The age of wellness has taken on a new meaning due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. COVID is now the proverbial elephant in the room for any conversation, no matter the industry, and has changed many aspects of everyday life for many people, both professionally and personally. It’s now the age of wellness technology.
At the height of the pandemic, we’ve all had to make incredible shifts and sacrifices, but how we choose to adjust and move forward is the biggest question to address. For entrepreneurs, adjusting both short- and long-term business plans for continued growth comes down to understanding what your customers want. Then, demonstrate innovation in how you develop and market your product or service to reach existing new customers.
Your Health in Your Hands: Giving Customers What They Want
At KaraMD, our focus is on functional medicine intended to guide patients toward optimal wellness through an interwoven approach to biological function. Our process is to provide consumers with the right tools and the correct information to chart a course toward optimal health. As a physician and entrepreneur, I measure everything I do by a simple tagline: Your Health in Your Hands. This personal and professional mantra has been the secret of my career growth and continues to be the secret of my success as an entrepreneur.
The other important aspect for any entrepreneur is listening to your customers, especially within the health and wellness space. As a physician trained at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, I learned that people are naturally and intuitively in tune with their bodies. They may not always, or even rarely, know their illness, but they know something is off. Our job as physicians is to listen to our patients and investigate based on what we learn from the patient. What we are doing at KaraMD is no different. We are actively listening to our customers just as I was listening to patients while practicing medicine. Then we communicate how our products and lifestyle changes help fill the needs our customers voiced to us.
Marketing Products with Integrity
Within the wellness technology space, marketing products gets a little tricky due to the global pandemic. Never in history has there been more of an increased focus on health and wellness, especially in preventative care. People are hyper-focused on improving and strengthening their immune systems, with each person weighing their overall health. Each person’s state of health is different, and each has various concerns, but all seem to have the same goal – to stay in good health. For entrepreneurs within the wellness space, first and foremost, they must market responsibly. There is still so much we do not know about the COVID-19 virus, and the medical and research community is working tirelessly to learn and inform responsibly. We must mimic that level of professional integrity when offering health and wellness products to the public.
Vetting New Technologies in Health and Wellness
At KaraMD, we also pay close attention to what science teaches us while leveraging new and emerging technologies to create the safest, most effective products. However, when leveraging new technologies, it is more important to investigate before simply jumping in. At KaraMD, we take Apple’s approach and carefully vet new technologies before investing time and money into them. We do this to make smarter business decisions and support customers who are using our products to enhance their overall health and wellness. We take the wellbeing of our customers very seriously. This is important not only in the health and wellness space but in almost every aspect of entrepreneurship. Due diligence, research, and asking the right questions are crucial to developing a successful strategic business plan and product. Remember, this is the beginning of a long journey, and the business plan you create from research is the road map. Be specific about where you are investing your time and resources. After all, it is the age of wellness technology.
Focusing on the Basics
In this new age of heightened health awareness wellness technology, it is essential to remain focused on the basics, delivering a quality product at a reasonable price. This is what customers ultimately want. Listen to your customers. From the beginning of my career, I’ve always led with this core belief. I listened to my patients and developed a partnership with them for the benefit of their overall health. As an entrepreneur, I apply the same concept and listen to my customers. As it turns out, the secret to my success is not a secret, but just good common sense and genuine care for others.
