Dec. 15, 2009 at 9:55am

What will people find when they search for you on Google maps?

Five reasons to update your Google Local Business Listing

Posted by Kacie McKinney in Advertising, Care Line Marketing, Measurement
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©iStockphoto.com/geopaul
 

Chances are that you are already listed on Google Maps. But you may not know that you have the opportunity to add more to your listing (and it’s free!).

Sep. 17, 2009 at 4:11pm

Real. Readable. Writing

Posted by Shari Campbell in Advertising, Measurement, Planning and Strategy
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I dropped my husband off at the airport this morning at 3:30 a.m., and all the caffeine in the world won’t keep me buzzing.

Apr. 15, 2009 at 11:58am

Making changes, one fakinagel at a time

Posted by Shari Campbell in Internal Communications, Measurement, Planning and Strategy
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My favoite lunch is a fakinagel.

A few years ago, when my cholesterol crept over 200 despite my mostly healthy diet and mostly regular exercise, I realized I needed to make more changes.

Aug. 5, 2008 at 11:23am

Branding begins at home

Posted by Shari Campbell in Branding, Internal Communications, Measurement
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A health care company undergoing profound change asks its employees in an internal newsletter to support yet another reorganization. A nonprofit that helps people find affordable housing is considering expanding its role to include community development.

What do employees think about these changes? Will they embrace them or undermine them?

Jun. 16, 2008 at 2:16pm

Insights from the underwear drawer

Posted by Shari Campbell in Measurement, Planning and Strategy
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Market research is like looking in someone’s underwear drawer!

I don’t think I fully appreciated that statement when I first heard it some 25 years ago. It was uttered by my intern supervisor at St. Joseph Hospital in Bellingham, just minutes before I attended a presentation on the hospital’s community perception study.

Apr. 2, 2008 at 2:27pm

Effective wayfinding takes fresh perspective

Posted by Kathleen Deakins in Branding, Measurement
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“Thank goodness we got a personal tour. I’m not sure we could have found the hospital room on our own,” one visitor remarked.

This was a comment from a group of health system employees, my travel companions, who took time during a business trip this week to visit a seriously ill colleague hospitalized nearby. I was struck by how our perspectives change when we become the visitors.

Feb. 22, 2008 at 2:32pm

Call centers and customer satisfaction

Posted by Kathleen Deakins in Measurement, Planning and Strategy
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I was on the phone recently with a hospital CEO who was fuming about his IT help desk. “So call wait times are down, but is anyone tracking to see if they are solving problems?”

The CEO’s question came to mind today while I waited on hold for more than 20 minutes after calling Expedia. I ended the call smiling. A polite customer service representative kept me on hold as she called the airline I was booked on to assure I had a seat on an earlier flight to avoid a five-hour layover. She ended the call with an apology for my wait – and earned my gratitude.

Jan. 24, 2008 at 2:41pm

The power of WOM

Posted by Shari Campbell in Advertising, Measurement, Planning and Strategy
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Sunday’s Seattle Times was filled with ads from competing hospitals. As I quickly scanned them, I couldn’t help but think about a few random statistics I’ve read recently:

• A friend’s recommendation is five times more trustworthy than an ad
• People learn from advertising, but make their decisions by listening to a trusted source
• It’s estimated that in 2007, 66 million adults shared reviews and advice about products and services and 27 million “exerted influence” online

Dec. 24, 2007 at 1:28pm

Saving lives, the ultimate metric

Posted by Kathleen Deakins in Declassified, Measurement
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How was your day today, dear? Great, I saved a life.

Not too many marketing or communications professionals can make that claim – or could we? Imagine if we decided our job was to save lives. Here are three ways you can do just that.