Plain Talk Archives Index

How the Audiology Industry Can Grow with Confidence (11/30/2023)
As with many industries that are closely associated with an aging population, the audiology industry in the United States is currently experiencing a surge in demand. The mighty baby boom generation is reaching the life stage where . . .

Healthcare Marketing Models 101: Understanding the Primary Types (11/23/2023)
Marketing models have been helping marketers across industries conduct more efficient and effective campaigns for many years, and the healthcare industry is no exception. While many marketers rely on demographic characteristics to segment audiences, marketing models make it possible to . . .

Integrating Technology into Economic Development Processes (11/16/2023)
Economic development plays an important role in ensuring the vitality of a community both now and in the decades to come. While there are many tried‑and‑true best practices that have been used successfully for decades, technology can make the process . . .

Target is Losing to Walmart: Here’s What the Data Shows (11/2/2023)
The Q2 2023 earnings reports are in and tell very different tales for two U.S. retail giants. While Target’s same‑store U.S. sales fell 5.4 percent, Walmart’s rose . . .

How Consumer Segmentation Can Help You Reach a New Patient Base (10/26/2023)
Who makes up your patient base today?
Many healthcare providers can answer that question in terms of demographics and payer types. Some can even answer it based on consumer segmentation, which provides a deeper look into the lifestyles of patients to identify key cohorts.
But perhaps a more important question is . . .

Service Line Analytics: An Introductory Guide (10/19/2023)
Service line analytics is one of the latest buzzwords in health systems today. As with any trend, it can be difficult to separate the facts from the . . .

The Role of Ambulatory Health Care in a Transitioning Payment Environment (10/12/2023)
Ambulatory health care has always been important to a health system’s strategy but is more critical now than ever. Here’s why your health system’s leadership team needs to make ambulatory strategy a priority . . .

Use Alert to Stay Ahead of Competitors and Drive Retail Success (9/28/2023)
In the fiercely competitive world of retail, staying one step ahead of your competition is essential for success. To effectively navigate the dynamic landscape, you need a deep understanding of your market position, customer behaviors, and areas of potential. You also need . . .

Getting Started With Ambulatory Clinic Strategy (9/13/2023)
While ambulatory clinics have been part of healthcare systems for many years, shifts in the political and competitive environment have led to a renewed focus on ambulatory clinic strategy. The primary purpose of today’s ambulatory clinic initiatives is to . . .

The Future of Healthcare Systems: A New Hub and Spoke Model (9/7/2023)
As the concept of healthcare systems evolved in the U.S., a distinct business model emerged. Often called the “hub and spoke” approach, this business model focused on using outpatient clinics to drive patients . . .

Track Customer Profile Changes with Alert (8/31/2023)
In the dynamic world of retail, understanding your customers is crucial for success. While foot traffic data provides valuable insights into the number and frequency of customer visits to your store, it falls short in painting a . . .

5 Lessons the Healthcare Industry Can Learn from the Retail Sector (8/24/2023)
Retailers have long understood how to harness the right mixture of data to unlock a brand’s full potential and really dig into who its customers are and what they want. And as patients continue to become savvier consumers, it’s crucial for health systems . . .

Alert - Actionable Insights to Win Market Share (8/17/2023)
In the fast‑paced world of retail marketing, data‑driven strategies are essential for success. Retail marketing teams rely on customer behavioral insights to make informed decisions and drive effective marketing strategies. However, extracting actionable insights from these datasets is time consuming and . . .

Don’t Take No for an Answer (8/8/2023)
A fair amount of time spent by economic development professionals is focused on selling their community as a choice location for business. For the recruitment of retailers and restauranteurs, this requires presenting data validating the city and trade area’s suitability for . . .

5 Pitfalls of Healthcare Real Estate Investment (7/27/2023)
Healthcare real estate is typically an expensive – and long‑term – investment. Given the importance of the decision, it’s wise to invest the appropriate time and resources into vetting . . .

If It’s Time to Improve the Performance of Your Existing Facilities, Ask Yourself These Questions (7/13/2023)
Getting ahead of the growing competition in today’s healthcare marketplace is more challenging than ever before.
As more non‑traditional providers enter the market and strive to meet consumer demand . . .

Is It Time to Rightsize Your Healthcare Network? (6/28/2023)
Changes in how Americans think about healthcare providers are driving many to reevaluate their strategies and determine if their existing healthcare facility network is the right model . . .

Be Better Than Your Gut: A Data‑Driven Approach to the Healthcare Site Selection Process (6/22/2023)
Healthcare organizations often rely on demographic data to make real estate decisions. While counting rooftops, looking only at traditional data sources, and using your gut used to be enough to make site selection decisions, times . . .

Is Your Website Site Selector Ready? (6/15/2023)
Most communities and economic development organizations engaged in business attraction do a great job in prospecting for new businesses . . . The cities and economic development organizations that prevail in the site selection process more than likely have a website that is “site selector ready.”

Why Traditional Advertising Isn’t a Dead Healthcare Marketing Trend (5/31/2023)
The landscape for new patient acquisition has shifted as healthcare providers now have more media channels than ever to market to prospective patients.
And healthcare CEOs have taken note, citing the change in consumer behavior toward . . .

Questions to Ask Before Opening a New Healthcare Location (5/24/2023)
Whether you’re planning to open a new primary care location, dental clinic, ambulatory care center or a specialty health facility, you must ask yourself these questions to avoid . . .

Do You Really Know Your Patients? (5/18/2023)
If the answer is “Sort of,” or “I think so,” you might not. In order to optimize and grow your healthcare services, really knowing your patients is critical.

Healthcare Industry Trends — A Closer Look (5/11/2023)
If there’s one healthcare industry trend that has been constant in recent years, it’s this: change.
As an industry in transition, healthcare is undergoing massive shifts in the way it . . .

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Open New Opportunities for Retailers (5/4/2023)
Electric vehicles (EVs) are growing in popularity. The decreasing costs and improving performance have played a major role in driving consumer adoption of EVs. Those who haven’t joined the movement say the undeveloped charging infrastructure is . . .

6 Ways to Put Your Healthcare Data to Work with Analytics (4/27/2023)
Retailers commonly use consumer profiles and predictive analytics to make better business decisions.

How Healthcare Organizations Can Apply Data Like Retailers (4/20/2023)
There’s no shortage of buzzwords like “big data” in the retail world these days. But what exactly does this mean? And, how can you . . .

How to Attract More Gen Z Customers: 7 Things You Need to Know (4/13/2023)
The Gen Z population, those born between 1997 and 2012, recently surpassed Baby Boomers as America’s largest generation. And they’ve got money . . .

Using Demand Density to Prove Healthcare Market Potential (4/6/2023)
Every day patients are acting more and more like consumers when it comes to healthcare – and the way those consumers behave greatly impacts the types of services they’ll need and how they go about choosing . . .

How Consumer Analytics Drive Healthcare Success (3/23/2023)
Consumer analytics is the use of data from a combination of sources to give you a more comprehensive understanding of who your best patients are, where those patients and others like them are located and the value . . .

What Healthcare Systems Can Learn From Health Clubs (3/16/2023)
The landscape for healthcare patient acquisition is changing.
This is leading many systems to rethink their approach, and one excellent category to emulate is health clubs. Not only are they closely related to the healthcare industry, but health clubs set a defined path for . . .

The Role of Analytics in Local Economic Development Strategies (3/9/2023)
Creating a local economic development strategy isn’t a new concept, but today’s cities have more resources than ever at their disposal for crafting a strategy that works. Of all the resources available today . . .

The Future of Healthcare Analytics (3/2/2023)
There’s no shortage of news sharing the future of healthcare analytics, but without a little explanation this can be a puzzling phrase.

5 Healthcare Data Options and How to Use Them (2/9/2023)
Today’s healthcare providers have more data available than ever before. Many organizations want to use the data to help make important decisions, but navigating the various . . .

3 Factors Consumers Consider When Choosing Where to Dine (2/2/2023)
Consumers are no longer lured to a restaurant based on food or location alone, according to a recent study . . . found that consumers more heavily way restaurant ambience and attentive service ahead of food . . .

Clean Mobile Data Leads to Trustworthy Insights (1/11/2023)
Massive mobile data. Location analytics. GPS data analysis. These buzzwords highlight the explosion of services and technologies that promise to provide the kinds of consumer insights that previously were not possible. . .

Applications of Predictive Analytics Tools for Franchises (12/29/2022)
Predictive analytics tools are making a difference in many sectors, and franchising is no exception. With all of the hype, it can be tough to differentiate between what’s real and . . .

Healthcare and Nontraditional Spaces: Factors to Consider Before You Move (12/1/2022)
In every aspect of their lives, consumers want convenience, accessibility, and the ability to make choices, and their expectations for the healthcare industry are . . .

How to Make Your Property Listing Stand Out from the Crowd (11/17/2022)
With millions of commercial real estate properties listed online, getting yours to stand out to potential investors or tenants can be a challenge.

How to Transform Your Property with Medtail (11/10/2022)
Health and wellness is an increasingly important component of healthcare today. Providers are no longer focused exclusively on treating sick patients but preventing illness and chronic . .

5 Medtail Myths (11/3/2022)
As healthcare becomes more consumer‑driven and consumer‑focused, more providers are choosing retail space over traditional medical office buildings (MOBs) and hospital campuses. They’re joining the “medtail” revolution and finding great . . .

Four Best Practices to Attract and Retain Talent in Your Community (10/20/2022)
Talent is a foundational element in the success of any economic development strategy. Unless your community attracts and retains the talent that local employers need, it doesn’t matter how many . . .

How to Address Food Deserts in Your Community (9/22/2022)
Addressing food deserts is a topic that is top of mind for many economic developers and community leaders. While filling food deserts certainly provides economic benefits to a community, it also provides . . .

The Impact of Aging Populations on CRE Development Needs (9/15/2022)
In today’s constantly changing market, staying on top of trends is how developers gain a competitive advantage. Particularly, shifts in population trends impact . . .

Boss Up: From Administrative Assistant to Senior Director of Global Retail at Red Wing Shoe Co. (8/25/2022)
When Marisa Kinney joined Red Wing Shoe Company as an administrative assistant with the retail team, she was simply looking for a job a little closer to home. The hour commute from Red Wing, Minnesota to the Twin Cities each day was taking a toll . . .

Back to School: Creative Ways to Repurpose Buildings for Education (8/18/2022)
Healthcare isn’t the only industry moving into nontraditional spaces like department stores, malls, and other retail centers. For many education organizations, the opportunity to rezone and repurpose an existing . . .

A Deep Dive into Mister Car Wash’s Top Locations (8/11/2022)
Fueled by an increasing desire for convenience, the car wash business is booming. In fact, two‑thirds of Americans visit a car wash between once and twice a month, totaling . . .

The Importance of Analytics in Restaurant Site Selection (7/21/2022)
Restaurant site selection is an art. It takes deep knowledge of a trade area or a market to open in the best locations for your brand.
But if you’re still only relying on your intuition to pick places that feel right, there’s a good chance you’re opening sites in . . .

Retail Developers: How to Find Them, How to Work with Them (6/9/2022)
Perhaps your community offers available freeway frontage, vacant commercially zoned parcels throughout your downtown area, and a city council committed to commerce. You may know . . .

Three More Restaurant Trends That Will Outlast the Pandemic (6/1/2022)
From national chains to local mom‑and‑pop operators, the pandemic has been partciularly hard on the restaurant industry. While some restaurants were able to adapt to changing consumer . . .

Easy As Pie: Using Data to Connect New Customers with Old Traditions (5/5/2022)
For Meredith and Scott Layton, pies are more than just much‑loved family recipes – they’re the heart of their southern pie shop . . .

New Analytical Tools Enable Restaurant Brands to Identify, Validate and Acquire Recently ... (3/10/2022)

Leading Assisted Stretching Franchise Extends Reach to Washington DC; Announces New Development (2/22/2022)

Three Restaurant Trends That Will Outlast the Pandemic (2/3/2022)

Franchise Best Practices from a Successful Franchisee: What You Need to Know (1/6/2022)

How Brokers Can Benefit from Using Mobile GPS Data (11/18/2021)

Zoom Room Achieves Record Growth and Quadruples Its Footprint Across the Country (10/29/2021)

Back to School: Creative Ways to Repurpose Buildings for Education (9/30/2021)

How the CRE Industry Should Evaluate Trade Areas (8/27/2021)

Trends in Repurposing Vacant Department Stores (8/12/2021)

The Rise of the Tech‑Enabled Broker: Trends to Watch in 2021 (7/15/2021)

Using Location Analytics to Vet Retail Real Estate Investments (6/4/2021)

3 Tips for Making the Most of Your Community’s ARPA Funds (5/13/2021)