Despite Digital Advances, Brick-and-Mortar Stores Are Here to Stay

Over the past decade, consumers have witnessed the retail environment transition from its traditional state to one that embraces technology and e-commerce. However, despite the fact that e-commerce sales are growing, brick-and-mortar stores still remain the dominant player in the retail environment. Target CEO Brian Cornell recently appeared on CNBC to emphasize that brick-and-mortar dominance won’t be ending anytime soon.

““The winning retailers of the future are going to combine great physical assets with the ease that comes along with that digital interaction. For the foreseeable future, the majority of U.S. retail sales will still take place at stores.””

— Brian Cornell, Target CEO

Though the simplicity and convenience of e-commerce can make the shopping experience easier on some consumers, it simply cannot replace the analog experience of walking through a physical store—and the decision-making process that comes along with doing so.

There’s no doubt that changes and innovations will continue to emerge, but for the foreseeable future, e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores will continue to co-exist to meet the unique needs of each consumer.

Amidst the Marketing Clutter, Consumers Crave Authenticity

We frequently write about the trust economy and the importance of being credible in a marketing environment filled with pseudoscience, hype-inducing headlines, and misinformation. Trust and credibility are key battlegrounds for brands that want to deliver meaningful health & wellness value to consumers.

Another word you see and hear a lot in these conversations is authenticity. Brands want to be authentic, appealing to consumers through not just shared values, but also through the appearance of being real, human, and not just a corporate monolith. That’s a pretty significant challenge, particularly as consumers have become savvier and, in many cases, more cynical.

So how can healthy brands be authentic, beyond the trappings of social media and public relations efforts?

For us, the answer has always been health professionals. If a healthy brand wants to engage in a truly authentic conversation with their consumers, nothing beats a health professional.

Authentic interactions
When a health professional is engaged in a counseling interaction with a patient or client, there is no doubt about the authenticity of the exchange. The patient or client's health and wellness is the only objective. In other words, both people involved in the interaction are rowing in the same direction.

Authentic recommendations
Earning exposure through health & wellness bloggers and media personalities carries with it one major challenge to authenticity—someone is getting paid. When you’re talking with your personal health professional and they recommend a product or solution, no one is questioning their motives. Those recommendations are truly authentic and powerful.

Authentic engagement
Reading a social media post, a sponsored blog or article, or seeing a segment on the local news can start a consumer down a healthy path, but nothing beats the engagement that comes from a face-to-face conversation with a trusted health professional—a conversation grounded in education and expertise, and one that is private and protected.

It’s more important than ever that brands take a step back and reconsider how they’re communicating with consumers. Amidst the clutter of marketing efforts, health professionals are a breath of fresh air that provides consumers with authentic and trusted advice

More Than an Influencer

From celebrities to YouTube stars and bloggers of note, influencers have become the darlings of the marketing world for many companies. Sure, it’s simple for brands to “engage” with these influencers, receiving everything from “shout-outs” to featured content, all for a price. While this type of influencer marketing may be easy, it’s not a particularly effective way to build trust—particularly for healthy brands. In order to maximize trust and credibility, healthy brands are best served looking beyond just these digital influencers to the real experts—a consumer’s handpicked, personal health professional.  

Long before the term “influencer” was ever conceived, health professionals have been driving the behavior and choices of the Americans they counsel, advise and train. Their experience, expertise, and influence (sans quotation marks) make them an ideal target of effective, value-add marketing for brands seeking to build trust and credibility.

Health professionals are:

A Trusted Source of Guidance
Everyday health professionals are personal, trusted advisors. In fact, they’re among consumers’ most trusted sources of health & wellness information, according to the 2017 IFIC Food and Health Survey. Unlike most “influencers,” health professionals build this trust through face-to-face interactions and personal relationships with their patients and clients.

Champions of Nutrition & Healthy Lifestyles
Health professionals advocate for healthy lifestyle choices every day. And as experts in their fields, they understand the health and nutritional needs of their patients and clients more than anyone else—and they have the tools and knowledge to educate and care for them accordingly.

Collaborators Looking for New Information & Insights
No matter their specialty, health professionals are lifelong learners and they’re constantly looking out for new ways to care for their patients and clients. Similarly, they’re always open to receiving educational information and samples to share with their patients to increase their knowledge and positively impact their behavior.

Drivers of Consumer Preference & Choice
Consumers naturally turn to health professionals for advice on the products and foods they should purchase and use. Their personal health professional is their trusted advisor. Once knowledgeable on a particular brand or product, professionals can use their influence to drive trial among consumers.

In a world where consumers are constantly surrounded by “influencers” of questionable validity, a recommendation or piece of health advice from a personal health professional is a breath of fresh air. Is your healthy brand reaching these true influencers?

When it Comes to Their Child's Nutrition, New Parents Need More Education

Pediatricians are having important conversations about proper nutrition with new parents every day. These conversations are frequent during the first 6 months of a child’s life, however, much of that nutritional advice tapers off after that point. A recent MedPage Today article highlights the importance of continuing to advocate for and educate parents on proper nutrition, far beyond that 6-month milestone.  

“The most active period of neurologic development occurs in the first 1,000 days of life, the period beginning at conception and ending at the start of the third postnatal year.”

While the first 6 months of a child’s life are important, so are the months and years that follow. In fact, according to the article, a large portion of brain development occurs within the first 1,000 days of life.

Pediatricians aren’t to blame for the lack of information, though. Nutritional and dietary guidelines for this stage of life are sparse, but that could change in the coming years. According to the article, the Birth to 24 Months project is working to finalize and incorporate dietary guidelines and recommendations for children younger than 2 years by 2020.  

In the meantime, this is a genuine opportunity for healthy brands. New parents are eager to educate themselves on healthy options for their children and they turn to their pediatric professional for information. In turn, pediatricians are looking for reliable nutrition information about healthy brands to meet this demand.  Best of all, communicating with new parents through this trusted source can provide the credibility and nutritional information they desire. Interested in learning how this could work for your healthy brand? Let us know!

Don't Jump on the Celebrity Pseudoscience Bandwagon

If you follow professional football, you’ve probably heard about Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady’s anti-inflammatory diet. Similarly, if you keep up with pop culture, you may be familiar with Gwyneth Paltrow’s latest “health” venture, Goop. Or perhaps you keep up with self-proclaimed food expert, Food Babe. While there’s no denying that these well-known figures have a large following, the health claims they promote have very little credibility and are, for the most part, ridiculous.

In today’s trust economy, that’s problematic. Consumers are often able to see through the plethora of ridiculous health schemes, and when it comes to making decisions about health and wellness they want guidance from the sources they trust most—not some celebrity with a new diet plan. Many times, this trusted advisor is an everyday health professional. Rather than promoting an unrealistic, and potentially unhealthy lifestyle, health professionals provide consumers with expert advice catered to their individual needs and influence their decision making in a positive way.

How can your healthy brand utilize health professionals’ influential power? Here are a few key steps:

Give them the Facts
Health professionals are education junkies. They spend their days educating their patients and they’re constantly furthering their own knowledge. When first engaging these health professionals, it’s up to the brand to do the educating. Present them with the science behind the brand, explain the key features and benefits, and tell them what’s inside. By doing so, brands place themselves on the same side of the table as the health professional.

Provide a Personal Experience
The facts are useful, but they’re not enough to transform a health professional into a brand advocate on their own. Think about it, have you ever recommended something that you haven’t tried yourself? Probably not. In order to warrant the personalized recommendation that consumers crave, brands should provide health professionals with a personal experience with the brand. Let them see it, hold it, taste it, or use it. This allows health professionals to give a product their stamp of approval and warrants a genuine recommendation.

Engage in Two-Way Communication
Health professionals are experts in their field and they’re engaging with brands’ target consumers on a daily basis. If they’re willing to provide their insights and feedback, brands should listen. By engaging in two-way communication brands can demonstrate that they value their input, and health professionals can experience a sense of ownership in the brand they’re advocating for.

An honest recommendation from a trusted advisor is what consumers seek when making health & wellness decisions.  Unlike traditional forms of media and advertising or influencer platforms, brands can utilize health professionals to engage with consumers and positively influence their purchasing decisions.

Does Your Healthy Brand Need a Specialty Agency?

The short answer is yes. In recent years, as marketing options have increased, so has the demand for specialty agencies. Think about it. Your healthy brand specializes in a specific category, so why would you trust an agency that doesn’t do the same?

When it comes to food and nutrition, finding a specialty agency that fits with your brand is especially important. Here’s why: 

1. Building trust isn’t as easy as you may think
When it comes to the food they put in their bodies, consumers naturally gravitate towards brands they trust. However, that trust can be hard to build, especially for food brands. Specialty agencies can help brands utilize their health halo and appropriate communication channels to build trust among consumers. 

2. Nutrition is complicated and consumers are looking for expertise
From baby foods to healthy snacks and nutritional beverages, the food industry is comprised of products to appeal to consumers of all kinds. Nutrition marketing agencies understand the unique needs of each different type of consumer, the messages that most strongly resonate with them and how best to reach them to build trust, credibility and brand trial.

3. The food and nutrition industries can be difficult to navigate
Whether your brand is an industry veteran or new to the scene, navigating the food industry can be challenging. What works in other categories doesn’t always work for food.  Working with a specialty agency affords brands the ability to leverage learnings across food categories and marketing channels. 

4. The grocery landscape is constantly changing
From changes in the ways consumers shop, to in-store initiatives, and new food retailers in the market, specialty food agencies make it easy for brands to keep up.  

The right combination of category expertise can help you shape your strategy and build your brand better than any generalist agency can.  If you want to add real value to your marketing efforts, from strategy to tactics to metrics, each piece of the puzzle should be designed to integrate across the right communication channels.

Pulse Health & Wellness has specialized in connecting healthy brands with consumers through face-to-face interactions with the health and wellness professionals they trust the most for 18 years. We can help your brand understand and navigate the landscape, all while adding value and support your current marketing efforts. Interested in learning more? Let us know!

Is Your Marketing Causing Consumers to Trust You Less?

Consumers are becoming savvier—particularly about healthy foods—and much of what marketers are communicating to consumers about their products may be causing them to trust those brands less. Nebulous claims, such as “natural” and “clean,” are increasingly viewed as dubious by consumers, who are looking for truly healthy products that can provide them with the features, benefits, and nutrition they seek.

This article in the Washington Post puts its finger on the crux of the issue:

“[Consumers] want to know what’s in their food, not what’s missing. They’re curious about where food comes from, how it was grown, and how it can impact their health. They want food companies to deliver accurate information in an honest way.”

Your brand is competing in a trust economy—now more than ever. Finding ways to offer consumers transparency while building trust and credibility is vital to the success of any healthy food brand. Consumers have spoken, is your healthy brand listening?

Health & Wellness 2017—The Year in Review

From gluten free, to dairy free, and plant-based, consumers continued to experiment with a number of food and health trends this year. While new trends are always emerging (and we’ll certainly see more of them in 2018), we’ve found that when it comes down to it, consumers are significantly more interested in improving their overall health and wellness than adhering to a trendy diet or eating pattern.

Around this time last year, we shared our recipe for success in 2017—brands should help consumers who want to get healthy, tap into the most trusted sources of health & wellness advice, and build trust and credibility. Our advice hasn’t changed. Rather than predicting which new trends will emerge in 2018, here’s a look back at the trends from 2017 that we believe will continue to have a lasting impact on the health and wellness world in 2018 and beyond.

Consumers Are Taking Steps to be Healthier
According to the 2017 IFIC Food & Health Survey, Americans are taking many steps to be healthy. Of those taking steps to be healthier, over half of people indicated that they do so to lose weight, protect their long-term health, or to feel better and have more energy. When it comes to taking these steps, consumers prefer approachable and realistic guidelines—drinking more water, eating more fruits and vegetables, consuming smaller portions, and understanding how healthier and better-for-you foods fit into their plan—all of which have seen a nearly 30% increase in consumer participation over the past year, according to the survey.
 
Health Professionals Are Still the Most Trusted Source
Though consumers are taking steps to be healthier, when it comes to health and wellness, they still need more educational information on how to do so. Unlike websites, the news media, and traditional advertising, health professionals build trusting relationships with consumers by engaging with them through face-to-face counseling interactions. Regardless of all the different sources of information that consumers have access to, year after year, health professionals remain their most trusted source of guidance. 
 
Print is the Preferred Information Vehicle
To deliver this guidance, health professionals trust the tried and true value of printed materials. In fact, in a survey of PulseConnect members, more than 7 in 10 health professionals indicated a preference for printed materials over digital resources. Printed materials better meet their needs—they are customizable, convenient, and ensure that patients and clients leave an educational interaction with the information they need in hand.
 
Face-to-Face is Most Effective
While it’s easy to track metrics, clicks, and page views, the value of a digital impression continues to fall, while the value of a face-to-face interaction is on the rise. Face-to-face communication with health professionals continues to be consumers’ preferred, and most trusted, method of communication. Unlike digital communication, face-to-face interactions foster trust while helping to establish and build relationships between consumers and their most trusted source of information.    
 
Food Retailers Want to Help
Health professionals aren’t the only ones invested in consumer well-being. Food retailers have also acknowledged an increase in their shoppers' interest in health and wellness and, as a result, have accelerated their investments over the past few years as well. According to this 2017 FMI report, 96% of retailers surveyed indicated a commitment to expanding health and wellness programs in their stores going forward. These retailer investments have grown significantly over the past three years and we can expect to see them continue to grow for the foreseeable future. From good-for-you products to shopper engagement activities and in-store health professionals, food retailers are working to make it easier for consumers to live and eat healthily. 
 
Food Companies Are Reconsidering Their Approach
Food companies also want to help meet the changing health and wellness needs of consumers, but they’ve had to reconsider their approach. There’s no doubt that healthy brand name products have a health halo advantage over their private label counterparts, but consumers still remain skeptical about many of the claims being made. We’ve seen this evolve over the past few years as power has shifted from the brands to the consumers. As this transition has occurred, traditional marketing methods have become less effective, and brands have turned their focus toward high-quality interactions and earned media to meet consumers’ demands for transparency, authenticity, and engagement.
 
As the new year quickly approaches, it’s easy to get caught up in predicting the latest and greatest food trends, but those trends can fade away as quickly as they emerge. When it comes to health and wellness in the new year, these are the trends that will continue to have a lasting impact.   

FNCE 2017 Recap

The Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics celebrated its 100th anniversary with a jam-packed Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo in Chicago last month. As always, Pulse was in attendance, visiting with clients and dietitians, and getting a feel for emerging trends in the nutrition world.

Unlike other years, however, our key take-aways had less to do with food or ingredient trends, and more to do with shifts in how food companies are using FNCE to engage with registered dietitians.

Education Taking a Back Seat?

FNCE has always represented an excellent opportunity for food companies to educate dietitians about their products. As attendees flood the expo floor between educational sessions, food companies can conduct presentations at their booths and engage dietitians in one-on-one conversations. That’s certainly still happening at FNCE, but this year more than most, we saw a larger percentage of exhibitors focusing on “infotainment” or high-volume sampling as opposed to education. Granted, a large convention with more than 12,000 attendees is not the optimal setting for education, but the value of building a relationship of trust and credibility between dietitians and healthy food brands cannot be understated. Education is the foundation of this relationship. So whether at FNCE or through direct outreach throughout the year when many of those 12,000 attendees are busy counseling consumers, we prefer to see healthy brands focusing on education, and we know that’s the type of engagement health professionals prefer.

Continuing the Conversation

We also noted that many exhibitors had spent significant time and money on their presence at FNCE with little thought given to how they would continue the conversation with dietitians once the convention floor empties. FNCE is a great way to connect with registered dietitians, but it is only three days each year. Consistently, year after year, dietitians tell us that it’s the engagement throughout the year, and not just at FNCE, that makes the biggest difference in what they recommend to patients and clients. FNCE offers an opportunity for them to learn about and sample new food brands—and learn about new products and innovations from companies they are already familiar with—but for food companies to add real, lasting value to the conversations dietitians are having with patients and clients throughout the year, they need to provide a drumbeat of education, resources, and information that dietitians can directly share with their patients and clients during face-to-face counseling.

It’s hard to beat the exposure and goodwill a healthy food brand can generate by exhibiting at FNCE. But it’s just one piece of the puzzle. We remain committed to meeting the needs of health professionals and healthy brands by bringing the two groups together the other 362 days a year.

When it Comes to Activating Mom, Education is Key

From birth on, every conversation between a pediatric professional and Mom is a unique opportunity for education. Parents come into these conversations loaded with questions and ready to learn, but when the topic is nutrition—a topic you and many of your colleagues may not have received dedicated training in—the interaction has the potential to leave you and Mom unsatisfied.

How can pediatric professionals educate and motivate Moms to make healthy food choices for their little ones? Here are four keys that can put you on the right path:

1. Deliver the right information at the right time

That Moms can get overwhelmed is the understatement of the century. Not only are they focused on their little one day and night, but they are being bombarded with information about what to feed their child—from a variety of credible and incredible sources. You’ve told us that delivering the right information in bite-sized chunks when it is most relevant helps keep Mom from getting more overwhelmed than she may already be. At a six-month well visit, that means starting a conversation about first foods. As a child reaches school age, that means starting a conversation about healthy snacking.

2. Make it easy to understand and actionable

When it comes to educating Moms about proper nutrition for their child, no information is too basic or fundamental. Tools and resources that focus on the basic building blocks of nutrition are highly valued, and can help Mom begin to instill healthy eating habits from a very young age. Moms also love suggestions, meal plans, and recipes—ideas that are actionable and spare them having to sort through the thousands of choices they face at the supermarket. That’s why we encourage healthy food brands to be part of these conversations between you and Mom.

3. Harness your credibility and build trust

According to the 2017 IFIC Food & Health Survey, health professionals like you are consumers’ most trusted source of food information. As a pediatric professional, your recommendations are highly influential. That’s why it’s important to be knowledgeable about products in the marketplace and what recommendations are appropriate for meeting the varying needs of your patients and their parents. You and your colleagues tell us that gaining a high level of nutritional knowledge about a product—and having a personal experience with it—are keys to your recommendations to Moms. That’s why we encourage food brands to include educational materials, samples, and free trial coupons for you and your patients in all the programs we conduct through PulseConnect.

4. Offer solutions that are accessible and positive

Moms are busy and life with a little one can get frantic on a regular basis. That’s why it’s important that the solutions you recommend to Mom are easily accessible and achievable. Recommending foods and options widely available at the local store can help show Mom that there are plenty of healthy choices to be made that are accessible without significant effort or cost.

We know you spend your days helping Moms make the best choices they can for their children. When it comes to nutrition, that conversation can be aided by healthy food brands that want to educate both professional and parent—and offer healthy solutions.

If you’re interested in receiving resources and materials to educate and motivate your patient parents to make healthy food choices for their little ones, join PulseConnect!