For many consumers, the core product or service itself is only part of the consideration process when evaluating brands. Cultural shifts – including those creating information overload and an increasing emphasis on living one’s best life – are spurring consumers to look at new brand benefits.
According to the 2016 Meyocks Health Survey, one out of two consumers says it’s important for a brand to provide information beyond its basic product or service, while 42 percent and 40 percent say it’s important for those brands to offer inspiration and advocate for consumers, respectively. Not only do consumers say it’s important, they also reward “mentor brands” with faster revenue growth.
Recently, Meyocks asked consumers about categories of brands that may impact health and well-being to see how the categories compared on mentorship characteristics.
The fitness center category scores highest among health-related brands in Meyocks research when it comes to embodying mentor qualities. Overall, 56 percent of consumers say they look to fitness center brands for information, while 59 percent and 50 percent say they see them as sources of inspiration and advocacy, respectively. Hospitals and health care systems are more often seen as a good source of information (51%), and score lower in terms of inspiration (47%) and advocacy (46%).
Consumers see athletic apparel companies more as sources of inspiration (48%) than they do information (34%). And though scores are lower across the board, pharmacies round out the top three for consumers in terms of advocacy and information.
Meyocks data show brands in the health and wellness categories have the potential to offer information, inspiration and advocacy beyond the core product or service. In fact, the more a brand embodies these mentor characteristics, the more it differentiates itself from competitors and wins more quickly in the marketplace.