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🪩 Volume 144 | July 15, 2026

 

One of my favorite things about being a consumer in 2026 is the sheer innovation happening around “customer/client experience.”

 

Tech made everything accessible. Social media built trust in ways that just didn't exist a decade ago. And somewhere in there, a WHOLE generation of brands launched online, never touched a brick-and-mortar store, and have succeeded anyway (Chewy, Ruggable), while others built their online cult following and eventually DID open the door to a physical space (Glossier, Warby Parker).

 

That crossover (online-native “experience” logic showing up in standard, in-person, “trade” businesses) is my FAVORITE thing to watch right now. Because who DOESN'T want to walk into a gym, a doctor's office, a spa, whatever, and feel like the whole thing was curated for you from the second you step inside?

 

This week's Funnel Cake is about exactly that: brands that understand the throughline between “we built trust online” and “we built an unforgettable, highly referable experience in person” and why this is what I think will be the difference between life or death for businesses in the near future. 

 

 

 

I see this CONSTANTLY on the agency side. We've built a ton of websites and done brand strategy work for various medical and dental practices, and dental/ortho is one of the clearest examples of a category shifting from generic, “trust-us-we're-clinical” marketing to something much more personality-driven and CREATIVE. The practices doing this well don't look like “the orthodontist down the street.” They look like a brand you'd follow on Instagram even if you didn't need a retainer (pun intended).

 

You see the same instinct in kids' urgent care and pediatric-adjacent care; brands positioning themselves specifically against the “sit in a waiting room for two hours” version of the category. (Our client KidsWatch is a great example of this).

 

And it's not just healthcare BTW; brands I've watched nail this “in the wild”:

For your business: “Different” and “curated” don't just look better, they FEEL better. Our parents and grandparents’ generations were trained to tolerate a waiting room, a script, and less than exceptional customer service. We were not. Predictability, clear expectations, and customer service that doesn't feel like an afterthought are at the FOREFRONT of how younger consumers choose who gets their money, especially in categories (medical, personal care, fitness) that used to get a pass on experience because “well, it's a doctor's office.”

 

So: does your business currently look and feel like everyone else in your category, or does it look like you actually thought about what it feels like to be your customer, start to finish?

 

Wanna hear more about how we're helping clients with this exact thing? This week, Sarah & I are diving into what to do when this (figuring out truly what makes you DIFFERENT (and how to act on it)) feels hard; two different approaches, with two real client examples, for when "just be different" isn't as easy as it sounds.

The newsletter stays FREE, always. The audio lives on Substack for paid subscribers ($8/mo or $80/year). 

 

If you want the extended cut, come find us over there 👉 Subscribe on Substack

 

 

1. Saalt keeps showing up on my radar. First it was the Target shelf placement in the “women's health” aisle; packaging so good I couldn't NOT pick it up. Now they've expanded into a teen line: Leakproof teen underwear, a smaller Teen Cup, and a First Period Starter Pack, all designed with teen focus groups. Back in my teenage years, the options were slim and nobody was talking about it. Now there's a whole line built specifically to make that moment feel less scary and a lot more normal. Brands actively marketing “younger” and doing it thoughtfully? SO cool.

 

2. Primally Pure just launched Tinted Face Care: A Sun Serum Tinted SPF 30 and a Lip + Cheek Tint SPF 15, sold individually or as a duo. What's catching my attention isn't the products themselves, it's the DUALITY: Sunscreen doing makeup's job, lipstick doing blush's job. I'm a SIMPLE girl who already uses this brand for most of my skincare, so a “one product, two jobs” launch from them was an easy yes for me before I even tried it.

 

3. Bobbie is going hard in the PR paint right now, and I think it's smart. The infant formula category has had a rough stretch of trust lately… Recalls, botulism scares, the works, and Bobbie's response has been to lean all the way into transparency: publishing test results, adding voluntary spore and toxin screening most competitors don't bother with, and now publicly sharing their code of ethics on their website. If they're just saying it to say it, fine, I don't care, because as long as they keep walking the walk, this is a brand I can stand behind.

 

Something to watch: as more categories (formula, period care, skincare) get more comfortable being specific about who a product is for (teens, new parents, whoever) I'm curious whether “built for everyone” positioning starts to look dated by comparison.

 

 

Sarah and I recorded a full audio companion to this issue; the deeper, how-this-applies-to-you version of “your customer is the hero, not your product,” including why that idea just changed a decade-long client relationship, and how to find your own version of free childcare or Saturday hours. Get it at the bottom of the Substack version of Funnel Cake here.