355 qualified leads and about ₹2 lakh in revenue in 30 days, for a diagnostic lab chain in Kerala

A diagnostic lab wins business one area at a time, and it usually wins by being the lab that answers first. A well-known diagnostic lab chain in South India asked us to bring in qualified leads for its business in Kerala, and to make sure every lead reached someone who would act on it.

We ran three local Meta campaigns aimed at the zones that mattered most to the chain, and built a lead handoff system so its telecalling team could respond quickly and track what happened. From 1 to 31 August 2025, ₹26,886.65 of ads produced 355 qualified leads, and roughly ₹2 lakh of revenue followed inside the first 30 days.

At a glance

The client

Our client is a diagnostic laboratory chain with a strong name across South India. The campaigns described here covered its Kerala operation.

Testing is a neighbourhood purchase. Most people go to a lab near home or near the office. A doctor asks for a test, or someone decides it is time for a check-up, and the next question is simple: which lab is close, trusted and easy to book?

Most people have questions before they book. Which test do I need? Do I need to prepare? What will it cost? When can I come in? The lab that answers those questions quickly and clearly is usually the one that gets the visit. That shapes the whole buying journey: a person sees an advert, asks a question, gets an answer and books.

It also means a chain has to win each locality separately rather than the state as a whole. A strong presence in one neighbourhood does little for a branch in another.

The challenge

Reaching all of Kerala was never the aim. The chain wanted to be seen in its most important zones, by people at the point of needing a test. Spreading a budget thinly across the state would reach many people with no reason to visit any particular branch.

The harder problem comes after the advert. Interest in a test fades within days. A person who needs bloods done this week tends to go with the first lab that gets back to them. If enquiries sit in an inbox, or drift between staff with no one responsible for them, the ad money that produced them is wasted.

There was a measurement problem too. With no tracking in place, there is no way to link a patient to the campaign that found them, so there is no reliable way to decide where the next rupee should go.

What we did

Local zones first

Using geo-targeting and audience segments, we kept the campaigns local and pointed them at the high-priority zones. The budget was concentrated there instead of being stretched over all of Kerala.

Concentrating the spend means the people who see the advert are the people most likely to walk into a nearby branch. It is the same thinking behind our work for an elder care service in Kochi, where the campaigns were drawn around the areas the care team could reach.

Three Meta campaigns

We split the work into three Meta campaigns. Two of them, the first and second, were set up for message leads, where a person opens a chat with the lab instead of completing a form.

Messages suit this kind of purchase. Before booking, people commonly want to check which test, which slot or how much. A message lets them do that in their own words, and it gives the lab a natural opening for its reply. Running three campaigns side by side also meant the chain could compare them directly, instead of looking at one blended number.

A handoff the telecallers could act on

We set up a lead handoff that ran end to end: from the second an enquiry arrived through to the follow-up call. With it, the chain's telecallers could get back to people fast and keep an orderly view of every lead in progress. Every enquiry became a name on a call list, with the outcome logged.

This is the step many campaigns leave out. The advert creates interest, but in diagnostics the booking is usually made in a conversation. Without a clear handoff, good leads slip through the gap between the ad account and the people who make the calls.

The results

To sum up: less than ₹27,000 of advertising in August 2025 gave the chain 355 qualified leads, and roughly ₹2 lakh of revenue arrived within 30 days.

The breakdown is as useful as the total. The third campaign spent the most of the three, yet it also delivered the lowest cost per lead, at about ₹64.92. With costs per lead running from about ₹64.92 to ₹88.67 across the three, the chain could see clearly which campaign was earning its budget.

Why it worked

The follow-up was part of the system

An advert sparks interest, but it is usually a phone call that secures the booking. Because each lead went straight to a telecaller and was tracked, it had little chance to go cold.

Messages matched how people book tests

When people are not sure which test is right, or what time suits them, a quick question feels easier than a form. A question also gives a telecaller more to work with than a phone number alone, because it shows what the person wants to know.

Three campaigns gave a real comparison

Because cost per lead ranged from about ₹64.92 to ₹88.67, the chain could pick out the strongest campaign rather than relying on a single average.

The advert opens the conversation. The callback closes it.

How to apply this to your business

• Pick the areas around your branches that matter most to you, and focus your budget there first.
• Give people a way to message you with a question before they book.
• Decide before launch who calls each new lead, and how quickly.
• Record every lead and its outcome in one place, so nothing sits unanswered.
• Run more than one campaign and compare their costs per lead, rather than relying on a single average.
• Track revenue back to the campaigns, so you know where to spend next. In a very different healthcare market, our telehealth work in the USA shows the same need to measure purchases, not just clicks.

Questions business owners ask

How can a diagnostic lab get more patients from Facebook and Instagram ads?

Focus the ads on the local zones around your branches, let people message you with questions, and make sure every lead reaches someone who calls back quickly. For this chain, that approach brought 355 qualified leads in August 2025.

What is a good cost per lead for a diagnostic centre?

It varies by area and by campaign. Here the average was about ₹75.74, with the three campaigns ranging from about ₹64.92 to ₹88.67. Comparing campaigns side by side matters more than chasing a single target figure.

Why are my healthcare leads not turning into bookings?

Often the problem is the follow-up, not the ads. A person who wants a test soon will book with whoever replies first. A clear handoff to a telecalling team, with tracking, gives each lead an owner and a next step.

Are message ads better than lead forms for labs?

For many health services they fit the way people buy, because people like to check the test, the slot or the cost before booking. In this case the first two campaigns ran on message leads, and those questions gave the telecallers something real to open the call with.

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