Long gone are the days when people whispered about a healthcare provider’s reputation while sitting in their waiting room. Now, all you need is Google and a computer or cell phone. In this digital age, trust in healthcare is shaped by online reviews, social media, and a provider’s ability to communicate with empathy and transparency. In this edition of Vital Signs, we’ll explore how reputation shapes patient confidence and trust, why digital perception matters more than ever, and what healthcare providers and systems can do to earn (and keep) that trust in a review-driven world.

There was a time, not so long ago, when healthcare marketing meant making sure your hospital had a good billboard and your practice showed up on Google Maps. But those days are over. Today, healthcare decisions are shaped less by proximity and more by trust, experience, and emotional connection. Today’s patients aren’t just looking for care, they’re looking for care they can believe in. And that has changed everything. In this edition of Vital Signs, we’ll explore how the rules of modern patient engagement have changed, what healthcare marketers need to do differently, and why empathy, authenticity, and personalization aren’t just nice-to-haves anymore-they’re the price of entry

Community banks have long been a trusted partner for individuals and businesses, yet as Gen Z’s banking needs continue to grow and diversify, many community banks struggle to capture their attention. In this edition of Compound Interest we’ll examine why a generation known for its values-driven decision-making has not been choosing community banks and how these institutions might succeed at attracting them.

The restaurant’s staff was “in the weeds” a lot more than a typical Saturday night and it was starting to overtake the kitchen. A full house of four and six-top tables loaded with hungry guests was starting to get antsy, and the manager knew that her reputation was on the line every time they got slammed like that. But it’s OK. She knew it was coming. In this edition of Plain Talk, we’ll reveal the most direct cause of customer loyalty. Then, we’ll look at improving the employee experience and how it flows into creating customer loyalty.

We suspect one of the most intimidating challenges marketers face is the prospect of a rebranding effort. We’ve been contacted many times to provide expertise on the topic. This often comes from prospective clients whose business may be experiencing a sluggish period where they suspect their “brand” is the problem. The phone call to the agency goes something like, “I think we need to rebrand.” Then we’ll say something like, “Hmm, tell us more about why you think that,” then the conversation often veers into things like logos, TV commercials, slow sales, and “Brand X who is stealing our share because their branding is way better.”

From being told to “Just Do It!” to the “now more than ever” pandemic lectures, we’ve all been viewed as “vessels.” The brands we love have, on occasion, transitioned their messages from what they can do for us to what we need to do or do better. Enough! Advertising brands this year need to focus on how they are useful and relatable to us and not judge us against their standard or lecture us. In this edition of Plain Talk, we’ll discuss how consumers are fatigued by assertive marketing (cause or otherwise). We’ll also explore how brands might better relate to them.

Peanut butter and jelly. Taylor and Travis. Sun and sand. Coca-Cola and the Olympics. Lowes and Building Homes for Heroes. Some things just go better together. For nonprofits and corporations yet to form a strategic alliance, a considerable opportunity awaits. There are many obvious (and less obvious) benefits, including brand perception, social impact, improved employee retention, and heightened community engagement. Forming the right partnership can provide incredibly important benefits to both the nonprofit and the corporate sponsor. In this edition of Plain Talk, we’ll delve into nonprofit-corporate partnerships. Find out why nonprofits and corporations should partner, why these relationships are mutually beneficial, and learn what criteria each should consider in their selection.

Silent attrition, also referred to as silent switching or silent churn, is when customers of a bank fragment their banking activities by using secondary institutions for financial services offered by their primary institution. This growing phenomenon is tough to detect because the customer doesn’t close their account at their main institution, so unlike when a customer moves their account from one primary bank to another, the losses incurred from silent switching are more gradual and frequently fly under the radar. In this Compound Interest, we’ll examine silent attrition and what to do when customers stop doing business without closing the relationship.

In Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad (1886), the Supreme Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment applied to corporations, legally establishing what is referred to as corporate personhood.
While this decision was based strictly on legal reasons, nowhere does the personhood of a corporation ring truer than in its brand. In this edition of Plain Talk, we’ll look at three famous quotes about the importance of personal authenticity and apply them to brand authenticity.

We’ve all seen them—60-second commercials that pop up during our favorite TV shows. In these commercials, everyone seems to be dancing, mountain biking, or kayaking to happy music while the list of potential side effects is described in the background. With revenues exceeding $600 billion, it is not surprising that pharmaceutical companies spent almost $8.1 billion last year on paid advertising, according to Endpoints News. Seventy percent of that was spent on linear TV. The top 10 pharma advertising brands alone contributed to a combined total of $1.68 billion in ad spend. But are they necessary? Do they work? In this edition of Plain Talk, we’ll address those two questions. We’ll also explore what the rest of us marketers can learn from pharma advertising—TV advertising’s fourth-largest industry.