Monday, June 15, 2009

So, who are we, the 21st Century women? And how can you reach us most effectively, not only about your products, but our very real - but sometims hidden -- desire for wellness.

We're your sister, daughter, mother, or grandmother and marketing health to us means more than branded loyalty programs or patient education programs.

If you're a hospital, pharmaceutical or packaged goods marketer, the $11 trillion pocketbook that women hold is obviously valuable. But how can you, as a marketer, create a conversation that breaks through women's healthcare "ecosystem", inspiring trust and a connection with your brand?

Women value a personal and interactive experience that inspires a vision of how wellness can be specifically acheived, and better yet, how this wellness goal will impact our life, our relationships, our hopes for the future, and our ability to cope with the realities of caregiving and working under stress. From a coaching perspective, creating a vision for wellness is the first step towards behavior change.

Whether smoking, osteoporosis, weight management, nutrition or sexual health, marketers who choose a behavior change approach to marketing receive a pass to participate in a dialogue with women based on trust.

By providing a coaching service that reinforces self-management and taking personal responsibility, obstacles to 'self-care' are identified. As GSK figured out years ago, women must be ready to take on self-care as they showcased with "are you ready?" campaign for alli, the weight management program.

Choosing self-care is part of the paradigm shift that inspires women to go for "wellness", saving money, lives and the incredibly frustrating experience that happens when women see themselves as only patients in a healthcare system.

I invite your brand into our RealWomen on Health! studio to eplore the value for women's "wellth".