out, for investors and operators acquiring proton centers.
Most engagements start with a single, focused conversation.
Tell us where the situation is, and we'll tell you whether we're the right firm for it.