In today’s health and wellness marketplace many of the key trends are being driven by consumers not brand owners. This ‘quick guide for brands’ by Jeff Hilton – co-founder of leading US creative agency BrandHive – will help you stay out in front of this rapidly changing consumer.
Marketplace convergence
It doesn’t take much insight to recognize and identify the signs of consumer convergence in the health and wellness sector. Product category lines are blurring between food, supplements, and personal care. Distribution channel lines are fading between online, brick & mortar and practitioner sales paths. Technology has empowered consumers with knowledge and access to their own daily health and wellness metrics. The result is a consumer that feels empowered but confused about the myriad of options available.
OmniChannel shopping and purchase behaviour
Today’s consumer is moving in an increasingly fluid manner across devices and points of distribution and the paradigm of control and access has shifted. The consumer is the new point-of-purchase. There is no question that we are moving from a channel-centric marketplace to a consumer-centric marketplace where the consumer becomes the target and he or she curates products and services from a myriad of channels and outlets and connections.
Brands must be All about content
Media vehicles such as digital, print and broadcast are still appropriate communications channels of course, but increasingly brands must learn to target their customer by content. Developing relevant, compelling content and then sharing it through paid advertising, social media and public relations activity is the name of the game. Consumers today are much less defined by age, income and education and more defined by values, beliefs and purchase behaviour. The great lesson learned from OmniChannel marketing is that brands need to “be where the consumer is” which is easier said than done for certain, but nonetheless a key strategic pillar for any marketing plan or effort.
Brands should adopt a digital first approach
Today’s consumer, especially Millennials, Gen Y and Gen X are primarily consumers of digital messaging and content. The smart phone is their hub of day-to-day communication and the primary conduit for learning, sharing, information gathering and purchasing. So as brands develop content and messaging, the focus must be on delivering information digitally first. That is always Job #1. That digital communication can then be reformatted or altered for other applications including printed material.
Brands need to re-invent their web presence
The role of a brand’s Web site has changed dramatically over the past decade. Today’s consumer is looking for ways to engage with brands and when a prospect arrives at your site, they are likely coming from another point of communication, specifically a social media post or a public relations (earned media) hit or even a paid digital ad placement. You have about 5 seconds to engage them in some way. Before they leave. Web design is moving to a vertical scrolling model for a reason. The consumer wants to scroll down to see what is relevant to them; not do a deep dive into your site through layers of navigation looking for answers to questions.
Brands should listen to consumers more and talk less
As the paradigm of control and access shifts to the consumer having more power and influence in the selling process, smart brands are doing more listening to their customers and less talking. Today marketing is all about B2C2B. Brands talk to consumers who then talk back to brands. It’s a much more interactive and engaged process than was the case a decade ago. Millennials are leading the charge toward more engagement with brands. They want to have a say in the next flavour or next formulation. They want to be catered to a bit and feel valued by the brands they purchase. And they want to have their feedback acknowledged. They want the whole brand story, not just the abbreviated version you want to share. They have questions about the sourcing of ingredients for your brand, and the manufacturing process you use. They care about the materials you use for packaging and what happens to the product container once it is empty. What impact does your process have on the planet and its resources? Brands that are willing to open the kimono, so to speak, will be rewarded with word-of-mouth sharing and brand loyalty.
Follow the leader
The interesting thing about health and wellness in the marketplace today is that many of the key trends are being driven by consumers not brand owners. Consumers want more personalized, custom health solutions even though they don’t know specifically what those look like. Smart, forward-thinking brands are working feverishly to stay out in front of this rapidly changing consumer.
Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash